It?s not every day that you can walk into a theatre and see a Bermudian kid performing in a blockbuster movie.

But movie-goers can do just that with Akeelah and the Bee which is showing in local theatres now. Akeelah and the Bee, a Lions Gate film, is about a little girl from South Los Angeles who goes to the National Spelling Bee.

Bermudian Dilario Robinson, 14, plays a friend of Akeelah?s who saves her from a group of bullies. Dilario lives with his mother Jennifer Robinson in Los Angeles, California.

?I didn?t have lines or a even a name,? Dilario told the in a telephone interview. ?But it was a lot of fun.?

Dilario had to audition for a part in the movie several times before he was chosen.

?When you audition you have to say a couple of lines and act a little bit,? said Dilario. ?They had me read sides of different characters and I got called back a couple of times, and they decided to choose me. I am very grateful that they did.?

Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne star in the movie, alongside Keke Palmer as Akeelah. Sadly, Dilario didn?t get to meet Angela Bassett, but he did meet Laurence Fishburne.

?Laurence is very serious type of guy,? said Dilario. ?I had to be on the set for at least two days. I was in different scenes. Originally, I had lines, but they edited them out. Hopefully, next time I will get a speaking part.?

Even though Dilario didn?t have any lines, he was certainly the star of the show for his family in Los Angeles and Bermuda.

?I went to it in theatres with my family,? said Dilario. ?I was supposed to go to the premier, but we got the wrong day. My mom was really excited to see me in the movie. My little cousin was telling everyone that it was me in the film.?

Akeelah and the Bee wasn?t even Dilario?s first big break. He has also been in a number of independent films, and played rapper Ludacris? little brother in a music video.

?Being in a music video was great,? said Dilario, ?because the rappers are really fun to be around. They are playful. I played Ludacris? little brother who was always following him around. I was ten years old then. At school it was like I was a celebrity, everyone was chasing me. One girl almost got hit by a bus crossing the street to talk to me.?

Dilario was born in Bermuda, but moved to Los Angeles with his mother six years ago. He returns to Bermuda regularly.

?I think it would be cool to live in Bermuda full time,? said Dilario. ?but I like living here too. I think when I grow up I?d like to own a house in the United States and one in Bermuda.?

Dilario got into acting through his mother, a Bermudian who is in the entertainment business. She has recently come upon some stardom herself. She will be the host of a new travel programme called Island Hopping which will air on television soon.

?I love acting, and my mom - who I love a lot - helps me find jobs,? said Dilario. ?My mom said when I was younger I was really funny and she was going to try to get me into acting. She asked if I wanted to be into it, and I said that I did.?

Dilario said that sometimes acting is harder than it looks. There are lots of lines to learn and scenes often have to be repeated. Still, he loves performing and he plans to audition for a new Disney movie that will start filming shortly. In terms of career goals, he said he is interested in going into real estate.

?He got into the music video because I took him with me when I went for an audition of my own,? said his mother, Mrs. Robinson. ?When I got there the casting director saw him. The casting director said, ?Oh my god we are looking for a kid. I would love to take his picture and submit it to make Ludacris? brother.?

Mrs. Robinson said her son showed talent from an early age.

?Growing up, he would always make me laugh,? she said. ?He always had that ?look at me? kind of attitude. I have to cross my fingers before he speaks because I don?t know what is going to come out of his mouth. I thought I would channel that into acting classes. I thought it would be something positive providing it is something he wants to do. At any time if he wants to stop he can.?

She is excited about her new television programme which will have her hopping around the Caribbean community looking at culture, food and entertainment.

?I am pushing hard for us to come to Bermuda,? said Mrs. Robinson. ?I took some footage of Bermuda in December so we will add that into little snippets.?