THERE cannot be many people who have swapped the streets of Warrington for the boulevards of Hollywood.

But for Dallam born Mike Hill, the world of Los Angeles glamour is where he plys his trade, as one of the world’s most successful movie sculpture and mask makers.

Such are his skills that the 41-year-old has received commissions from director Guillermo Del Toro and Playboy chief Hugh Hefner while he has worked alongside stars includingMel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.

And last Sunday he unveiled a statue of Christopher Reeve as Superman in Los Angeles, a city he now calls home.

He said: “I wanted to create a tribute to Christopher Reeve as Superman having been a fan since I was a child.

“Richard Donner, who directed the original Superman movie in 1978, said it was so realistic, and a perfect likeness of Christopher, that he had a hard time looking at it. It made him very emotional.”

His passion for monsters and superheroes was sparked reading old US monster magazines with his friend Paul Jackson, and watching black and white monster films with his nan.

After moving to Orford, he attended Montford High School where he would meet a man who would prove very significant in his life.

He said: “My drama teacher, Mr Sawyer was very influential in my life. I looked up to him a lot.

“We still stay in touch – in fact last year Albert and his wife came to stay with me in LA for a holiday.”

Mike, who has two sons Colum, aged 21 and Connah aged 18, who is moving to LA this year, took the decision to relocate to the US in 2005 as his business took over.

He explained: “After I finished school I got into sculpting and mask making which led to TV work and creating sculptures for model kits and collectable busts.

“I decided in 2005 that although I was getting commissions from all over the world, Warrington was not the place to be.

“So after much deliberation I packed a case and flew to LA.

“I had some contacts and after settling I began to gain notoriety as the ‘likeness’ artist, meaning I had a knack for being able to create somebody’s likeness from photographs, into a clay sculpture – I had been using my friends as guinea pigs for years.”

Mike returns to Warrington next week as part of a trip to the UK to be interviewed by a historian for a documentary celebrating the 50th Anniversay of the movie Curse of The Werewolf starring Oliver Reed.

And there is even more planned too.

He added: “Next year I plan on producing and directing my own movie and I’m hoping to shoot in Warrington. It’s based around a group of ordinary people who encounter something, not so ordinary.

“It’s a story I’ve wanted to make for around a decade and now I’m ready to bring it to life.”