Guy: I'll always be Mike to UK fans

Former Neighbours actor Guy Pearce may be a big movie star these days, but he says he's still best remembered for his soap role in the UK.

The Emmy winner and star of films such as Memento, LA Confidential and new sci-fi action movie Lockout, will always be Erinsborough heartthrob Mike Young to a section of British fans.

"It's funny because it feels like I haven't even left Neighbours when I come back to England," Cambridgeshire-born Guy said.

"It seems so present in everybody's minds and I can't deny the fact it's nice to know it had the effect it did here."

That said, the fame that went with the Australian serial drama was difficult for him to cope with at the time, the actor admitted.

"I really recoiled from the instant stardom that the show attracted," he said.

He left the soap after four years then popped up in the odd TV series and even appeared in panto, before his brilliant breakout performance as an outrageous drag queen in 1994's The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.

"I thought, 'What a great film to do after Neighbours'," he said.

"I don't know if I had a plan. I was just taking whatever opportunities there were and trying to do the best I could."

:: Guy's latest film Lockout is in cinemas from Friday April 20.