IOAN GRUFFUDD - FLU LEFT GRUFFUDD STRUGGLING WITH SINGING ROLE

Welsh actor IOAN GRUFFUDD hired his old drama school music teacher to help him hit the high notes in new movie AMAZING GRACE - but still fears he failed to impress cast and crew. The FANTASTIC FOUR star fell ill with the flu just before he was due to shoot singing scenes in the period drama - and feels he wasted all his effort in trying to sound like he could hold a note. He says, "I was very confident coming to the project and I felt I'd be remembered for my singing. I did get my old singing teacher from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts to help me. "It had been 10 years since I'd seen him and he was one of my mentors at RADA, an influential teacher, so I was delighted to see him again. "We worked hard together and then on the day of the singing he helped me warm up. Then I get the flu and a cold and I've hardly got a voice. "It was a real strain and struggle to get it out."