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As Angus in "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep," Alex Etel rides on the mythical title creature, hanging on for dear life as his plus-sized friend carries him above and below the surface of a vast Scottish loch. But that's the movie, not real life.

"It was a jet ski with a big neck on the front of it," says Etel, describing his water mount. "I would sit on the neck acting like a fool, and there would be a stunt man driving the jet ski around."

Etel, 13, who lives in Manchester, England, was excited to win the lead in "The Water Horse," only his second film, now in theaters. He played the younger of two brothers who find a bag full of cash in director Danny Boyle's "Millions" when he was 8.

Filming "Millions" kept Etel close to home, so he was surprised when he learned that, aside from a few scenes in Scotland, he would be shooting "The Water Horse" in New Zealand.

"I was just shocked, because it's the other side of the world from where I live, so it was just weird for me," he says. "It's not the normal thing that people say, is it? `We're going to go to New Zealand to film a film that you're going to be in (that's) supposedly in Scotland.' "

Etel has appeared in one British TV series since "Millions," but this is the first time he's had to do an accent. He worked with a vocal coach even though he has Scottish relatives.

"My granddad's Scottish, but he's a Glaswegian, so it's really noticeably different," he says.

Etel did many of his own stunts in "The Water Horse."

"I think Jay (Russell, the director) just trusted me to do all of them because I like doing things like that," he says. "I like doing all the harness work and stuff. I think he knew that I wanted to do them, and he knew that I would be unhappy if I didn't, so he doesn't want an unhappy actor on his set."

Etel doesn't know if he wants to be an actor when he grows up.

"I'm just taking it bit by bit at the minute and just seeing how much I like it," he says. "I'm only 13; I can make my mind up in a few years.

"I've never really thought of it as a job. It's just like a hobby-type thing."

He says he's outgrown the "cute" label he earned in "Millions."

"No one really says that anymore," says Etel. "They say, `Oh, what happened?'

"I'm a bit older, and it's not the type of thing to say to a 13-year-old."