Elliot lives out fantasy role!

FINAL-year student Elliot Knight is living out a fantasy after being cast in a new TV series of Sinbad.

The 20-year-old Acting student has landed the lead role in the Sky1 action thriller alongside Sophie Okonedo and Timothy Spall, and is currently filming in Malta.

Sinbad is the talented Manchester School of Theatre trainee’s first major part – and he’s not even graduated yet!

The series, to be shown on Sky1 HD in 2012 promises a 21st century take on the classic 8th century tale, reinvigorating the hero’s adventures for a contemporary audience.

Celebrity cast

Alongside Elliot will be a host of well-known faces, including LOST’s Naveen Andrews as Sinbad’s nemesis Lord Akbari who will stop at nothing to destroy the young hero. Also guest starring in the series are Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) who plays the Queen of the Water-Thieves and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter) as Anicetus, The Old Man of the Sea.

On the run from his home town of Basra, the streetwise Sinbad finds himself cast out to sea. Surviving a violent and magical storm, he and his ship-mates are forced to band together and our hero embarks on an epic and emotional quest to of survival and self-exploration.

Elliot, from Northamptonshire, said: “I was thrilled when I heard I’d got the role. This is exactly what I have wanted to do since I was big enough to run around the garden waving a toy sword! Sinbad is a great character for any actor to be able to play: impulsive, adventurous, passionate, loyal and brave; a true hero.”

Huw Kennair-Jones, Sky’s Drama Commissioning Editor, said: “From the first moment we saw Elliot we knew that we’d found someone really special who sums up everything that our Sinbad should be – contemporary, spirited, full of life, wit and charm - he’s a truly exciting new talent.”

Stage to screen

The role is Elliot’s first screen role but he has plenty of acting experience on stage, having appeared at Manchester Royal Exchange (Dr Faustus) and in several student productions at the University’s Capitol Theatre, including Macbeth in which he played the lead role.

SINBAD is an Impossible Pictures production for Sky and BBC Worldwide produced produced by Grainne Marmion and directed by Andy Wilson.