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Describing William Moseley as exuberant would be an understatement. A self described extrovert, this schoolboy from the British countryside scored big when casting director Pippa Hall chose him over hoards of hopefuls for the role of Peter in Andrew Adamson’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” And William was so thrilled he cried.

Starring alongside actors like Tilda Swinton (Jadis the White Witch) and James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus the Faun) might have intimidated some young actors, but William was busy in Narnia, leading battles and dodging giant waves with siblings played by Anna Popplewell (Susan), Skandar Keynes (Edmond) and Georgie Henley (Lucy). Cinema Confidential recently had the chance to talk briefly with William, who was making his way through L.A. traffic for the first time.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: Had you been to New Zealand before filming “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”?

WILLIAM: I'd never been, actually before, and I felt very fortunate that I got to go, and very fortunate that I got to work on the movie with Andrew.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: And this was your second film, you had a role in “Jefferson in Paris”?

WILLIAM: I'll let you in on a little secret. I have a cousin, I'm seventeen and he's eighteen years old. And he's done a bit of acting, and IMDB made a mistake, and he's the one who's in Jefferson in Paris.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: How did you get the role of Peter?

WILLIAM: One day this casting director Pippa Hall came to my village school casting for a TV drama, and I remember going to the audition, but I didn't get the part because I was too young. I got an agent, and I remember thinking “acting sounds like my kind of game.” Performing, making everyone look at me, sounds like my kind of game! And then I got an agent and I auditioned for five years, and I got callbacks but I never got a part. And Pippa was casting for “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and she remembered this boy who was a great big show off and not self conscious in any respect, and she asked for me, and I went for an audition, and a year and a half later of auditioning I get the part in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: Were you a fan of the Narnia series?

WILLIAM: The thing of it was, I read the beginning of Narnia in the third grade, and even though I knew the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by heart I'd never read the rest of the series. But when I got the part I'd been rejected so many times, just to get the part…I was crying I was so happy. I couldn't actually believe it.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: How did you like working with Andrew?

WILLIAM: What's great about Andrew is he's a perfectionist. He did so many takes just so we could get the shots right. And it comes from the top- the dedication, the perfection. It affects everyone. Andrew was so patient, and he understood the way we all act, so he could work around that.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: We got to see a few of the sets and they were absolutely amazing…

WILLIAM: I was blown away! The thing is, I knew it was a big film, but I didn't expect it to be…there was this one set, it was supposed to be a river, and we were meant to get engulfed by a wave. And we were basically in a tank, and three tons of water- it was a lot- it would make a wave, a six feet wave and it would engulf us. And they did it so many times, I'll tell you what, I kept turning around and this water came pouring out, and I was trying to be brave for this twelve year old boy, eight year old girl…the special effects are unbelievable! Every other shot is special effects. The beaver is special effects, Aslan the lion is special effects. Some of the things the actors couldn't do were special effects…

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: Was there anything you wanted to do but weren't allowed?

WILLIAM: Actually, Peter rides a horse, and I actually rode better than my stunt double. He gets on a horse bare back and gallops down this mound, and they let me get on the horse but they wouldn’t let me gallop! I was so upset but…

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: I spoke with Anna and she said Tilda actually scared her when she was in character.

WILLIAM: What I liked about Tilda was she's a force, you know? She walked on the set, even not in character, she's got this energy around her. She's the kind of person that just illuminates…I just couldn't stop watching her.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: It must have been neat to work with James McAvoy…

WILLIAM: James had the most difficult thing to do- he had to walk like a faun, he had to walk like a goat! He’d look like a centaur, but he’d be reading a book or smoking a cigarette. I didn't get to do many scenes with him, but the ones I did do…James was amazing, it was like he wasn't really acting.

CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL: In the book, Peter is sort of a father figure to the kids- really brave and sensible and optimistic. Would you attribute those traits to yourself?

WILLIAM: Yeah, I mean, sensible…a little bit. I had to act. (Laughs). But the whole character, I felt…it was really bizarre. Even the journey the character goes on…I went on that journey. Peter grows from a boy to a man, that was my character's main job, and mine too. Peter starts as a boy and becomes a warrior.

"The Chronicles of Narnia" opens in theaters in December.