SAM Claflin thought he might just get away with it.

After all, his co-stars on Snow White and the Huntsman were Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. Being American, South African and Australian, they weren't that likely, surely, to tease him about playing a character called Prince William.

Claflin's mates, however, showed no such restraint.

"They were like, 'How's Kate?' pretty much every single day. It was non-stop, but nothing that actually made me laugh," says the 25-year-old, laughing (probably a delayed reaction).

Between Julia Roberts's Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, it has been a vintage season for the fairest of them all. But then cinema has hardly been doe-like in its shyness when it comes to the Brothers Grimm tale of innocence and beauty triumphing over jealousy and evil.

From the first film version of Snow White in 1902 through to Disney's 1937 animated classic to the horror Snow White: A Deadly Summer, the raven-haired one has been the most popular fairy tale heroine, second only to Cinderella.

Claflin says his prince is a fresh take on the character. "He's based on the classic Prince Charming but in fact is very different. He's a lot grittier, more grounded and down to earth, a doesn't-mind-getting-his-hands-dirty kind of chap, fighting for what he believes is right."

Looking the part involved training in horse riding, archery and sword fighting, plus months of gym sessions beforehand. All of which had to be done in the evenings after finishing his day job at the time, playing Jack the laddish toff in BBC's White Heat.

In Paula Milne's down-the-generations drama, which stretched from the idealistic Sixties to present times, Claflin played a young man of privilege out to change the world. Jack was troubled, complex, rebellious, and at times a complete pain in the Sixties. "It's every actor's dream to be able to make someone like that as loveable as possible. It's quite hard to fall in love with the character of Jack."

It was easier to fall in love with the music. "The music was the thing that inspired most things for me. It was what I'd listen to just before a scene to get me in the mood."

Milne's script listed song suggestions, and Claflin took these as a starting point for some serious research. "I downloaded every single one of those songs, then every single album those artists had done. Then I did my own research and got into other music of the time." The band he adored the most turned out to be The Animals.

Besides music to marvel over there were the clothes of the time. Claflin went from the arthouse grunge of the Sixties to flares and leather jackets, with the former the style he liked most. He did take one item home. An Afghan coat maybe? "What's an Afghan coat?" he says with the fashion innocence of youth.

It's a no to the Afghan coat, but a yes to – a jumper. "I don't know if they know about that," he laughs. "It was a comfy jumper, one of those you put on an d think, oh my God I could lounge around the house in this all day. I asked my costume lady and she said she didn't think anyone would notice."

Claflin was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, in June 1986. Growing up with three brothers, it was a happy childhood but not, he admits, a fairytale reading one. "I can't say I was big into fairytales growing up, or reading in fact. I was one of those kids who spent most of his time in the woods up the road climbing trees and getting my knees dirty. I was injury prone; I think I spent most of my time in the hospital with a sprained ankle or a cut knee."

It was while out playing one summer that his ambition to be a professional footballer crashed and burned. Aiming for the ball, he kicked a divot instead and broke his ankle. Resting his leg over the summer, he became interested in acting, and it was acting that finally led to his Roy of the Rovers ambitions being realised.

Make that Edwards of Manchester United. Claflin played Duncan Edwards in United, James Strong's television drama about the Busby Babes and the Munich air disaster of 1958. Co-starring with Scotland's Dougray Scott as Matt Busby and David Tennant as assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, Claflin describes playing Edwards as "an absolute privilege". As with White Heat, he went all out to research the man and his times.

His take on Edwards was that he was "a gentle giant". Claflin says: "He didn't go and socialise with the boys too much, he was quite shy, but he would get dragged into the conversations a lot and he could hold his own. He was just so focused on football. Football was his life, his passion, his everything."

Claflin says the atmosphere on set was kept upbeat until the final scene. This was, after all, meant to be a portrait of young lads having the sporting time of their lives: "That was what it was all about." As a result of United, he now splits his allegiances between Norwich (his old youth team) and Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

After graduating from Lamda in 2009, Claflin's first film part was in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, a movie that is in the premier league of blockbusters when it comes to earnings. Not bad for a movie debut, and not too shabby either that he followed this up with Snow White.

He admits: "I've been spoiled rotten; the two feature films I've done have been on epic scales. It's like a dream world, the attention to detail, the size of the sets, the locations, the costumes." And then there's the co-stars, one of whom on Pirates was Johnny Depp, Captain Jack himself. Depp has a reputation for being supportive of younger actors, and so it was on Pirates, says Claflin.

"At the same time I didn't want to bother him or anyone too much. I kind of kept my head down and myself to myself. The amazing thing about shooting abroad is that you all tend to go out in the evening, you are all away from home, no friends around, so you become like a family unit. I did get to know him but at the same time I didn't want to be too pushy with my questions, asking for advice."

Claflin is about to begin shooting The Quiet Ones, which will be an altogether quieter affair than Pirates or Snow White and the Huntsman. Also starring Mad Men's Jared Harris, it's a horror about a professor who dares to experiment with human nature. As far as Claflin can say, his character is not a prince, or called William. So no more teasing about Kate then. All bets are off, though, if he turns up in that super-comfy Sixties jumper.

Snow White and the Huntsman opens on May 30.