I was born to be a film star says up-and-coming screen star Mel Michael

The next, he's putting on his best customer service smile to serve up fish and chips at the family business.

Variety is most definitely the spice of life right now for up-and-coming screen star Mel Michael.

"I have to admit, this past year has been a complete whirlwind," he says. "I'm loving it, but it's an understatement to say that it's been a little bit crazy."

"To have the chance of working with such people in my first real character film role is a dream come true really," says recently married Mel, who has set up home in Telford with his wife Fodoulla.

"Some people go through life not ever really knowing what they want to do. From the moment I stepped on to a film set, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I'm hoping that this will be my breakthrough role, and that doors will open up for me after this film's release. But we'll have to wait and see."

Born and raised in London with Greek Cypriot parents, Mel says he never considered following an acting career in his early years.

"I had no interest in drama whatsoever. I wasn't a very confident child, and back then I was more interested in football, computer games, and girls. I went to college without any idea what I wanted to do."

"I was parachuted into the final audition stage alongside others who'd had to go through six or seven auditions by then. People were wondering who I was, but the director obviously saw something in me, and I got the job."

It opened the door to a six-month shoot on the Harry Potter set at Leavesden, where Mel played one of the wizarding students from the school of Durmstrang. Lunchtimes would be spent getting to know fellow cast members, and he struck up a friendship with a then unknown British actor called Robert Pattinson.

"We'd talk about random bits of nothingness in our lunch hours. He was a really cool guy, but I'd never have guessed back then that he was destined to become a worldwide megastar in the Twilight films. It just shows how, if you're the right person in the right place at the right time – with the right skills – your career can take off.

"I hadn't known which way my life was destined to go until Goblet of Fire, but as soon as I was on the Harry Potter set I knew that acting was for me. It was a great time. Insane. The money was crazy!"

Harry Potter's magic wand had most definitely cast its spell on Mel.

At the end of the shoot, he began arming himself with the tools required for his chosen career. He signed up for drama training at Hendon Film Studios in London, studying hard for more than three years. It was here that he met Katherine of Alexandria director Michael Redwood, who even then was working on the project. "He was taking drama classes, but was also sneakily recruiting. This was nearly 10 years ago, and he was already well into planning the film by then. Thankfully he saw something in me, and signed me up."

But as Nero, Mel is a nasty piece of work. He smiles: "Yes, Nero's the one who gets called upon to do all the dirty work as the emperor's right hand man, whether that means kidnapping a young child, or stabbing Steven Berkoff in the hand. Yes, I really did have to do that.

"In real life, I consider myself to be a happy, smiling boy who's a bit soft – but what's the point of being an actor if you don't take on roles which challenge you, and take you out of your comfort zone? The fact that I got to play an absolute psychopath is something I'm really happy about! The movies is about escapism, isn't it?"

Mel remembers his first encounter with the legendary Peter O'Toole, who plays Cornelius Gallus, a Roman palace orator. "I've never been the sort of person who gets star-struck, but I did look at him in amazement. His acting, and his sheer presence, even at such an age, wows you. People like Peter O'Toole, and Steven Berkoff, have such an aura, they blow you away."

As well as Katherine of Alexandria and his screen baptism in the Harry Potter series, Mel has played an assassin in the spy sequel Johnny English Reborn and rubbed shoulders with international footballers like Theo Walcott in a Foot Locker TV commercial.

Movie-making has a habit of transporting some actors out of the real world, but Mel's life as a newlywed is keeping his feet firmly on the ground right now.

"I love Shropshire," he says. "We have set down roots with our new home, which we're currently busy redecorating. And my wife's family is based here too, which means there's always work for me at the family fish and chip shop, The Silver Fish in Tan Bank, Wellington."

So, anything else in the post-Katherine pipeline? Mel says: "Fortunately, yes. I know that unless you're a really established actor, there's no steady work. But I've already made a lot of contacts. My aunt is also involved in the film industry and is directing her first film soon, where I've been cast as the lead. This one is a romantic comedy drama, so I won't be called upon to break people's legs!

"I love feeling grounded, and my life in Shropshire is helping me to achieve just that. Everyone needs stability at their core. That's how you keep your life in perspective."

Carl Jones