John Banks

John Banks is the rambunctious young son of Michael Banks who heartily embraces living with his aunt Jane, brother Georgie and sister Anabelle. He’d love nothing more than to help his family avoid losing their house — but his financial abilities are not quite up to standards. When Mary Poppins arrives, however, John’s enthusiasm and pure heart seem to meet their match.

Background
Nathaniel Saleh makes his feature film debut as John Banks in Mary Poppins Returns. He started performing as a three-year-old, singing songs and giving recitations to family and friends. At age five he followed older brother Asher to become a member of Playbox Theatre at the Dream Factory in Warwick, England, gaining his first speaking role just a year later as Brian in “O.U.T. Spells Out,” a powerful recollection of the forced emigration of children from the U.K. to Australia in the 1950’s.

This was followed by roles in a number of Playbox Theatre productions: Lone Wolf in “Peter Pan” (2014); ensemble and understudy for Flounder in “The Little Mermaid” (2015); and Chip in “Beauty and the Beast” (2016).