DREAMS can come true and for one former resident of Taunton it lead them to appearing in the BBC hit drama, Poldark.

One night Guillaume Rivaud was watching Season 1 of Poldark on television and said to his wife “I am going to appear in that programme.”

This was a huge leap of faith for Guillaume who was born in Chatellerault, France on the May 12, 1973.

The family then moved to Paris as his dad was a policeman and by the time Guillaume was 18-years-old in 1994 he moved to England and in his words ‘arrived with only a suitcase and unable to speak any English and had to fight to get somewhere’.

He saw his fight as a learning curve and in the same year he moved to Taunton.

Many of readers of the County Gazette might have been watching Poldark and thought I knew him, but could not remember where you had seen him

If you shopped at the former Virgin Mega Store which was situated at 27, Fore Street.

Guillaume worked in the town centre store as a sales manger but by 2012 he had decided to move this time to Cornwall where he still lives.

He said: “Sometimes you have got to do something different.

“For fifteen years I had been on top of my game working in direct sales and felt it was time for a new challenge.”

There is a dedication to Guillaume as he is like a French Jerry Maguire. In the film one of the quotes spoken by Jerry is : “Two days later at our corporate conference in Miami a break through, a breakdown?

“No a breakthrough. I had so much to say and no one to listen and then it happened an unexpected thing: I began writing what they call a “mission statement” not a memo, a “mission statement”, a suggestion for the future of our company a night like this doesn’t come around very often. I seized it. What started out as one page slowly became twenty five...”

Guillaume’s break through moment came while watching Poldark on television.

He said: “I have always been into acting. When I was 15/17 years old I did do acting at college and have always felt I had a talent for doing it. I left it dormant for many years while I did my direct sales job.

“A lot of what you do in sales is like acting.

“Then it hit me like a trigger and boom It just hit me.

“The trigger was I was watching Season One of Poldark on the television with my wife and I said I want to be it that, I changed my mind set there and then.

“When I started acting I did not know anyone in the world of acting but I got on and tried to get my first gig and then my second. I put together a showreel and made sure I worked really hard to make it happen.

“I had a vision to do whatever it took. I was happy to test myself, to challenge myself. I do not see problems I see challenges.

“Now through sheer hard work and dedication I am working seven days a week, I have appeared in 35 productions in three years and have appeared in productions like Poldark, Dr Who, Victoria and Broadchruch.”

Getting the Poldark job in which he played Vicomte de Sombreuil in Poldark S3 episodes 2 and 5, Guillaume said: “As an individual this has been the most incredible experience of my professional life. Not only did I get a part in Poldark but I had lines and my own character. Many scenes when I spoke were followed by Aidan Turner who plays Ross Poldark.

“I was so prepared for this role. It was critical to get it right first time. I was so prepared and for me it was a dream come true and it was an experience I shall never forget to work with such a great cast and crew. Being an actor is for me a chance to live the dream. This is where I want to be. I am happy in my life and very humble and very grateful for everything I have done so far. I am doing it all for my wife and family and when opportunity opens a door anything can happen.”

Acting is now his main job and he feels now he is 45-years-old he wants to create a legacy for his daughter who is four and be in a position where he can provide for his wife and family through acting.

He is very much a ‘man of the moment’, ‘forward motion is everything’ and the key to success is determination combined with hard work.

Speaking about his philosophy for driving himself to succeed , he said: “I have never done acting lessons. What I like to do is get into a character as it gives you another dimension.”

His latest move is the WW1 film ‘Eleven’ which comes out in November to celebrate 100th anniversary of end of Great War . I play Capitaine Jerome Bernard . Film written and directed by Rock Salt and co directed / starring Sean Cronin .