HE HAS come a long way since his early days treading the boards in Cabaret, Guys and Dolls and A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the amateur stage at Brockenhurst College.

Now one Southampton acting export is proving a big hit in Hollywood.

Ryan Beard has already starred in the renowned web series College Kids, which has now been commissioned by Fox Entertainment with a potential $5 million budget set in place to make it a TV hit.

The 23-year-old former Hounsdown School pupil, who grew up in Woodlands in the New Forest, has returned from his home in Los Angeles to Hampshire to film Have Beard Will Travel, a pilot television series made just for him and based on his adventures.

The Southampton episode of the spoof series will centre around the Titanic story in its centenary year.

During a visit to the Daily Echo’s offices in Redbridge, he told Your Entertainment: “Exciting times!

The new series I’m working on is really different and I’m loving being a part of it.

“British actors are highly regarded in the States in terms of comedy and it’s something I love to do. One of the people I looked up to as I was growing up was Andrew Sachs and there’s definitely a touch of the Manuels about my character. He’s always getting things wrong!

Ryan graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts as Best Actor and has since remained in California to ply his trade.

But he has not forgotten his roots, enjoying visiting family, catching up on Saints news, playing some holes at Paultons Golf Centre and moaning about the changeable weather while back in the UK for two weeks!