Hugh Dancy has said that he knew his part in romance movie Adam would be a “huge” one to master.

The actor told The Independent that despite thinking that few people would see the film, he was prepared to work hard to play the part of an Asperger’s syndrome sufferer.

Dancy said: “I didn’t think ‘lovely little film’, I thought ‘that is bloody huge’. But my first reaction was to realize how little I knew and how much I would have to learn.

“You always worry about whether you can pull something off, it’s part of the process. Unquestioning confidence in yourself is not an advantage in this game, particularly. So I’m fairly self-critical.”

He added: “Having said that, we’re not making a documentary, we’re telling a love story.”

Dancy also reiterated his previous statement that he did not take on the title role in Adam for any award potential the film might have.