THE bright lights of Hollywood are beckoning for young performer Josh Taylor after he wowed top agents at an international talent-spotting event.

Josh, aged 10, of Smithills, was hand-picked to perform in front of major players in the entertainment industry at the event, held at Disney Land, Paris.

Out of the 500 young hopefuls chosen to perform in the European Growing Talent 2008 exhibition, Josh reached the final of the best actor and junior monologue competitions and was the overall winner of the stand-up category.

The pupil at Claypool Primary School in Horwich, has since been sounded out for a role in a feature film and one day hopes to follow in the footsteps of 007 actor Daniel Craig.

He said: “My ambition is to be a big movie actor and star in films like James Bond. I hope after my success I can do it.

“It was a really good experience to take part in the event. I was a little nervous, but really enjoyed it.

“It was brilliant to have been a finalist and a winner. My favourite part was doing the monologue and it was really good to win the stand-up. I told a story full of jokes, which I had made up.”

Josh spent a week singing, dancing, modelling and acting at the event, which was organised by talent spotting companies, including the American-based International Talent Showcase.

Judges were particularly impressed by his awarded-winning stand-up show, which was inspired by Little Britain.

Since coming home he has had a flurry of interest from casting directors and is now on the books of agent Stirling Management.

His father, Paul Taylor, said: “He had just finished playing the part of Tiny Tim in Scrooge at the Albert Halls in Bolton before he caught the plane in full make-up to get to the event.

“He did really well, especially being the overall winner in the stand-up because he was competing against all ages.

“The comments he received were extremely positive. Since coming back he has had quite a lot of interest.

“At the event, people in the industry came to us and said they would be keeping an eye on Josh.”

Josh first showed an interest in performing when he started singing at the age of six.

He is a member of various drama and singing clubs at his school and in the local amateur dramatics scene, and also receives expert training from Bolton-based Melody Pop Tuition.

Josh can next be seen starring in Farnworth Performing Arts Company’s production of Oliver next year, alongside his nine-year-old sister, Jessica.