ACTOR Michael Sheen has told all about his latest blood-thirsty film role which sees him playing a vampire.

The Port Talbot star plays Aro in the movie New Moon — part of the Twilight series — which is set to hit UK cinemas in November.

He said he had enjoyed a great time making the film — though missed out on some of the more glamorous locations of the shoot.

"The Twilight series certainly has a lot of fans, especially in America, and especially with young teenage girls. But I think that's mainly for Robert Pattison, not me! But it's great to be a part of it.

"My daughter Lily is a huge fan of the books, so that made it more exciting. I had a great time doing it.

"I had loads of questions on Twitter about it asking why I wasn't in Italy for the filming leg there, but my stuff was already done in Vancouver.

"All my scenes take place indoors.

"The sad fact is if all your scenes are indoors it doesn't matter where they're supposed to be set, you can film them anywhere, so I shot all my stuff in Vancouver. And then everyone went to Italy for the glamorous bit."

Michael, who now lives in Los Angeles, talks about the film in the new issue of Swansea Life magazine, which has him as this month's cover star.

The actor has joined the Twilight franchise for the second instalment. And he has nothing but praise for his co-stars, which include Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart.

He said: "It was great to see how serious they took it. All of the other actors were great, they didn't need any advice, they did a fantastic job.

"It's a huge phenomenon, the films as well as the books, so it's a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. But they all seem to get on really well, it was a really relaxed atmosphere. I wish I'd had longer on it."

But while Michael's role in New Moon is likely to make him an even bigger name in the US, he is still best known in the UK for roles such as Tony Blair, Sir David Frost and Kenneth Williams.

And he was recently seen portraying Brian Clough in The Damned United, which is out on DVD.

Michael said: "I enjoy doing a range of things. That's what I enjoy about acting, I get to do lots of different roles.

"It's great, I get to mix it up, vampire one minute, werewolf the next, then the Prime Minister and TV presenter.

"I've done a range of things throughout my career, it's just certain things more people have seen, they've had more profile, like Blair and Frost."

In the exclusive chat with Swansea Life, Michael also talks about life in LA, his school days and his time at the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre in Port Talbot.

And he also praises his parents, Irene and Meyrick, who still live in his hometown.

He said: "My mum and my dad have both been incredibly supportive throughout my life and it was only when I got to drama school that I realised that not everyone's mum and dad was as supportive as mine.

"There were some people in my year and whose had never been to see them in anything. I couldn't understand that, so I realised how lucky I was.

"Making them proud is really important to me.

"That was partly what was so great about collecting my OBE, seeing how excited my mum and dad were about it."