He may be playing a teenage loser with a dog as his only friend, but not many people can say they directed their first film at the age of just 23.
For Maesycwmmer actor Craig Roberts, this is the reality after production started on Just Jim, being filmed in his home town.
As well as directing, Roberts stars as Jim, whose best friend leaves him for the ‘cool’ kids.
Things turn around when he meets his new, handsome but on the run neighbour Dean, played by Emile Hirsch, who offers him lessons in coolness and motivation.
The talented actor also wrote the screenplay that will be filmed over just three weeks.
Roberts most recently starred in 22 Jump Street and Bad Neighbours and is joined by up-and-coming Hollywood star Hirsch, who turned heads with his roles in Lone Survivor and Into the Wild.
The Lewis School Pengam pupil got his first major break in the BBC TV production of Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series before appearing alongside Ben Stiller in the teenage comedy-drama Submarine.
Talking about filming and directing in Maesycwmmer, Roberts said: “It’s surreal to be back in my home town shooting a movie.
“I’m excited to work with a great cast and I hope Emile likes Maesycwmmer.”
Craig Roberts will next appear with Gavin and Stacey star James Corden in Kill Your Friends, set during the height of the Britpop craze in the 1990s.