A New Zealand actor has been crowned Prince William in an upcoming film about the royal and his soon-to-be queen, Kate.
Nico Evers-Swindell will play the Prince in the US small-screen movie titled William and Kate.
American TV network Lifetime says the new series depicts the "ups and downs of
their nine-year courtship complicated by social and royal family pressures and intense global media attention surrounding their storybook nuptials".
Evers-Swindell is a former student of Victoria University in Wellington.
Now based in New York, he has played small roles in a number of American television series including NCIS and Law & Order.
Photos of the new Wills were splashed across news and gossip websites yesterday and showed Evers-Swindell as almost a dead ringer for the future king.
Many bloggers were commenting on the Kiwi actor's good looks, with one on a British site saying, "The Prince should be quite proud of the actor selected to portray him. New Zealand-born performer Nico Evers-Swindell is a right bit of hottie."
Another website was running a poll asking: "Who's hotter?"
At one stage Prince William was at 6.3 per cent, with 29 votes, while Evers-Swindell was on 89.1 per cent with 402 votes.
Others said it was too close to call.
On New Zealand media and gossip websites, many were asking whether the Kiwi Wills was a relative of rowing champs Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, now known as Georgina Earl and Caroline Meyer.
Meyer yesterday confirmed to the Weekend Herald that - despite some reports calling Nico their younger brother - he is in fact a cousin.
"No, not little brother, he's my cousin ... I can't claim him as a brother," she laughed.
Meyer said Nico's scoring the role as Prince William was "very cool".
William and Kate is set to screen in America about a week before the royal wedding, on April 29. Who will play the part of Kate Middleton is not yet known, but the expectation is just as great, with one blogger commenting: "She had better look dazzling in a see-through frock."
