Lancashire actor Jon-Paul Bell to appear in show directed by Tom Hanks & Steven Spielberg, starring Saltburn's Barry Keoghan

Blackpool born Jon-Paul Bell is starring in Apple TV+’s gripping new war epic, Masters Of The Air: below is everything we know so far about the Lancashire star and his upcoming hit show.

Who is Jon-Paul Bell?

30-year-old TV star Jon-Paul was a pupil at Arnold [now AKS] and Blackpool Sixth Form who trained at Blackpool based Scream Theatre Schools, before gaining a scholarship at the acclaimed Arts Educational School in London.

After graduating, Jon-Paul landed the role of Luke Mauro in BAFTA nominated feature film, Kajaji: The True Story which was filmed over a 3-month period in Jordan. He has also worked on various TV shows, including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, The Sister Boniface Mysteries and Doctors.

Jon-Paul, who is represented by London and MediaCity based talent agency RedDoor Management, can currently be seen in Channel 4/E4’s long running soap Hollyoaks and was recently nominated for Best Newcomer in the Inside Soap Awards 2023, for his role as Beau Ramsey.

What is Masters Of The Air?

Masters of the Air, directed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and produced by Gary Goatzman, is based in the best-selling book, Masters Of The Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany. The miniseries follows the actions of the 100 th Bomb Group [Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit] during World War II. The series serves as a companion to Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

Masters of the Air was filmed over a 4-month period, with several weeks prior, involving a vigorous training bootcamp,preparing the cast to feel and act like real soldiers.

Jon-Paul plays John Burgin, who was the Top Turret Gunner/Engineer in the 100 th Bomb Group during World War II.

Who else is in the cast?

Elvis and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Austin Butler plays Major Gale "Buck" Cleven, Fantastic Beasts' Callum Turner is Major John "Bucky" Egan and Saltburn's Barry Keoghan stars as Lt. Curtis Biddick

Meanwhile Steven Spielberg's son Sawyer plays Lt. Roy Frank Clayton and Jude Law and Sadie Frost's son Raff plays Sgt. Ken Lemmons.

Also featuring in Masters of the Air, alongside Jon-Paul, are RedDoor Management’s: Nuno Da Silva, Tom Higgins, Marley Brown and Keaton Lansley.

What has Jon-Paul said about his latest show?

Jon-Paul Bell: “Working on Masters of the Air was an amazing experience. Getting to work alongside Raff Law, Sawyer Spielberg, Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan was such a pleasure. There was a great group atmosphere throughout filming and was like being a part of a unit."

How can you catch the show?

Masters of the Air premiered on Apple TV+ on January 26 and a new episode is released every Friday.

What is Scream Theatre Schools and Scream Management?

Scream Management specialises in the development of young artists for a professional career in the arts, established 1998 in Blackpool, it has since opened bases in MediaCity and Covent Garden, London, representing Soap award winners and BAFTA Award winners.

Scream Theatre School based off Mowbray Drive has been training children in TV Theatre and Performing Arts. If you are interested in your child joining Scream Theatre Schools, please check out their website: www.screamtheatreschools.com/

The successes over the years have seen students on many TV and Theatre shows internationally, to include a few; Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Amazon.