Interview: Unknowns' big step on the road to fame and fortune

From Rebel Without A Cause to Saturday Night Fever, such iconic films shaped the careers of their lead actors James Dean and John Travolta, and now a new British film looks set to make household names of three more unknowns: Jack Doolan, Tom Hughes and Christian Cooke.

Set in 1973, Cemetery Junction is a funny and poignant tale depicting the universal theme of feeling trapped in a small town and dreaming of escape.

Written and co-directed by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, at the story's heart are three childhood friends whose dreams and ambitions for the future are threatened by the limitations they feel in the present.

After casting Jack as the loveable loser, Snork, Gervais and Merchant set their sights on finding "the country's equivalent to James Dean and a young John Travolta". Auditioning most of the country's 20-something actors, Merchant says it made him realise "how everything's so class specific over here", with actors either "geezers" or "remarkably posh".

Then they came across Cooke, from Menston, and Hughes, both 23. Not only did they have the physical attributes to play the handsome and thoughtful Freddie and the cool and dangerous Bruce, but the chemistry between the

three actors felt right from the start.

"We read together and it really felt right, we really bounced off each other," says Jack, who was paired with a number of Freddies and Bruces throughout the audition process.

But pre-production on a film is a slow process and it wasn't until a month after their initial read-through that the trio were invited back for a final reading, during which time they'd forged a firm friendship.

"When we went to that final meeting, it was a bit like, 'Right, well we've come as a package' you know."

And within a couple of nail-biting hours following the final read-through, both Christian and Tom had received the news they'd been hoping for.

Relative newcomers not long out of drama school,

the idea of auditioning for Merchant and Gervais could have proved overwhelming, but the trio say it was anything but.

As the cocky and charismatic Bruce, the self-deprecating Tom adopts a similar strut to the likes of Liam Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft in the film and, despite his good looks, admits being in awe of his character.

"When we were filming I used to go home and be like, 'I can't handle it, I'm not as cool as Bruce, I wanna be that guy!' So when we'd finished, I clung to him for as long as I could. I went out every night for two months and was trying to give it the big one, but I really prefer to stay in," he says, laughing.

Christian, the seemingly more serious of the three,

who boasts pretty-boy looks on a par with Zac Efron, shares numerous scenes

with Gervais, who plays Freddie's dad in the film.

"It's been a privilege working with Stephen and Ricky," he says with the hint of a Leeds accent.

"They've been heroes of mine in a way, so to work with them on such a great script was truly exciting. You do need to raise your game when you're with people like that."

On set, the directors encouraged the actors to develop their characters, which included improvising some lines.

"It's quite interesting because invariably when you try to throw lines in you end up going back to the ones that were written because they're just brilliant and they're better," says Tom.

"Yeah, what's the likelihood of us coming up with something that's funnier than those two, you know? They wrote arguably two of the funniest TV comedy shows there has ever been."

"That's very true but I think it's also true that they're not precious," adds Tom. "Their instincts are incredible and coupled with their technique, it's just mind-blowing. I learnt so much about comedy from those two."

Says Christian, joining in: "They were really good at helping us make the right choice for a scene and they were very plain about telling us if they liked something or didn't and that made working with them much easier."

Having played three talented young lads on the cusp of even greater things, the bond they've forged in real life is palpable.

"Our characters aren't that dissimilar to us," says Christian.

"Yeah, there's elements of all of us in all of the characters. That's one of the joys of the film," adds Jack. "These characters are universal. You've got the cool guy, you've got the sensitive guy and you've got the geek and that's Only Fools and Horses, that's a million and one comedies.

"It's best friends, isn't it?"

Fact File

Ralph Fiennes stars as Freddie's small-minded boss, Mr Kendrick.

Snork's tattoo was designed by Ricky Gervais on a napkin when the original was deemed too artistic.

Matthew Goode, fresh from appearing in A Single Man, stars as the smooth salesman, Mike Ramsey.

Jack Doolan rehearsed for five weeks for the Slade routine and says it was "one of the most nerve-racking things" he's ever done.

The train station used in the film is the station museum at Loughborough in Leicestershire.