At 21, William Moseley has come a long way from the teenager who was cast as Peter Pevensie in the first Chronicles Of Narnia film.
Since The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe was released to rave reviews in 2005, the former Wycliffe College student has been back to school to sit exams and then spent months with an acting coach in New York to prepare for a more mature reprisal of the role in the forthcoming Prince Caspian.
"In the first film, I really had no idea what I was doing," he admits. "I was just turning up, saying my lines and stepping through the wardrobe as William would, and Peter would at the same time."
Three years later, Peter has become a man, fighting to save the Narnians, and it's clear from his demeanour that William has grown up too.
"Throughout the experience, I've changed a lot in myself," he says.
"I've travelled to so many different countries, met so many different people.
"On the first film, most of my friends were in their 30s and I was 17. It just completely changes how you look at the world.
"So, on an emotional basis and professionally as an actor I think I've matured an incredible amount."
But he admits he still isn't quite ready to accept his heart-throb status.
"It's actually kind of bizarre to me," he laughs. "Right now I'm walking around in my pyjamas in my garden with my Ugg boots on, it's not exactly beautiful.
"There are so many other people out there you could choose from, so I don't think I'm there yet."
Pictures of a sultry-looking William have appeared in recent editions of Teen Vogue and Nylon in the lead up to the release of the second installment of the trilogy.
When cinema-goers last visited Narnia, the Pevensie children, Edmund, Lucy and Susan, had claimed their rightful place as kings and queens of the magical kingdom, after defeating the White Witch.
But it was time to return to England when they discovered the entrance to the wardrobe again.
Prince Caspian, based on the third book in the series by CS Lewis, sees the children magically transported back to Narnia from a London Tube station when the troubled Prince blows Susan's magic horn to call for aid.
"Each child does want to go back to Narnia, but some more than others," explains William, who is relaxing at his Gloucestershire home in Sheepscombe before a string of glamorous premieres.
"Peter does, because he wants to reinstate his authority for his own means. And it's kind of their other home - where they've grown and learned so much.
"But Narnia's changed when they get back and they have to deal with those changes and deal with the changes in themselves."
We first see Peter fighting with school children in the Tube station - and the theme continues once he arrives in Narnia.
"Peter and Caspian don't get on very well when they first meet because they both want to be the leader," William explains.
"They both feel threatened by each other, they've both got egos, but they eventually realise that working together saves the day pretty much."
William had to endure a tough training schedule this time to get fit for the more feisty role.
"Today I was thinking to myself, 'God, I need to get myself fit again', because you get to a certain fitness point and then it just goes," he says.
"But yeah, I was working with a boxing trainer in New York for three and a half months.
"I was running eight miles every other day on set and I was working out in the gym as much as I could.
"I didn't want anyone doing any of my stunts, because I saw them as my stunts and I wanted to make sure everyone had their full trust in me, so that take 10 was just as good as take one."
Filming took place over seven months in New Zealand and Eastern Europe and William says he enjoyed being reunited with the actors who play the other Pevensie children - Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley and Anna Popplewell.
"Georgie, Skandar and Anna are like my second family," says William. "We're such close friends and we always slip back into our dynamics. I don't think we really could have acted a family as well if not - we actually really were that family.
"Skandar and I went off bungee jumping and at one point we were staying in little huts by this river that had kayaks.
"I went out in a kayak into this huge open lake surrounded by mountains and forest land - I was kind of in awe of it."
When asked about what the production crew thought about them doing lots of risky outdoor activities, he replies: "You just don't tell them - that's the trick. We say, 'oh yeah, we're just going to do some drawings in our room now and write some poetry, we'll see you later."
As for newcomer Ben Barnes, who plays Prince Caspian, William says they hit it off instantly.
"He had a very similar sense of humour to me and I could tell from the start we were going to have a laugh throughout the shoot," he says.
William grew up in Sheepscombe with his parents Julie and Peter, who is a cameraman for the BBC.
He is the older brother of Daisy, 19, and Ben, 16, and narrowly missed out on a part in a TV adaptation of Cider With Rosie when he was 10.
Five years later, he was remembered by the casting director, who worked on the first Narnia film, and had to endure 18 months of auditions before beating 3,000 other hopefuls to land the part of Peter.
Sadly though, William's Narnia adventures have come to an end - Peter has grown up and doesn't appear in anymore of Lewis' books.
"It's really sad," admits William. "I thought, 'well, that's another chapter in my life', but in some ways change is good. If you want to progress you have to move on and put yourself in a vulnerable position.
"I'll definitely use all the tools I learned from Narnia and hopefully get some more along the way."
However the young actor is cagey about any upcoming roles.
"I don't trust Hollywood - not until I'm on that plane and I've signed that contract," he says.
But he does reveal it's an independent film and "one of those stories where it's seen through my character's eyes".
For now though, William is looking forward to the first-class flights and the "beautiful clothes" on his publicity tour to London and Paris.
"It's a lot more glamorous than shooting the film. But I do look at it as work. A chance for me to put myself and the film out there and really give it everything I've got," he says.
Source: ThisIsGloucestershire
(Obtained from www.wmoseley.com)
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