Jim Sturgess Goes Up Against the House

Luktic and Spacey, also the film's executive producer, were impressed. Their search for a local Boston student ended with a Brit.

"I was amazed that Robert Luktic wanted to cast me for the film,'' Sturgess said. "I'd never done an American accent before."

He worked hard to perfect the accent, as the Boston accent is such a distinctly regional sound. Luktic "didn't want him with a thick accent,'' Sturgess said. "We wanted him mild — not jumping out in any way."

As a result, Sturgess created a vocalization that "had inflections and colors of a Boston accent, but were very mild.''

Bacteria to Beatles

The fast-paced Vegas scene was a new world for Sturgess, who grew up in a small village outside London. He began acting in his parents' attic, inviting neighbors and cousins to be involved in plays he had written and directed.

Sturgess remembers one such living room production: "It was about bacteria living in your mouth. All these characters, it was bizarre … [each piece of bacteria] had its own personality … it was set inside a person's mouth!"

His big break came last year in Julie Taymor's "Across The Universe" — a project he was initially skeptical about. The film was described to him as a "Beatles musical." After his first audition, Sturgess had his doubts.

"It was a terrible idea," he said. "I didn't think it was a great project — I just turned up and sang some songs."

Next on his agenda? How about a certain Web-slinging super hero? Sturgess has been discussed to play Peter Parker in the Broadway stage musical version of "Spider-Man" that Taymor is producing, with songs by U2's Bono and the Edge. So far, Sturgess has just participated in a workshop, but he is confident the project will be a success.

"[Taymor] has the ability to take pop culture and give it a new spin,'' he said.