ACTOR Steven Brandon has scooped a best actor award - and beat Michael Fassbender, Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne in the process!

Steven won the prestigious National Film Award on Wednesday night for his role of Luke in the independent film My Feral Heart.

The ceremony took place at Porchester Hall, London with the likes of David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst in the audience.

My Feral Heart was written by Duncan Paveling, who is from Westcliff, and was shot in Rochford, Rayleigh and Stambridge.

The story follows Luke who looks after his elderly mother and when she dies he gets taken into a care home, but doesn’t want to be there as he is perfectly capable of looking after himself.

Speaking about the experience of winning Steven, 35, from Colchester, said: "It was fantastic, emotional and amazing really."

Shana Swash was nominated for best supporting actress for her role of WHO.

In his speech Steven thanked the team as well as Michael Fassbender for "letting me win" and David Jason "For voting for me".

The video of Stevens speech was uploaded to the My Feral Heart Facebook page and has had nearly 4,000 views so far.

Duncan Paveling, said: "It was an absolutely amazing night! It came down to a public vote and Steven won. His acceptance speech was brilliant."

"People have really bought into the heartfelt film.

"The support for this film has been growing and growing. We released as a theatrical release in November 2016 and it ended on National Downs Syndrome Day March 21. There were 120 screenings just through word of mouth and public demand. People do want to see diversity and not just with race and gender.

"Parents with children with Downs Syndrome and young people with Downs Syndrome went to the cinema to see the film, who might not usually go, because they wanted to see themselves represented."

Steven's debut as the lead in the feature film has garnered attention and praise at a number of festivals World-wide; including Cinequest California and the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016.

The crew include director Jane Gull, Screenwriter Duncan Paveling, producer James Rumsey, editor Benjamin Gerstein, director of photography Susanne Salavati, production design Christian Taylor, supervising sound editor Christopher Wilson and composer Barrington Pheloung.

Cast includes Steven Brandon, Shana Swash, Will Rastall, Pixie Le Knot, Eileen Pollock and Suzanna Hamilton.

Visit www.myferalheart.co.uk for details.