Naor 'dreamed of playing Saddam Hussein'

Igal Naor has confessed that he dreamed of playing Saddam Hussein.

The Israeli actor stars in four-part series House Of Saddam, which follows the rise and fall of the Iraqi dictator's regime.

Naor told the Press Association: "I had a dream for a few years to play Saddam Hussein.

"I heard about the role from a colleague when I was shooting a production in Morocco. They gave me the scripts for the first two episodes, I read it and I was both astonished and taken by it."

Naor added that working on the TV drama has made him more aware of the political turbulence in the Middle East.

"For much of my career I have worked in theatre where you hope people will turn up. With TV it's different, it's about pressing a button," he commented.

"But I think if you do watch the series you will know and maybe understand much, much more. Doing it, I learned so much about the situation in the Middle East."

House Of Saddam begins tomorrow at 9pm on BBC Two.