The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will not only rival Harry Potter at the box office this Christmas, it will catapult its young actors to stardom.
The classic tale by CS Lewis tells the story of four children who travel through a magic wardrobe into the land of Narnia, home to talking animals, a wicked witch and the god-like lion, Aslan.
The two Pevensie boys are played by William Moseley, 18, from Gloucestershire, and Skandar Keynes, 14, from London.
Youngest of the four is Georgie Henley, 10, who makes her professional acting debut in the film as Lucy and was chosen from 2,000 hopefuls.
Anna Popplewell, 16, who played Colin Firth’s daughter in Girl with a Pearl Earring, is already a screen veteran.
Ahead of the film’s world premiere in London on December 7, the Mail online spoke to the stars about the gruelling casting process, whether they formed friendships on set and how they are dealing with their new-found fame.
Had you read CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia stories before embarking on this film? And how did you visualise the finished film when you were working on it?
Anna Popplewell: I’d read the books when I was quite young and then re-read them during the casting, and I really enjoyed them just as much the second time around as the first. I thought they were such wonderful stories. When I actually saw the film for the first time I had really high expectations of it, and was prepared to be disappointed. But I wasn’t, it exceeded all my expectations and everything that I’d imagined was even bigger and better than I’d hoped.”
Skandar Keynes: I’d read them before and when I got the first audition I re-read The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. The way I imagined it would be a colourful and vibrant place and a happy, positive atmosphere – apart from the White Witch stuff. When I saw the film it was that vibrant, colourful, positive atmosphere which I had recognised as a child. So I was very happy with it.