Ronan Keating Makes His Movie Debut

Ronan Keating has spent 13 years trying to break into the movie industry, and hoped to make his big screen debut in the recent adaptation of Les Miserables.

The singer and X Factor judge, 36, had high hopes for landing the role of Marius in the critically celebrated film – a role that eventually went to Eddie Redmayne.

“I auditioned for Les Mis. Les Mis would have been perfect for me. I was very confident, but no they didn’t pick me,” Keating told WHO.

It’s one of several big name movies the Irish star has auditioned for over the years - others included Moulin Rouge and The Hobbit ¬– while taking acting classes and voice training to improve his skills.

“I read for Baz [Luhrmann] for Moulin Rouge 12 years ago, and he saw something, but I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t good enough,” admits Keating, who admires actors like Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.

“So I’ve worked at it. And what I’ve learnt is I need to stop trying to act. Just try and walk on and be as natural as possible. And that took a lot of work to try and understand that.”

All the hard work has paid off. Keating stars in the new Australian musical comedy Goddess, about a stay-at-home mum (played by Laura Michelle Kelly) who becomes an internet singing sensation while her husband (Keating) is away saving whales.

“I’m really excited about Goddess. For this film to do well is really important to me, because it’s my first and I’ve believed in this project for a long time,” Keating says.

Goddess, which opens nationally on March 14, gave Keating a taste for movie-making, and later this year he is set to begin work on his second big-screen feature in Ireland, in a part he describes as “not what people would expect, not a romantic role”.

But he’s still holding out to one day land his “dream gig” in a movie like X Men: “Every boy wants to be a superhero you know!” he says with a grin.

To read our full interview with Ronan Keating, pick up this week's issue of WHO, on sale now.