When Emil Martirossian was a child he pointed to a picture of Bruce Lee and told his father "I want to be like him".

Now aged 22 and living in Brunswick Place, Hove, Emil is following in the actor's footsteps by launching a career in showbusiness.

Emil, who is the European Tae-Kwon-Do champion, has already appeared in The Bill and is now preparing for a Carlton TV series called KungFu 2000.

He also had a small role in the latest James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough, as a Turkish villain.

He said: "Beyond my obvious passion for all forms of performing arts, I have a great attraction towards martial arts, a sport I have been practising for over 15 years.

"Besides having a great love of the philosophies behind the movements, I enjoy staging fights for the screen and, in that way, acting as a choreographer."

He describes Lee, who appeared in many martial arts films, as his mentor.

Emil said: "I feel like dedicating my whole career to this man who has never ceased to live for me and millions like me."

Emil was born in Iran and grew up in Armenia, but fled the revolution there when he was nine.

He began his martial arts training in 1983, when he joined the World Tae-Kwon-Do Federation.

He became a junior Judo champion in Worthing three years later and last year earned a third-degree black belt and qualified as a Tae-Kwon-Do instructor.

He said: "Even in my country we used to have pictures of Bruce Lee everywhere. Ever since I was six, I said to my father I want to be like him."

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