A FORMER East Lancashire student has rubbed shoulders with A-list film stars after he landed a role as a writer for the new X-Men movie.

Gareth Kirkbright, 23, was in Montreal earlier this month to help shoot scenes for the X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is due to be released next year.

He is also due to start work on Avatar 2 and Into the Woods, starring Johnny Depp, in the next few months.

Burnley-born Gareth admitted he has to pinch himself at times to make sure his career is real.

He said: “I feel extremely lucky. X-Men was a great experience. Being in the sci-fi genre, it was fascinating to see their style of film-making and as a writer it gives you much more scope for creativity.

“I'm surprised how comfortable I felt on set, discussing my adapted dialogue with Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart.”

Gareth, a former pupil at Colne Park High School, started his career as an actor with Pendle Hippodrome Youth Theatre, Burnley Youth Theatre and Pendle Borderline Theatre Company.

He studied English, drama, and media and film at Nelson and Colne College before he was accepted into the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain where he performed in the West End.

When his writing skills were noticed by the BBC, he secured interviews with 20th Century Fox, who signed him up.

Gareth said: “My time at Nelson and Colne College was invaluable. I was introduced to film-making and theory and ultimately this inspired me.

“My role is a development writer. Fox will buy a script from the writer then it is my job to write and control the script from that point onwards.

“There is only one development writer with any film. Whether that means changing dialogue, character or location, I have to adapt this.

“I also play a big part on-set and in the rehearsal process. If the director figures the script is lengthy or would like me to bridge two scenes together then I script a way for this.”

But Gareth, formerly of Varley Street, Colne, now lives in Dubai and has launched his own independent film company, Fresh Faced Films.

He said: “My hope for the future is to become both writer and director.

“I'm always going to bring my British, and particularly Lancastrian, experiences to my work.”