The strange tale of Carlisle lad Decca Heggie has taken another twist after being cast alongside Michael Gambon in an upcoming film.

The 32-year-old from Harraby will feature as Blockie Johnson in My Name is Lenny , a biopic of notorious London hard-man, actor and criminal, Lenny ‘The Guv’nor’ McLean.

Naturally, as well as some acting, he'll be doing a bit of fighting too.

It all came about while Decca was involved in a documentary about Lenny McLean: "His son approached me at one of my fights about appearing in the movie.

“He said I had an aura - little old me from Carlisle."

The film, due for a 2017 release, will also star X-Men and Mad Max actor Josh Helman in addition to Gambon - Dumbledore in Harry Potter .

British productions about notorious hard-men and criminals have had a good deal of success in recent years.

In particular, biopics of the Kray Twins ( Legend ) and Charles Bronson ( Bronson ) went down well with critics and at the box office.

Decca, who struggled with cocaine addiction throughout his twenties, took up fighting and religion after a chance encounter with a priest.

He said: "I had a bit of an episode where I collapsed and nearly died.

“I took up fighting to give myself a bit of focus in life.

"I feel like I have served my apprenticeship and I am hopefully heading for the big time.”

An autobiography detailing Decca’s turbulent life is in the pipeline and slated for a Christmas release.

Preparations for the September-shoot may not be as punishing as they might be for a bare-knuckle brawl – but that’s not to say there won’t be some blood, sweat and tears.

He said: "We've got to rehearse through the night and then film through the day.

“And I've never had any sort of drama teaching.

"I'll treat it like I treat a fight: I'll give it my all."

Despite admitted he is ready to give up boxing to pursue his new career, but he must first compete to be crowned ‘The Gov’nor’ in October.

The biggest fixture in the bare-knuckle fighting calendar is fought in Lenny McLean's honour.

The 18-stone fighter, who is being lined up for future roles, has had to overcome another affliction to get to this point.

He said: "I used to be camera shy.

“But I am super confident now, I think I'll be a natural.

“I have taken my life one step at a time from drugs to fighting to movies and, to be honest, I'm humbled.

“Nothing fazes me now, I never feel out of place."

Like all good thespians, Decca doesn’t want to be typecast.

He said: "I could see myself as a ladies man, a Romeo."

Stranger things have happened – most of them to Decca.