SUPERSTAR Leonardo DiCaprio may be winning over audiences in his latest blockbuster, Blood Diamond, but behind the cameras the plaudits are going to former Witchford Village College boy, Kevin de la Noy. Kevin, 44, who grew up in Haddenham, is executive p

SUPERSTAR Leonardo DiCaprio may be winning over audiences in his latest blockbuster, Blood Diamond, but behind the cameras the plaudits are going to former Witchford Village College boy, Kevin de la Noy.

Kevin, 44, who grew up in Haddenham, is executive producer on the movie.

The film was shot on South Africa's east coast, Cape Town and Mozambique and tells the story of a Rhodesian mercenary, played by DiCaprio, and a fisherman whose fates are joined in a quest to recover a priceless diamond.

Kevin's own life was transformed 22 years ago when, just out of university, he got the chance to be a runner on a film starring Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland being shot in Ely.

Although Revolution proved a box office flop, Kevin went on to make his name on movie blockbusters Braveheart, Titanic and The Last Samurai.

Saving Private Ryan, Mission: Impossible II, The Secret Garden and Black Beauty are among the impressive list of films on his CV.

Kevin attended Robert Arkenstall Primary School, in Haddenham, before moving on to Witchford Village College in the mid-70s.

After attending sixth form at Ely, he went to Coventry University to take a degree in media studies.

His mother, Lorna, the Ely Standard's Haddenham village correspondent, said: "I have a lovely photo of Kevin taken when he was a little eight-year-old looking wide-eyed as the Anglia television crew arrive at the Farmland Museum."

In the last few weeks, Kevin has been working in the US and Hong Kong selecting suitable locations for the filming of the sequel to Batman Begins.

His father Mike said: "Kevin's fame has never gone to his head. He always cares for the most humble person working on a film."

n Kevin is pictured with his son Joshua and Leonardo DiCaprio.