AN ACTOR from Canvey has moved a step closer to Stateside stardom by starring in an advert as a vodka-drinking werewolf.

James Lee Taylor swapped Essex for New York last year to take a place at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Now based in Los Angeles, James is the new star of a TV campaign for Three Olives vodka, taking over from fellow Brit, Golden Globe winning Clive Owen.

James, 28, said: “Playing a werewolf was something I could really sink my teeth into!

“My aim is to one day play James Bond, so this was a great place to start.”

James plays the part of a British werewolf in disguise in three adverts and an accompanying music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, who created pop videos for the likes of Rihanna and Taylor Swift.

The commercials started airing across American television this week. *dec 8* James shot the advert in Los Angeles in the midst of a hectic schedule as he films roles in a series of feature films due for release next year.

But he had to undergo gruelling preparations prior to filming so he could be transformed into a werewolf.

James said: “It was pretty hardcore - first they flew to meet me in London, where I had to have a cast made of my face.

“You breathe through a straw whilst they pour concrete on your face.

“It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, you had to be really calm and not panic.

“After that it was off to Harley Street to have my teeth mould measured up for my fangs and then to the opticians to have my eyes measured for my yellow lenses.

“On set it took around four-and-a-half hours to get into costume and another whole hour to get out.

“We were shooting 17-hour days.”

British cinema-goers will be able to see James next year in The Boy With The Thorn in His Side, by Welsh director James Marquand.