A YOUNG actor from Kidderminster has high hopes of stardom after beating 2,000 other aspiring thespians to one of around 30 places at a London drama school - and a scholarship worth almost £10,000.

Daniel Ryan was a founder member of Kidderminster Operatic and Dramatic Society Youth Section at the age of nine and has achieved a scholarship to study for a three-year BA Hons degree in acting at the Mountview Academy in London.

The former Kidderminster College student - who aims to follow in the dramatic footsteps of his acting hero, Richard E Grant - has taken part in more than 30 productions in the last 10 years, with societies including The Nonentities, 282 in Blakedown and ACT in Stourport.

He is also the lead singer of a rock band called The Solemn Promise, which is working on its second EP and has performed gigs at venues across Wyre Forest, as well as in Birmingham, Telford and Wolverhampton.

The multi-talented teenager has also just finished starring in a short film called 4 Fine Artists, which he and 17-year-old writer/director, Tom Doyle, from Belbroughton, are hoping might be shown at film festivals around the world.

"If the band does well then that is fantastic but acting is where my main focus is at the moment and is what I've always wanted to do for a living," he said.

"Over the past few weeks, I've been doing a couple of short films for a friend in Belbroughton and we've just finished a 40-minute one called 4 Fine Artists.

"This has been sent off to film festivals round the world, including three in America, seven in the UK and a couple in Europe and one in Australia."

He added: "Tom is only 17 and some of his work is absolutely fantastic."

Daniel explained he also won a place on at Mountview - which has famous graduates including Helen Mirren and Amanda Holden - last year but had failed to obtain funding for the course, so reapplied this year, securing a scholarship worth £9,500.

"I'm not sure how many people applied this year but I know that they only take about 30 new students a year for the degree out of about 2,000 applicants, so I'm really pleased to have got in," he said.

"I was hoping to get in this year but had prepared myself for not doing, so it came as a nice surprise when I found out last Friday."

He added he could not wait to move to the capital city from his family's home in Hume Street when the course starts in September.