A young Sudbury actor is getting noticed for his role on popular Netflix series Longmire

It took a few auditions and some tears before Phoenix Wilson got his first big break in the television business.

But the 12-year-old who attends St. Benedict's Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury says he's enjoying the attention.

He plays a young boy suffering from scarlet fever in one of the episodes in the final season of the popular Netflix show Longmire. The show is about Walt Longmire, a charismatic and dedicated Sheriff of Absaroka County in Wyoming.

'I forgot practically all my lines'

Phoenix's first audition for Netflix didn't go so well. He auditioned for the series Godless when he was ten and was short-listed. He says he was terrified auditioning in front of the big wigs. 

"It was a disaster," said Phoenix. "I cried."

They wouldn't let his mother, Marty, in the room with him.

"I forgot practically all my lines," he said.

The experience didn't stop him. He says he learned a lot from it.

"You shouldn't be scared of those people, just pretend they are not there because it helps you a whole bunch to remember your lines and just perform, and yeah, don't have a meltdown," he said.

Another audition

A few years later, his agent found him the Longmire role. Phoenix put together a taped audition, sent it in and got the part. He and his grandfather took the trip down to New Mexico for two weeks for taping. His mother couldn't go because of work.

He says he loved the experience and the cast were very nice.

"They were wonderful, they were lovely, everyone, the cast the crew," he said. 

He even got to meet one of his idols, Chaske Spencer from Twilight.

They filmed the episode in May and had to wait until November to see it.

"It was amazing...my mom was really happy, she cried," Phoenix said. 

His mom Marty says she's very proud.

"He did very well, you could see the pain in his eye and he did great."

His friends at school have also been asking a lot of questions about what it is like to be in a TV series.

'I'm not going to get too caught up in it'

Phoenix would like to keep on acting. His mother says he has his own professional Facebook page that she looks after.

"When he is usually shortlisted for the role we get the long version or the complete script and if I read though it and I see a couple of things I don't like I have no issue saying we are not interested," she said.

Phoenix says he's fine with that because his mom is "the boss".

"If I get more parts I'm not going to be rubbing it in people's faces, like we're all human," he said.

"I'm not going to get too caught up in it."