From Byker to Belter

A diffident 16-year-old, Chris Beattie makes his screen debut as troubled drug-taking truant and football fanatic Gerry in Mark Herman's Purely Belter. Two years ago when his drama teacher put him forward for the role he expected very little. 'I thought going for something that big was good enough in itself,' he reflects. 'To find out that out of 500 other boys I'd got the part was unbelievable.'

Born and raised in Grangemouth, Sunderland, Beattie credits an early interest in drama to his light-opera-performing aunt and uncle. His previous roles in stage productions of Bugsy Malone, Guys And Dolls and The Music Man were some way from the earthy realism required in his film debut. 'I'm not from a rough family, we live in a good neighbourhood, I don't have an abusive father or involvement with drugs - Gerry is nothing like me. But I could relate to some things about him, like the way he really cares about his mother.'

It also helped that director Herman's previous films, Brassed Off and Little Voice, were firm favourites in the Beattie household. For his part the director was evidently intrigued by the way the young actor's shyness worked in front of the camera. 'I was actually told to stop shaking because I was so nervous at the first audition. When I got to know Mark a bit it got better. My parents knew when I was getting called back so much it must mean something. They never said anything but they twigged long before I did that I had the part.'

Required to skinny-dip in Kielder water reservoir and shoot emotionally fraught scenes with tyrant father Tim Healy, Beattie found filming a rewarding but draining experience. 'I did get caught up in some scenes - you never know how they will go. It's hard to get back to being yourself after some of them - you just have to snap out of it.'

Having just finished a short run in BBC TV series Byker Grove, Beattie is now studying acting at sixth-form college. He describes Purely Belter as 'a great confidence booster'. Now his sights are set far beyond the parochial confines of the North-east. 'Bruce Willis and Tom Cruise are who I watch. I'd like to follow in their footsteps and be a major Hollywood star. I have joined a gym, and I go regularly when I'm not filming. If I got an action part I know I'd have to strip off, get a tan and all. I'd certainly like to have a go.'