A YOUNG actor from Accrington hopes his first major role will prove a stepping stone to success on screen.

Jack Meakin's performance as Archie in First World War drama Pals For Life, which was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was screened at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester.

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The 18-year-old former Mount Carmel High School and St Mary’s College student said: “I was contacted directly by the director who asked me to be involved and as it was a local production about something very important.

“I felt very privileged to be asked and of course agreed to do it.

“It was just an amazing opportunity and I feel privileged to be a part of its history.”

Jack, who lives in Bold Street, is now studying at both Preston College and at Burnley-born Jody Latham’s School of Acting in Manchester.

He first realised he wanted to be an actor three years ago but, apart from a role in a Channel Five reconstruction, Pals for Life is his first major role in a feature film.

He said: “I play 15-year-old Archie, a scout who is sent to war to help out.

“He is the son of Soldier Henry, played by Mark Brent, of the Nelson Pals therefore he has a duty to live up to.

“I began researching the First World War time era and the scouts who were actually sent to war.

“It helped me a lot when getting into character, and it helped me have a better understanding.

“It was bit surreal for me at first, running through trenches which had actually been dug out the ground, with a camera right in my face.

“In fact, at one point I ran into the camera man and he fell back into the set.”

The lottery-funded production did not see any of its talent in front of camera, or staff behind camera paid, but was described an an ‘excellent opportunity’ to develop skills.

The film consists of three short films, produced in Salford, Preston, and Nelson, an examines life in the Pals battalions raised at the onset of war.

It was produced by Rowbot Street, a community-interest company that develops a wide range of media-based workshops.

Jack is now hoping to further enhance his career with more roles and said: “I attend acting school in Manchester tutored by Jody Latham from Shameless.

“I learn my techniques there and at college.

“This is my first production of this type.

“I have previously featured as a bully in a Channel 5 Reconstruction and now I am hoping to continue and get more roles that I can portray.