Eddie Izzard ''broke into'' Pinewood Studios when he was a teenager.

The 58-year-old star knew from a young age that he wanted to be an actor, so once he learned where films were made, he thought he'd try and carve out an opportunity for himself and set off for the famous studio.

He said: ''Film is my first love. I wanted to be an actor when I was seven - drama, comedy, it didn't really matter. And once I discovered films, around 10, 11, 12, I thought, 'You could be in films. I've got to do this.'

''So at 15, I broke into Pinewood Studios.

''At the end of 'Battle Of Britain', it said, 'Shot on location in Spain, England, and Pinewood Studios.' ''So I thought, 'How do I get there?' I got a map with all the towns listed alphabetically and found Iver Heath.

''I took a train from Bexhill to London, then a tube to Uxbridge, a bus to Iver Heath, got off at the roundabout. Where is Pinewood? Half a mile down the road.''

However, Eddie was turned away at the doors so sneaked his way in through a different entrance, but to no avail.

He continued to Total Film magazine: ''Marched down the road, said, 'Can I come in?' And they said, 'F*** off!' ''But there was another entrance and I walked in like Clint Eastwood in 'Where Eagles Dare'.

''I walked around for two hours, trying to get hired, and it didn't happen - but I have been back and filmed there twice.''

Having made his name as a comedian, Eddie has turned to acting in recent years but admitted dramatic performance doesn't come easily to him.

He said: ''I really turned the corner with dramatic acting between 'The Riches', going into 'United States of Tara', 'Treasure Island' and 'Lost Christmas'. I began to let go. I began to learn how to fly.

''I'd been doing stand-up for ages, and I completely let go in stand-up and I'd float around and see where I'm going.

''I was way too technical initially, I was all over the place, with drama, and then I got very technical when I began to bed in. That's just the way it is.

''Some people are natural from day one and I'm not - I have to go through bloody hell.''