A self-styled “cheeky Cockney actor” nominated for a gong at the Welsh Baftas has declared: “Frankie is definitely going to Hollywood.”

Frankie Oatway, 52, landed a starring role in award-nominated short film The Ref in 2011, playing a straight-talking boxing referee.

The film missed out on the top prize for short films at a swanky ceremony held in Cardiff last month – but Frankie has plenty of options lined up as he seeks to hit the big time.

And he explained he has come a long way since first being approached to go into acting in 2009.

“I was a builder for many years, particularly in the East End,” he said.

“But I was in a bar in Sydney – where I was in the process of emigrating – and a casting director came up and said I had a great face for film and TV. I thought I might as well take it seriously.”

After arriving back in London he moved into Wentworth Street, Spitalfields, and was approached by The Ref’s producer, Tom Green, in 2011, for the starring role.

Having got several films under his belt, Frankie is now moving into TV, playing a dodgy car dealer in Strippers on the National Geographic Channel.

The role has given him the chance to show off his talent for Cockney slang, which he thinks is helping him widen his audience as he continues his quest for fame.

“They are getting a real version of an actor relating to the streets of London,” he said.

“The language has got an attraction for people young and old. One reason is because it’s colourful, another is it’s very funny, and thirdly I have my own version of that.”

It is that combination that leads him to conclude so confidently: “It seems Frankie is definitely going to Hollywood.”