THE already burgeoning career of Oldham-born actor Olivia Cooke looks set for a huge boost with the release of the acclaimed movie Sound Of Metal on Monday (April 12).

The 27-year-old star plays Lou, the singer-guitarist of heavily tattooed drummer Ruben ( Riz Ahmed) suffering the inner turmoil of a musician faced with a diagnosis of acute hearing loss.

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Sound Of Metal employs thrillingly immersive sound design to convey, according to reviewers.

For Olivia, it is another step in an already impressive CV of screen appearances.

She initially harboured dreams of becoming a ballet dancer as she grew up - excelling as both a dancer and a gymnast.

After turning to mainly background acting roles as a teenager, she continued dancing.

But in 2010 she stepped into the limelight in her home town Oldham Theatre Workshop.

Her obvious talent was spotted and she was cast in the BBC mini series productions in 2012 Blackout as the daughter of Christopher Eccleston's character and The Secret of Crickley Hall as a young teacher at a tyrannical orphanage in the 1940s.

From then on her rise to fame on television and big screen has been stratospheric, culminating in a lead role as Becky Sharp in ITV's Vanity Fair in 2018.

Discussing what drew her to the project, Cooke, 27, highlights how the Sound Of Metals deals with "so much more than someone losing their hearing".

"And it's so nuanced and delicately handled, and there's so much heart that goes into this film and the writing," said Olivia, who has also had a leading role in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One. "I read it, and I was so heartbroken."

She admitted that she didn't properly think about everything the role would involve when she first saw the scripts. Then came the realisation.

"You're like, 'Oh god, you have to perform, learn the guitar, scream; Riz has to be on the drums; you've somehow got to play together, in time'.

"It comes closer and closer to the day, and you feel better - you've been rehearsing and in band practice together for two months. But you're just like, 'How do I, as Olivia Cooke from Oldham, try to transcend this?'"

Luckily, Cooke had someone to help her master the musical side of the role; experimental performer Margaret Chardiet, who has a band called Pharmakon.

"I just basically stole everything off her, just her whole being," she quips. "And so I'm very grateful to her."