Sheppey movie actor Colin Burt Vidler admits he won’t win many beauty awards – but that doesn’t bother him.

The owner of the Invicta guest house has become somewhat typecast playing London gangsters, Russian baddies, boxers and all-round tough guys.

He said: “Somehow, I always end up playing nasty types.

“But that’s the way it is. I can’t help the way I look. I look brutal.”

It’s not surprising because the dad-of-three is a former professional boxer in real-life who fought under the somewhat intimidating title of The Hammer.

He can still be seen pounding along the pebbles of Sheerness beach most mornings.

But beneath this menacing head-shaven appearance he can be a pussycat.

He has donated one of his guest house rooms to Jimmy Jukes’ Homes 4 Heroes charity, and regularly lets homeless ex-servicemen stay there free of charge.

He has also waived his fee for starring in new movie called Ten in support of the Invicta Foundation military charity.

The film was written and directed by ex-Para and former Royal Military Police officer Craig Wyting from Colchester, who experienced first-hand how badly ex-service personnel can be treated.

When he returned to Civvy Street after serving his country for 22 years, Craig was stunned to discover the only benefit payment he was entitled to was just 10p – hence the name of the film. For a while the letter hung in a frame from Craig’s kitchen wall.

Colin, 45, plays war hero Sgt Major Knox, known to his troops as ‘Ten’ because he is on his 10th and final tour of duty.

He is holed up in Afghanistan with a war correspondent played by Claire Walmsley-Moss.

Colin admits he had no previous experience of Army life, but he said: “I can understand how soldiers feel after spending years in the Army and then suddenly having to fend for themselves in Civvy Street.

“As a professional boxer, I lived for the buzz of being in the ring.

“Nothing can complete with that. But when you have to give up there is suddenly a gaping hole and your brain can’t understand why. That’s how it must have been for Frank Bruno.

“You are trained to live every second of every minute of every hour of every day for the ring or for the Army, and then suddenly you have to go back to a normal life. But that’s the problem. By then, you’ve forgotten what normal is.”

Ten is Craig’s first feature film. Incredibly, he completed the four-year labour of love with no budget.

He founded production company 2BlokesFilms with his friend Simon Marsh. Paul Johnson has since joined them.

Craig said: “Colin has made a huge contribution to this project.

“Finding someone to take on the role of the main character was never going to be easy.

“But after seven months of searching it soon became clear Colin was the first and only choice. No one else ever came close.

“He is to be praised for taking on such a demanding role where every bit of his character had to deliver the message of the story.

“He should be very proud of himself. He is a gent and a true professional in front of the camera. We look forward to seeing him in many more productions.”

Colin even provided his own ex-Army costume, buying it from Jimmy Jukes’ former Homes4Heroes shop in Sheerness.

Since falling into movie-making relatively late in life, six years ago, the gravel-voiced actor with the broken nose and piercing blue eyes has studied stage combat training and completed a screen acting course at Pinewood Studios. Ten is his first lead role.

He admitted: “It was a tough movie to make. I had pages and pages of dialogue to learn. But as a boxing coach I am used to shouting at people. That seemed to work!”

“I always loved movies, and grew up watching old westerns and war films with my dad.

“But my acting skills are from living life in the raw and from past jobs.

“For me, my acting school is living every single day.”