Masters of the Universe actor praises Jersey arts

A star of the new Masters of the Universe film has praised Jersey's arts culture for giving young people a vital creative space.

James Wilkinson, who was born in Jersey, plays Mekaneck in the blockbuster which was released in the UK on Wednesday and includes the return of 1980s comic book character He-Man.

Speaking to BBC Radio Jersey ahead of the release, Wilkinson said he felt lucky to grow up in the island where he was able to hone his skills.

He said Jersey had a "great infrastructure" for encouraging the arts and it was important for children to have a creative space to be themselves.

Wilkinson attended Mont Nicolle Primary School and Les Quennevais secondary school in Jersey where he acted in school plays.

He said he went on to take part in the Eisteddfod and performed musical theatre shows at the Jersey Arts Centre and the Opera House.

"I think it really encourages the arts. I was really lucky to have that as a sort of an outlet as a kid," he said.

"I think it's really important to let children be able to have that, have that kind of creative space to be themselves really.

"A certain rigidness comes from being at schools and having a drama as an expression for kids, I think is really, really important and Jersey's great at that."

The Masters of the Universe reboot also stars Idris Elba, Camila Mendes, Jared Leto and Nicholas Galitzine as hero He-Man.

Wilkinson said he had to go through an "intense crazy audition" for two hours to land the role.

"We were doing parkour, we were doing wire work, we were doing sword work and pads and fight choreography and everything that they could throw at me in two hours, they did," he said.

Wilkinson said acting in the film was the "biggest thing to date" that he had done in his career.

"I'm still kind of pinching myself if it's real or not," he said.

"I think people are going to really enjoy it."

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