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Blue blistering Barnacles, it's the new Tintin
Rashid Razaq, Evening Standard28.03.08
A south London sixth-former has landed the role of Tintin in a major movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg.
Thomas Sangster, 17, was chosen by the Oscar-winning director to star in his forthcoming film bringing the boy reporter of Belgian author Hergé's comic books to life.
The multi-million dollar trilogy is likely to propel the A-Level student into the Hollywood A-list if it mirrors the success of other recent literary adaptations such as Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter.
Spielberg has been collaborating with Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson to bring the iconic figure to the big screen, along with his faithful dog Snowy and his friend Captain Haddock. British actor Andy Serkis, best known for playing Gollum in Jackson's trilogy, has been cast as the drunken mariner.
Sangster, a child actor, appeared as Liam Neeson's son in Love Actually and with Emma Thompson in Nanny McPhee. The teenager, who is taking A levels in art and media studies and works part-time at a garage, admits he had not read the Tintin books until a few days ago.
He said: "I love the cartoons. I never saw the books because I was never that big on reading.
"Tintin is like a super boy scout.
He would hit people over the head with bottles. He was cool."
The child of theatrical parents - father Mark is starring as the mad hyena in The Lion King - Sangster is currently rehearsing for the latest Jane Campion movie.
The first Tintin movie is set to be released in 2010.
