Meet 'Prince William'

New Zealand actor Nico Evers-Swindell. Photo / Getty Images

The Kiwi actor playing Prince William in a film has spoken for the first time of his excitement about the role.

Nico Evers-Swindell, cousin of rowing champions Georgina and Caroline, said reaction to his casting had come as a shock: "I wasn't expecting all of this attention."

American television network Lifetime is creating the movie William and Kate about the couple's nine-year romance

Evers-Swindell was "thrilled" to be part of the project.

He is immersing himself in the royal family "to better understand how Prince William sees his place in relationship to family duties and responsibilities".

Camilla Luddington will play William's fiancee Kate Middleton. The movie is expected to air in the US a week before the real wedding on April 29.