Robbie Kay (born 13 September 1995) is a British actor, best known for his roles in the films Fugitive Pieces (2007) and Pinocchio (2008).



Kay was born in Lymington, Hampshire, England and moved to Brussels, Belgium at a young age His mother Stephanie is from Newcastle upon Tyne while his father Ivan is from Peterborough. Kay's grandfather Alex Key was of Czech/Bulgarian descent.[citation needed] In 2006 Kay and his family moved to Prague in the Czech Republic, where he attended the International School of Prague.



Kay's family moved to the Czech Republic where he saw a note for English-speaking children to be extras in a film on a school noticeboard. Despite a lack of previous acting experience, this led to him getting a speaking part in The Illusionist, but his scenes were eventually cut from the film. After small roles in Hannibal Rising and My Boy Jack, a Canadian production company asked him to play the part of Young Jakob which involved a 9 week shooting schedule, three of which on Greek islands. The people who made Fugitive Pieces had auditioned over 150 boys before finding the then 10-year-old Robbie Kay who had been living in Prague for two years.

He spent a year studying, acting, singing and dancing at one of Britain's Stagecoach theatre schools.

Recently, he was in a miniseries adaptation of Pinocchio, playing the puppet boy himself.

After finishing Pinocchio he went on to play Sam in Ways To Live Forever screening in late 2010–11 time (TBC). He appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, playing Cabin boy.



Kay's work has been generally well received by the critics. Alicia Cox of Chatelaine wrote: "Robbie Kay, who plays the young Jakob, gives a remarkable performance with little words and a lot of emotion. When he smiles (which isn't often) you can't help but be affected."Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times describes Kay as having "a heartbreaking way of looking utterly lost" and Peter Howell of the Toronto Star, who was critical about the film, wrote "the performances are above reproach, especially Robbie Kay as young Jakob"[6] and "The grandest laurels must be reserved for Robbie Kay ... Relatively new to acting, he invests the role with an intensity of purpose not often seen in an actor of so few years."