Trainspotting was one of the most iconic films of the nineties, as its tale of heroin addicts in Edinburgh caught the imagination of audiences around the world, and the announcement of its eventual sequel, some two decades after the original, has been one of the biggest movie news items of the year.

Robert Carlyle, one of the stars of the 1996 original who is returning to reprise his role as the psychotic Francis Begbie, has been speaking to NME about how much he’s looking forward to reuniting with director Danny Boyle and the rest of the cast – Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner and Jonny Lee Miller - when filming starts next year.

The 54 year old actor, who launched his career on the back of the original, described John Hodge’s script, which is only “very loosely based” on Irvine Welsh’s sequel novel ‘Porno’, as “one of the best scripts” he’s ever seen.

Robert CarlyleRobert Carlyle will be reprising his memorable role as 'Begbie' in the 'Trainspotting' sequel

“Yeah, we've already had a read-through of the script, we did that in the springtime. You're going to think, 'Of course he’s going to say this,' but honestly, it's one of the best scripts I've f****** read. I mean, ever. What John Hodge has done is just so clever.”

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“Obviously these four characters are 20 years older now and I've never seen a sequel that takes place 20 years after the original, so I think that gives it a certain unique quality… …and the way John Hodge has put this thing down, obviously with the help of Danny Boyle, is to make it about how the characters' lives have moved on… or have they? Without giving anything away, maybe some of them haven't really moved on. That's what the audience is going to have to go through with them.”

Though he’s starred in many sizeable movies subsequently, including The Full Monty, The Beach, 28 Days Later and even a Bond movie, The World is Not Enough, Carlyle’s role in Trainspotting is the one that most people associate him with. He’s understandably nervous about revisiting such an iconic role.

“It's nerve-wracking to a certain extent, because I'm obviously aware of just how much people loved the original film. People still quote lines to me on a daily basis. I get it everywhere; I can't f****** escape it! But I'm grateful for it too - Begbie has been fucking terrific for me and my career. So therefore - and I think probably if you asked the rest of the boys, they'd feel the same - I'm slightly wary about it all.”

However, he’s confident that Boyle will be able to do a good job with the sequel, and indeed wouldn’t really trust any other director to do so. “If anyone can pull it off it's Danny Boyle. He's the best director I've ever worked with, he's immense.”

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