Playing a cow in the school nativity might not be the most glamorous of starts but Leytonstone actor Michael Matias managed to make himself stand out from the herd.

Luckily he was playing the front end of the beast and his singing part set him on the road to stardom and he is about to appear on stage at the Lyric Hammersmith as the lead role in Bugsy Malone.

“My teacher said I had got talent in singing and that I should do it for a living,” recalls the 14-year-old, “my mum asked if I wanted to and I said yes.”

The West Hatch High School pupil, who previously lived in Walthamstow had his first professional role when he was just seven as a member of the chorus in Joseph and his Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat.

He has also had parts in West End shows The Bodyguard and The Lion King and in the UK tour of Oliver!

Like the rest of us, he was charmed by the film version of Bugsy Malone, starring child actors Dexter Fletcher, Mark Curry, Jodie Foster and Scott Baio and splurge guns.

“When I first saw it I was amazed because there are kids playing gangsters and using guns so when I found out they were doing a show I wanted to be in it,” says Michael. “I liked the idea of being a gangster.

The actor, who admires Kevin Hart, Michael Jackson and Will Smith, originally auditioned for the role of Dandy Dan, but after seeing him perform, producers asked him to take on the role of Bugsy – the smooth-talking hero who falls for Blousey Brown.

So how does he feel about acting out the romance?

“When I was in The Lion King as the young Simba he and Nala had a romance, but really they were just good friends when they were young. In this we just have a kiss on the cheek, which is OK.”

Mum Sandra, dad Joe and younger sisters Maya and Makayla will all be there to cheer him on at opening night and the young star says: “I just love performing and entertaining people and hope to go to drama school.”

Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King Street, W6 0QL, April 11 to August 1. Details: 020 8741 6850, lyric.co.uk