AGED just 17, Zak Sutcliffe has shot his latest movie and is starring in a hit TV show - not bad for a boy who landed his first film days after starting drama classes in Bradford.

The Holme Wood teenager - who has worked with Hunger Games star Stanley Tucci, singer Paloma Faith and comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen - is back home after shooting a film in Italy, which he compares to Netflix sci-fit hit Stranger Things. Zak has also joined popular CBBC show 4 O’Clock Club, which starts a new series tomorrow.

Aged 14, he starred in lavish ITV production Peter and Wendy, which won a Junior TV Film award at the Emmys in America. He was also in Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2016 film Grimsby, attending the premiere in London, and was a young serial killer in TV crime drama No Offence, by acclaimed screenwriter Paul Abbott.

Short Cut, which Zak filmed in Rome and other Italian locations, is about classmates trapped inside a school bus with a mysterious creature on the rampage. “It’s a coming-of-age monster movie, like The Goonies and Stranger Things, but more of a gritty adventure,” said Zak. “We filmed in Italy for a month. Everywhere I went was rich in culture; one of the locations was an old military fort used during the war. I play Reggie, who’s angsty and rebellious. It’s Reggie versus the world! We’re a young cast and we had some control over our characters.”

In 4 O’Clock Club, about a school detention club, he plays Evan. “He’s a loner, he uses school to escape from his home life,” said former Tong High School pupil Zak.

He started at the Yorkshire School of Acting (YSA) aged 11 and after just two classes was cast in a short film. He went on to shoot Grimsby in South Africa. “Sacha Baron Cohen is terrifyingly intelligent; he’d come in and tear the script apart. I spent the first week sat on a couch, improvising - I learned so much,” said Zak, who was also in ITV drama Butterfly, starring Anna Friel.

“I learned a lot from Stanley Tucci too; watching him get into the mindset of Captain Hook. He’s a lovely guy. I’ve been blessed with some deep roles. No Offence was the first one I really got my teeth into. It made me appreciate good writing.”

One of Zak’s favourite actors is Oscar favourite Christian Bale. “It’s inspiring how much he commits to a role. He transforms himself,” he said. "My favourite movie is Predator; I love classic storytelling in a film. That's why I've enjoyed Short Cut so much."

Matt Zina, YSA principal, said: "Zak continues to progress as one of the most promising and exciting young talents this country has to offer. He's so brave with his choices and creates extremely watchable, exciting performances.

"People like Zak are the reason I set up the Yorkshire School of Acting - for real kids, not from the usual theatre school backgrounds and training them to act. They end up being much more authentic and real."