It's not that William Byrne is unfulfilled playing our Lord and Saviour... it's just that he'd really like to be a film star.

He hasn't had much experience in that field so far, although he did start at the top.

"Just the one film to date," he says. "It was Braveheart, with Mel Gibson."

You might not have spotted Byrne from the two-and-sixpennies at your local Odeon. He had the part of "villager" in one of the battle scenes.

"It was shot in Ireland, you see, quite close to where I was living, and they needed all the Equity members they could get," he says.

"Hopefully in the future I might take a slightly more prominent role. But it was great experience, being able to watch what happens on a film set. It's like playtime for adults - cowboys and Indians, and all that. Very different to what goes on in a television studio."

Television is Byrne's home territory, especially in his native Ireland.

Before committing to the West End run of Jesus Christ Superstar, and then to the title role in the mammoth national tour which arrives in Bradford next week, he was rarely away from the RTE studios in Dublin.

On one occasion he sang in a group attempting to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. "Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't know which, we came fifth," he says.

"But I sang on most of the big-rating evening shows over there. Then I went into musical theatre."

Byrne performed in Cabaret, Grease and Chess, and then toured Europe in Scrooge. His present role in Superstar takes him right through to next summer - an emphatic affirmation of the enduring popularity of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's classic musical.

The show underwent a technical adaptation to bring it out of the West End and on to the road. In London it was staged in the round, with the audience sitting behind the stage as well as in front of it - a format which made it unsuitable for presentation under the traditional proscenium arches of most provincial theatres.

"But it's still the same show," says Byrne. "Nothing has been compromised.

"For me, it's like a working holiday. I get to see parts of the UK for the first time.

"This week, we're in Canterbury. Beautiful little town. And next week we're coming to you in Bradford."

Oh dear. He's not expecting Bradford to resemble Canterbury, is he?

"I believe in taking everywhere on their merits," he says, with commendable Irish charm. "I hear you do great curries up there."

Jesus Christ Superstar begins a two-week run at the Alhambra, Bradford, next Tuesday. For tickets availability, call 01274 752000.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.