FORMER Blackburn Rovers striker Nathan Blake has scooped an award – for acting!

The 42-year-old Welshman who scored 13 times in 55 appearances for Rovers was named Best Supporting Actor at the Film Fest Cymru (Welsh Film Festival).

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Mr Blake, who cost Roy Hodgson £4.2million when he signed from Bolton Wanderers in 1998, played a school football coach in short film The Homing Bird.

The striker left Rovers for Wolverhampton Wanderers shortly after the club returned to the Premier League in 2001 and retired from the game in 2006.

He also scored four times in 29 appearances for the Welsh national team.

The awards were organised by independent filmmakers It’s My Shout, who hosted screenings of a number of their recent productions as part of the four-day festival.

Last year, Mr Blake was nominated for the award after playing a taxi driver in Say It, another It’s My Shout short film.

The former striker said: “I’m thrilled with the award and it’s really exciting.

“It was a pleasure to be a part of and I enjoy doing things that are a bit out of left field for me.

“It took me out of my comfort zone but I really enjoyed the whole experience.

“I have no idea what the future has in store for me and if nothing comes of this then that’s ok. But then again I could be Hollywood in six months time so you never know.”

Mr Blake isn’t the only former Blackburn Rovers footballer to make the move on to the big screen.

In 1981, Argentina legend Ossie Ardiles, who played five times for Rovers during a loan spell from Tottenham in 1988, appeared in prisoner of war movie Escape To Victory alongside Sylvester Stallone.