British teenage actor Thomas Sangster is seen at the premiere of "Nanny McPhee" in Los Angeles in 2006. [Agencies]

British teenage actor Thomas Sangster has been chosen to play Tintin in a big screen adaptation of the comic adventures of the fictitious young Belgian reporter, newspapers here reported Saturday.

Seventeen-year-old Sangster, who has appeared in films such as "Love Actually" and "Nanny McPhee," was picked by Steven Spielberg, who is directing the first in a trilogy of Tintin films, reports said.

"I loved Tintin when I was younger," Sangster was quoted as saying by the British press.

"I didn't read any of the books but I really got into the (television) cartoon. I wasn't good at reading when I was younger but the cartoon was a good memory for me," he added.