William Moseley Biography

Date of Birth

27 April 1987 Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire, England, UK


Birth Name

William Peter Moseley


Nickname

Wizzle


Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)


Mini Biography


William Peter Moseley was born on April 27, 1987, in Gloucester, England, to Peter Moseley and Julie Fleming. He is the eldest of three children with a younger sister named Daisy and and younger brother named Ben. His father's name is also William's middle name.

Described by those who know him as a rather opinionated young man who knows his own mind, he wanted to be act since he was 10 years old. The young actor had a small role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2002) (TV) as Forrester, and he was cast as an extra in Cider with Rosie (1998) (TV). However, his big break came when he was cast in the part of Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), picked out of thousands of boys for the role. He hopes he won't end up type-cast as Peter and to go on to carve a successful, well-rounded career in acting and directing in the future.

William completed Year 13 in 2006, with A Levels in Media Studies, English and Drama. In autumn 2006, he moved to New York for several weeks to study acting under Sheila Gray, where he trained at the famous Gleeson's gym in Brooklyn in preparation for filming The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).

He is the eldest son of Peter Moseley, a cinematographer, and Julie Fleming.
He has a younger sister Daisy (b. 1989) and a younger brother Ben (b. 1992).
As a 7-year-old, he used to listen to the Chronicles of Narnia audio tapes. He read the books eight years later in preparation for his role as Peter Pevensie in the film adaptation The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
He had to repeat Year 12 because he had taken so much time off school while filming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
Casting director Pippa Hall was responsible for casting William as an extra when she was filling roles for Cider with Rosie (1998) (TV) back in 1998. Seven years later, when casting for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), she remembered him and recommended him for the role of Peter.
From the first day of auditioning for the role of Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), it took a further eighteen months before he officially won the role and was cast.
He attended Sheepscombe Primary School between September 1991 to July 1998.
He auditioned, unsuccessfully, for the role of Harry Potter.
Grew three inches during the filming of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).

Personal Quotes


What I hope is that I don't just become 'Peter from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.' I want to try and do something else to be a good actor and a respected actor.
We just enjoy everything so much. We just tried to relish each moment that we have together as a family and as individuals. The experience we've been given is, without question, the greatest experience of our life. It's just appreciating those things.
I don't think it can sink in. I don't think it really struck me when I first got the part what it was like. I'm fortunate, I'm lucky that it hasn't hit me yet. The weird thing is when you see yourself, as you're driving by, on a poster or you see yourself on a washing up box or something - it's so bizarre. It's just momentary, it's only within those brief few seconds when you see it then you move on with your day. I have a very good family, very good friends and I'm lucky that everyone has been so supportive and kind to me.
I can only hope there'll be a sequel made just because I had such an amazing time on this one. It was beyond every experience imaginable, it was basically a dream come true. For that dream to come true a second time would be quite amazing. Unfortunately I don't have the say.
"As corny as it sounds, I think that's the reason we were cast for these parts: we're so much like them." - on his co-stars and himself being cast in the Chronicles of Narnia
That's a good question. Actually no. Surprising enough we kept a boundary. There is a fine line as you've probably seen and we didn't overstep that mark. Yes, we're still very good platonic friends. We'll leave it at that. - When asked about his relationship with Anna Popplewell.
To put it simply, when Peter steps through the wardrobe, he's a boy. When Peter steps back out of the wardrobe, as the story finishes, he's a man. And, for me, I think I also became a man throughout the making of this film. Like Peter, I'm the oldest in my family. Like Peter, I strive a lot of the time for what's right, what's just. I think that's the reason each of the kids was cast for these parts - we're so like the characters we play. (Narnia production notes)
Narnia has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I feel lucky that I'm able to travel; I'm not stuck in my hometown, meeting the same kind of girls and saying hi to the same people, week after week. There are so many interesting, intelligent girls out there.
I have a fight scene with Sergio Castellitto, the wonderful actor who plays Miraz and whom I have a lot of respect for. At first, when the fight scene was being choreographed, a lot of it was done by stunt doubles. And then Sergio came in and did some of the fight. I didn't think he would be that good. He's kind of a small man. I didn't think much was going to happen. He's always joking and laughing. But when we did the scene, his eyes lit up. He came down hard on me and he just kept going. I was ducking and diving all over. Andrew called 'Cut' and he's like, 'That was great.' Andrew asked me, 'Would you want more of those?' I was like, 'Andrew, that was real! Sergio was really trying to kill me!' I was shaking. It was definitely scary; it really made me have a lot of respect for Sergio. (Inquirer.net, 2008)
I had absolutely no flipping idea. I got the part and ended up in this huge success which really threw my life around. I was just in the right place at the right time!