Billy Elliot The bus station, from where Billy leaves his father and brother for London, is the now-demolished Gallowgate Bus Station in Newcastle. The performance of "Swan Lake" takes place at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, London. On 22 May 1999, it was announced that Jamie Bell would play the lead role in the film, while Adam Cooper and Julie Walters were in early talks to join the cast. On 3 June 1999 it was reported that Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Merryn Owen, Nicola Blackwell, Colin Maclachlan, Mike Elliott, Billy Fane, Janine Birkett, Charlie Hardwick, Matthew James Thomas
Billy Elliot and Stephen Mangan were also in final talks to join the film, and Patrick Malahide and Barbara Leigh-Hunt were added to the cast, playing the Royal Ballet School principals. On 17 June 1999, Neil North and Lee Williams joined the cast of the film, playing the Royal Ballet School tutors. "Billy Elliot" was originally released at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival under the title "Dancer". It was later decided to re-title the film "Billy Elliot" to avoid confusion with "Dancer In The Dark", another film at Cannes that year. "Billy Elliot" was theatrically released on 29 September 2000 by Universal