By Maureen Coleman
 

HOLLYWOOD heart- throb Tom Berenger left Northern Ireland today with a vow to return as
soon as possible.

Berenger, star of smash hit movies Platoon and Someone to Watch Over Me, was in Belfast       yesterday for the world premiere of his new film, One Man's Hero.

The wartime romance follows the life of Sergeant John Riley, who leads a band of Irish immigrant
deserters in the Mexican- American War.

According to Berenger, taking on the role of Galway man Riley was no problem and he did
not have to seek the help of a voice coach to perfect the brogue. "I'm a natural mimic, so putting on an accent is no big deal to me," he said.

"Anyway, not only do I have Irish blood, but living in New York you're surrounded by Irish
 accents." Suffering from jet lag, but looking tanned and relaxed, the Hollywood star said he
 had visited southern Ireland on several occasions, but had never been north before.

But he said he had been impressed with Belfast, despite its "siege mentality." 
"My ancestors were from County Laois, so I took a trip down there to have a look around."

"There was one pub at a crossroads and that was it. I was like, well here we are, this is the          home of my family. "I've been to Dublin, Waterford and Wexford, Cork and Kerry before, but this is my first time north.

"It's not really like I thought it would be, although I was aware of some type of siege mentality. But my wife and I love it here and I'd definitely like to come back." The handsome actor said he was planning to go down to Dublin for a few days, then on to Poland to work on a new post Cold War film.