Name Edward Speleers

Born 21 December 1987, Chichester, West Sussex.

Background Likeable toff Speleers got a taste for acting at the private boarding school in Eastbourne which he still attends (he’s due to leave after his A-levels later this year). ‘I’ve done a lot of acting in school plays,’ he says. ‘But I’ve had no professional training. I especially love Shakespeare. I was weaned on it; my dad quotes from Macbeth when he’s pissed. Either on stage or in the movies, the part I’d love to play is Edmund in King Lear.’

What’s he up to now? He’s on the verge of becoming world famous, after landing the title role in the movie version of fantasy blockbuster novel Eragon.

He never expected to get the part ‘I never expected this. I thought I’d wait ten years before I ever got a role in a big movie. I didn’t tell anyone I was going for the audition. I went literally with a shrug on my shoulders. But after the first audition and the warmth I was getting off these people my attitude soon changed: shit, this could be the chance for me to do something I’ve always wanted. I can’t thank people enough, because I think it’s all about luck. But now I’ve got it I’ve to take the opportunity and continue it into a long career.’

Being an action hero takes it out of you ‘It was hard being in Hungary for the first time and being ordered to go down the gym. But I’ve been involved in sport all of my life. When I was four, everyone else got a teddy bear - I got a rugby ball. I don’t really like gyms much but I got used to it. And to be horseriding, sword-fighting and doing archery, it’s every 17-year-old guy’s dream.’

He’d better not fall out with his pals The star tattoo on his wrist represents his five best friends. ‘Well, they’re my five best friends at the moment,’ he says, adding with a grin, ‘I hope it stays that way. They’re a bit annoyed I didn’t get them a part in the film. A couple of them could easily have been monsters in it.’

Eragon is on general release from Fri 15 Dec.