It'll be hard to recognise Go Girls star Jay Ryan in his new character.
Ryan's new role in a pilot episode of Beauty and the Beast will be under prosthetics, wigs and other beastly necessities. Ryan left Auckland on Thursday and began shooting the pilot almost as soon as he landed in Toronto.
The 30-year-old won his new role despite having to fly across the Pacific, which left him jet-lagged, forcing him to prove his mettle in auditions just after landing.
"I was quite surprised that I got the part. There were times I was talking gibberish because I was so exhausted."
Auckland-born Ryan said he had big shoes to fill playing a character based loosely on Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman's beast from the 1980s TV show.