IPSWICH'S sculptor supreme has added Hollywood fireworks to his football masterpieces.Sean Hedges-Quinn, better known as Coach, has gained fame throughout Ipswich for his statues of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson.

IPSWICH'S sculptor supreme has added Hollywood fireworks to his football masterpieces.

Sean Hedges-Quinn, better known as Coach, has gained fame throughout Ipswich for his statues of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson.

But his latest creation has reached a slightly larger audience as one of the stars of Hollywood blockbuster Reign of Fire.

The stunt-filled spectacular sees dragons take over the world. Coach was a senior sculptor on a 120ft fire-breathing beast featured in the flick.

He said: "It's probably one of the best things I've ever done, but it was a massive job.

"There were about 40 of us working on it for about 12 weeks.

"I was one of three senior sculptors, but there were seven or eight other sculptors, plus all the people working on painting, making the wings and things like that."

Coach was responsible for some of them most technical parts of the sculpture including the gory task of creating the dragon's guts.

Needless to say, he was one of the first through the cinema doors when the film opened nationwide on Friday.

And although he was impressed by the appearance of his work, Coach was not entirely convinced by the movie as a whole.

He said: "It's a bit of a no-brainer where you just sit back with a tub of popcorn and wait to be entertained.

"But the dragon looked really good with all the lights and smoke around it.

"I got a nice big mention, which was nice – to see your name up there.

"I think me and my wife Hayley were the last people in the place, waiting for the credits to come up."

Coach's new Wattisham studio is set for plenty more activity in the coming months.

His two Portman Road football figures have attracted interest from other sources – he has three possible high-profile projects in the pipeline.

And his big screen credits are likely to keep tumbling in.

He said: "I've just finished work on Ella Enchanted, which is a kind of live-action Shrek starring Joanna Lumley.

"And then at the start of November I'm hoping to start work on the third Harry Potter film. I did work on the first two, so I'm hoping to be on the third as well."

Weblink:

www.hollywood.com/moviesreignoffire