Eddie Redmayne thinks his posh upbringing gives him an edge over other actors.

The 31-year-old star attended exclusive British boarding school Eton followed prestigious Cambridge University and believes his privileged background has put him at the forefront of casting director's minds when it comes to period dramas.

He said: ''When HBO want a gritty, hard-bitten, authentically American character to head up a mini-series, they instinctively think: Old Etonian. I think our historic and literary heritage in this country means there are many good stories to tell and a lot of them tend to be period piece and I'm very lucky to be part of that.''

However, the 'Les Miserables' star is keen to break away from the upper-crust stereotype in the future and has begun accepting more daring roles.

He laughed: ''Actually I recently played a Texan meth addict. That's not type-casting!''

The handsome star credits his world-class training as a budding thespian during his time at Eton with his current success and says he was inspired by his hard-working drama teachers.

Eddie added to Radio Times magazine: ''They treated us like professionals and we had a state-of-the-art theatre which meant that the adjustment between school and working professionally didn't feel like that much of a leap.''