SUBMARINE star Craig Roberts has come home to Maesycwmmer to film his directorial debut Just Jim.

As well as directing, the 23-year-old is also starring as the film’s title character Jim, a teenage loser whose life is turned inside out by an enigmatic American neighbour Dean played by Into the Wild actor Emile Hirsch.

Filming in Maesycwmmer has begun and will be taking place over the next three weeks.

Mr Roberts shot to fame when he landed his first major role at the age of 19 in Richard Ayoade’s indie hit Submarine, for which he won a Welsh BAFTA for best actor and the London Critics’ Circle Film Award for Young British Performer of the Year.

This year, Mr Roberts has appeared alongside Zac Efron and Seth Rogen in Neighbors and in 22 Jump Street with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.

His first shot at directing came last year with the music video for Avocado Baby by Cardiff band Los Campesinos.

Just Jim was selected as one of three finalists of Ffilm Cymru Wales’ emerging talent scheme, Cinematic, in partnership with the BFI Film Fund, BBC Films, Creative Skillset, S4C and Soda Pictures to support emerging film-making talent from Wales.

Mr Roberts said: “It’s surreal to be back in my hometown shooting a movie.

“I’m excited to work with a great cast and I hope Emile likes Maesycwmmer.”

Actors Aneirin Hughes, Nia Roberts, Richard Harrington, Matthew Aubrey and newcomers Ryan Owen and Charlotte Randall have also landed roles in the film, which is due to be released by Soda Pictures next year.

Mr Roberts recently finished work on Kill Your Friends, a feature adaptation of John Niven’s cult novel of the same name, directed by Owen Harris, alongside About a Boy star Nicholas Hoult.