HOLLYWOOD glitz and glamour are on the cards for a budding actor from St Albans who moved to LA earlier this year to chase his dream of movie stardom. Jaffer Chaudhry, aged 26, first moved to the film capital in February this after appearing in independ

HOLLYWOOD glitz and glamour are on the cards for a budding actor from St Albans who moved to LA earlier this year to chase his dream of movie stardom.

Jaffer Chaudhry, aged 26, first moved to the film capital in February this after appearing in independent films in England, including gang-culture movie The Last Move which will be out on DVD next month.

After abandoning his childhood hopes of becoming a famous cricketer, the former Verulam School pupil set his sights on fame in the movie industry as soon as he left the University of Surrey. He said, "In my family education comes first, but after uni, I was determined to do something I would really enjoy and that's always been acting".

Jaffer, whose family home is in Rowan Close, St Albans, secured an agent and a manager within a month of arriving in LA, and has since auditioned at Universal Studios, Fox and Warner Bros. His first stint is a film called Catch 44, a thriller in which Jaffer will be acting alongside Vinnie Jones and Burt Reynolds.

Jaffer has been accepted by Baron-Brown Studios, one of LA's best-known acting schools whose former students include Halle Berry and Sean Penn. He is currently back in the UK to pick up his work visa and is enjoying home comforts again. He said, "I have such a supportive family and I wouldn't be able to do it without them. They keep me in check -- my mum would be angry if I started to get big-headed about it all".

His younger sister Alia, aged 22, was especially proud and said she enjoyed charting the rise of her movie star brother. She added, "I think Jaffer's story will encourage people in St Albans to pursue their dreams, because it's an inspirational story".

Although Jaffer said he was a St Albans boy through and through, he has greatly taken to LA and is looking forward to building a career there. He said, "It's a strange place because everyone there is in the film industry. I'm surrounded by the right kind of people, and it's all working out so well".

The up-and-coming star said he would put everything into his acting career, and one day hoped to be a famous actor like his idol James Dean. Jaffer added: "It would be awesome if I could be even only half as good as Dean. My motto is to have no regrets: believe in yourself and your dreams can come true.