James Purefoy: 'John Carter character is cheeky, charming'

James Purefoy has opened up about his role in Disney's John Carter.

The Rome star plays Kantos Kan in the big-screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's A Princess of Mars story, a character he has described as "charming" in an interview with Collider.

"He's a very cheeky, mischievous soldier/airman," Purefoy said of Kan. "He's just very charming. He's not frightened of getting involved in very sticky situations with John Carter. There's a certain bravado about him. He's a bit Errol Flynn-esque. He has a great lust for life and he's a very positive character, in the film."

Purefoy went on to state that though Kan does not have a large role in this film, he will be featured more heavily in the sequels.

"He's not in this film very much, in the first one," Purefoy said. "I think a lot of the characters in the first John Carter are established, but with the knowledge that they're going to be bigger in the next two episodes of it."

The cast of John Carter includes Taylor Kitsch, Lynne Collins, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Bryan Cranston and Mark Strong.

Purefoy recently described his role on new ITV1 drama Injustice as "subtle", confessing that he enjoys playing a character who is not as "big".

John Carter opens in US and UK cinemas on March 9, 2012.

> John Carter teaser poster released by Disney