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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Anna Lewis

The builder from Brecon people think looks like Prince Harry

He's a Welsh builder trying to break out of the construction trade and launch his acting career full-time.

But most of Twitter will know Simon Pengelly as the man who looks an awful lot like Prince Harry trying to get a job.

Over the last few days, a poster of the royal lookalike posing for a tradesperson app quickly went viral thanks to quick-witted commuters on the London Underground.

And it didn't take long for the jokes to start rolling in about Prince Harry's job seeking progress days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to become financially independent.

Posting on Twitter, one user said: "Bloody hell Prince Harry found a job quickly."

And another added: "Good to see him making the transition to become financially independent."

Rather than a full-time Prince Harry impersonator though, actor Simon Pengelly is far from what you might imagine.

A builder from Brecon, he has starred in the likes of Sherlock, Being Human and Merlin in the hopes of quitting the day job to pursue his big dream.

But for him, going viral overnight is not something he ever expected.

Simon is a builder in Brecon (Simon Pengelly)
But he hopes to make it as an actor. Here he is in Boudica Rise of the Warrior Queen (Gav Ade)

Simon, 36, said: "I did an advert for a Ratedpeople back in 2016 and the advert has been run on TV since then but they wanted to put out a couple of stills on the Tube.

"I just happened that it coincided with all this stuff with Harry.

"I had a message form a friend who lives in London asking if it was me.

"Suddenly my phone started buzzing and pinging through the night. Apparently it went viral and people started tweeting about Harry posting for jobs. It's a bit weird.

"It was pure coincidence."

Simon Pengelly as a rugby player with his dreadlocks (Tony Poole)

Despite the signature ginger beard, Simon might be more familiar to rugby fans with his sandy dreadlocks during his time as a back row at Neath and Ebbw Vale rugby clubs.

And thanks to his acting work and martial arts skills, he's even been compared to another celebrity.

Simon, a black belt in shotokan karate, said: "I'm normally bald. When I had the phone call the night before about the add I didn't shave and it's obviously the ginger beard people are referring to.

"People call me the Welsh Jason Statham because of my martial arts and the action films I have done.

"This is the first time I've been compared to Prince Harry!"

Simon in We are Samurai by Michael Morris (Michael Morris)
And in Spirit Breaker by Dan Summers (Dan Summers)

So what does  it feel like to go from rural Mid Wales to a member of the Royal Family?

For Simon, it's all banter, but he's hoping it can boost his profile in the industry.

He said: "It's all a bit of fun but it would be nice if something came off the back of it.

"It's all a bit of banter. My friends have all had a bit of a laugh with it."

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Voicing his own views on Prince Harry's decision to step back from the Royal Family, Simon added: "I think it's his own life, let him get on with it. He's entitled to his own life.

"He's done his bit for the country, he's fought in the war."

 
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