WHEN Hull-born actor Andy Newton Lee packed his bags and told his mum he was heading to the US, she thought he was insane.
But then people laughed when the 33-year-old said he wanted to be on Hollyoaks – which he went on to achieve, playing cheeky student Robbie Flynn.
"I auditioned five times to get on Hollyoaks," he says.
"It was my dream to be on that show and my dream to live in America.
"People laughed at me when I said I'd be in Hollyoaks and people laughed at me when I said I'd go to America.
"LA is the entertainment capital of the world. I used to watch Beverly Hills 90210 on a Sunday and used to think, 'I want to live there'.
"I've got my point across and people who know me well know that I can be knocked down 50 times and I'll keep getting back up."
But making it in America is a different kettle of fish and is one that Andy found a struggle after moving there in 2004.
"I didn't know anybody out there and I was living in a two bedroom apartment with six people for a year-and-a-half," he says.
"I had no money and I remortgaged the house here and basically ran out of cash."
Several months later, Andy was also dealt the huge blow that he had skin cancer.
"Three months later, I came back," he says.
"I had that skin cancer stuff that hit me for about nine months. It was a huge blow.
"After I sorted that out, I went back, got my visa sorted, but I was auditioning and not getting jobs."
The next few years were a period of reinvention for Andy. He signed for an agency and worked at E Networks, voicing various shows, and also managed to secure a role at MTV doing the voice of Orlando Bloom on the show Celebrity Deathmatch.
At the same time, he was drinking more and more – eventually leading to him spending a few days in an American prison cell for drink-driving.
"Leaving an American cell in my own pee is a low," he says.
"It was just before I got the part in Casualty. I got the drink-driving course. I had to do Alcoholics Anonymous for a year. I got a court order to do it.
"LA is the kind of place there are parties on every single night. But after being there a few years you wake up with a hangover and you feel you're losing the sense of purpose.
"I graduated from the AA course and got the part in Casualty just after the course. It was a great transition in my life."
He returned to the UK to play the role of Stacey Merrick.
One of Andy's biggest success stories in America has been his relocation company NextStopLAX, which helps international entertainment professionals move to LA. The company handles work visas, accommodation and helps people find agents and managers.
"It was a total accident," he said.
"What happened is people were asking me about getting a visa, how do you do this, how do you do that?
"I rented a desk at a model agency and when the model agent left at lunch I would go and sit in her big glass office and take all my meetings.
"It got bigger and bigger and people started to find me. I became licensed to do what I do. We've been going seven years and it's now a well-oiled machine."
But Andy is not one to rest on his laurels. He has recently completed the pilot of the first show he has written, British Andy.
He also stars in the mockumentary-style show, which was filmed in Los Angeles.
It also stars former EastEnders stars Charlie Brooks, who played Janine Butcher, and Michael Greco, who played Beppe di Marco.
The show is based around a fictional relocation service that brings UK stars to LA.
"The pilot happened by accident," he said.
"I've got an assistant and there is a man and wife dynamic. We argue all the time and people are entertained by our connection. People were saying my office needs its own reality show.
"This sitcom has been produced by my production company and my money. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The networks love it.
"The relocation company runs itself. The next step for me is I want to produce television."
Ten years after he relocated, Andy is also reflecting on how his life has changed.
"It does and it doesn't feel like ten years," he said.
"I've learnt so much. There have been major, major highs and major, major lows.
"I went to the Oscars this year and I've got a penthouse apartment there.
"Growing up in Hull has given me a lot of resilience. Living in LA is so far removed from Hull, but I do like coming home.
"The amazing thing about LA is that it does feel that, when you're there, the town has the ability that anything can happen."
