A shooting star is born

A teenage footballer who has never acted before is competing against Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson for honours at the Cannes Film Festival.

Martin Compston, 17, heads a cast of unknowns in Sweet Sixteen, a gritty tale by British director Ken Loach.

He has been nominated for the Best Actor Award, taking on established British talents Ralph Fiennes, Timothy Spall and Steve Coogan as well as Nicholson for his role in About Schmidt.

Compston, a member of the first-team squad at Scottish Second Division side Greenock Morton, said he could not believe his luck in being at the festival.

'Last week, I was cleaning football boots. This week I'm sitting on a beach with movie stars enjoying the free bar,' he added.

In the film, set in his home town of Greenock, he plays Liam, who turns to drug peddling while waiting for his mother to be released from prison in time for his 16th birthday.

'I know so many people like that. It wasn't acting,' the teenager said. 'My experience of real life was my research.'

But Compston, who admitted he nearly did not go to the audition for what he thought would be a 'daft wee play', said: 'My ambitions are still with football.'