London teenager lands Tintin role
Updated on 28 March 2008
A 17-year-old London A-level student is set for Hollywood stardom after landing the role of Tintin.
Thomas Sangster has already had roles in the Richard Curtis film Love Actually, as Liam Neeson's son, and with Emma Thompson in Nanny McPhee.
He was handpicked by Steven Spielberg to bring to the big screen Herge's famous comic books in a new multi-million dollar film trilogy.
The south London teenager, whose father is starring as the mad hyena in The Lion King, is studying for his A-levels in art and media studies and works part-time at a local garage.
He said: "Tintin is like a super boy scout. He knows how to fly these things. He knows how to drive these things. It's just like common sense: he jumps in and goes, he doesn't need to think about any safety, he just goes where he pleases."
Filming is expected to begin in September and the first movie released in 2010.
One of three films will be directed by Spielberg, another by Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson, while the third name has not been confirmed.
But Sangster said he had not read the Tintin books until a few weeks ago.
He said: "But I've always loved the cartoons. I never saw the books because I was never that big on reading. When I was really young I watched some episodes and loved it.
"For such a small kid he's very good at beating people up and, nowadays you know, there's all that 'we can't be violent'," the teenager added.
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