The mastermind behind the smash viral video of Pennywise the Dancing Clown on Halloween has been selected to represent the UK in the World Championships of Performing Arts.

Oli Keenan, 20, from Clydebank, shot to fame last year when a video of his portrayal of the ‘It’ monster was watched by millions of fans.

Now Oli will be going to LA to compete for Team UK in the prestigious championships which will be help between the 12th and 21st of July this summer.

“I was contacted after all the stuff at Hallowe’en with the Pennywise stunt after they saw it online” said Oli.

“Then the regional director of the UK messaged me and asked me to come to an audition and then I got accepted onto the team.

“The World Champions happen every year and is shown live in America - it’s basically the Olympics for performing arts.

“It brings together actors, singers, dancers, from all over the world and most countries bring a team.

The championships also offer a way for aspiring professionals like Oli to make it into the big time.

Oli said: “You perform in front of a lot of LA producers and they give a way over half a million dollars in scholarships to acting schools in America.

“It’s amazing exposure to be able to go over there and perform in front of all these people you normally wouldn’t get the chance to here in Scotland.

“It’s a bonus that they’re giving away so much – it would be lovely to get that.

As well as Oli’s big break as Pennywise, over Christmas he caught the city’s imagination by wandering the city streets as The Grinch.

“I feel really good about it, the director and everyone on the team who I’ve spoken to are absolutely lovely. It seems like a great atmosphere and I’m happy to be a part of it.

“Over the next few months I’m going to meet all of the others on the team and really looking forward to it.

For Oli, now is when the real work starts as he prepares to wow the judges in America, and potentially book his place at one of the world’s most prestigious acting schools:

“Now for me, there’s a lot of practice involved.” he said.

“It’s a case of putting as much together as I can and giving them as many options as possible. I do enjoy doing comedy as well as the more dramatic things. For the audition I did a piece from The Shining, one of Jack Nicholson’s monologues from that.”

Oli’s fans have been a had a big impact on him, and he is encouraging people to help him in his preparation for the big event.

He said: “I just really want to say thank you to everyone who’ve supported me throughout this.” he said. I’ve met so many people online who follow me and have sent me really, really nice messages.

“I’ve been posting video clips online of me reading out a few things and getting their opinions on it. They’re all involved in helping as well.”