Half Moon Investigations
Sebastian Charles is Red Sharkey
Red is Half Moon's unlikely partner. Son of a reformed, locally-notorious criminal family, Red is a year older than Half Moon but has been kept back in school due to absenteeism and poor grades.
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In the best tradition of crime-busting duos the pairing is not without a bit of disagreement. Moon sticks to the rules, Red knows how to break them but their friendship is built on trust and a mutual respect. Red abhors crime and has felt at first hand the tarnish of being wrongly accused. While Moon is the brains of the investigation, Red tends to charge into situations without thinking about the consequences.
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Says 15-year-old Sebastian (Seb): "I love playing Red, he is a fun character to play, unfortunately he has a bad reputation, but I think he has a warm heart!"
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Seb reveals that he was asked to make a significant change to his appearance to play the part of Red.
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"My hair is naturally dark blonde or brown, but the producers were looking for a red-haired Irish boy. My mum put me forward because I have freckles. At the fourth audition they said 'do you mind if we dye your hair?' It was pretty obvious what the colour was going to be!
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"The first time I became ginger it felt really different, but I got used to it. I don't think I will keep it, it's not a permanent colour, although people have said it suits me.
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"One Monday I turned up for work and in make-up they said 'so what did you do over the weekend' and I said 'I went swimming'– and they said 'oh you didn't!' – They had to go through the whole process again!"
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Seb thinks Red is like him in some ways.
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"I can understand Red because I have sisters and Red has a sister. My sister Anoushka is 17-years-old and my little sister Maria is 13 – so I'm used to the feminine side of the house.
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"My family are amazed that I'm on the telly. Because I'm the first person to step forward and do some acting. My sisters are more into dancing and singing. My dad has done a few extra parts but my mum has not done anything. So I'm probably the first person in our family to be on TV – and this is my first TV job.
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"When I found out I had got the part it didn't actually sink in until halfway through filming and I thought wow, I'm going to be on TV. It was a scene we were doing outside which just triggered it off, that I was going to be on TV and I tried not to make it too obvious. I thought this is paradise man – I'm living it!
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"And if you told the lads that I was sharing a house with two girls they would say I was very lucky, but actually it was almost like Big Brother. You are put in a house with completely different people, and you have got to get on with them. It's kind of a challenge, but we are really like a family now because we get on so well with each other – I even helped out in the kitchen!
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"Having sisters, I'm also used to waking up every morning and being asked 'do I look fat in this?' And you have to say no of course you don't!
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"This job is brilliant and, because it's my first, I think it is all about getting some experience. My three acting heroes are Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Daniel Day Lewis. It's great being away from home, but it's also nice to go back to school for a bit and I never thought I would say that!"
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