Logan Lerman plays against type in Three Musketeers

He's made it past the often impossible hump, from child actor to fully fledged male lead, but the best thing about Logan Lerman is he's not blase about beating the odds.

The young star of the new Three Musketeers movie is all too cognizant of his statistically unlikely success, and appreciates every single opportunity he's ever been given, from landing the starring role in the Vancouver-shot Percy Jackson and the Olympians, to playing opposite Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich in the latest take on Alexandre Dumas' swordsmen.

Logan Lerman plays in Three Musketeers

"I realize this wasn't even a realistic career option for me until about two years ago," says Lerman, who plays D'Artagnan, the "fourth musketeer."

"I was close to graduating from high school, and, at that point, acting was still really just a hobby for me," he says. "I had no real plans, but opportunities were presented to me, and I decided to take them."

Those opportunities were 2010's Percy Jackson, which is currently gearing up for a sequel with Lerman in the lead once more, as well as Three Musketeers and a new movie for John Malkovich's production company, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, with Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Paul Rudd (Our Idiot Brother).

"I never imagined being able to be in movies like this," he says, gesturing at the movie poster for Three Musketeers propped on an easel. "I think not having any expectations about the future was a good thing. I've always tried to look at it from a work perspective, and just embrace every moment and every job that came along."

Lerman says he made the decision to defer university for a while to pursue his options, but he's not ignorant of the consequences. "They say every year you put off university is like three years, if you want to go back, but for now, this seems like the right path."

Lerman is 19, but he looks more like 16, as a result of his smooth white skin and baby-blue eyes framed by long black lashes. He grew up in Los Angeles, but he has the feel of a kid from the Midwest: straightforward, honest, wholesome and just a little bit shy.

"I am, I guess (a little bit shy)," he says, blushing.

It's hard to equate this soft-spoken kid with the swashbuckling hero in leather pants he plays on the big screen, but that's only further evidence of the young veteran's acting abilities.

"I've never played a character who is so far from who I really am. D'Artagnan is not like me in any way, really."

Self-assured and just a little cocky, this version of the fourth musketeer is one of the youngest D'Artagnans we've ever seen. He flirts with girls, challenges evil warlords to duels, and swings around on ropes with all the androgynous grace of Errol Flynn.

"This movie was a blast to make. I had so much fun making it," says Lerman. "We were shooting in Germany, and it was the first time I left home to work by myself. So I got a chance to really explore a whole new place and be myself, but that didn't mean going out and being crazy. That's not who I am. I'm more interested in the cultural things a city has to offer. And I like to get to bed reasonably early."

Lerman says his mother helped him craft his work ethic early, because she also doubled as his manager. "I wasn't sheltered," he says. "But my mom definitely made sure I wasn't immersed in the world of making movies at a young age. I just enjoyed the work, and she let me do it, as long as I was having fun."

Lerman says that, up until he landed Percy, he was pretty much like any other kid in his high school. "I'd take a project and work during the summer months, and then go back to school. It was pretty normal," he says.

"This," he says, pointing to the fancy curtains of the Shangri-La meeting room, "is not normal for me," he says. "I mean, I'm doing it more often. I am travelling and doing press tours, which is becoming a bigger part of my life, but it's not what I would call normal. Normal for me is going home and being with my family."

Lerman says he's always chosen stability over the sex appeal of risk and uncertainty.

"I kind of like to go along with whatever is happening, but I think I'm always aware of where I am," he says. "Some people don't have an open mind, and when I was younger, and travelling to different places, I think I found it hard to enjoy things. You know, I come from a great city where there are a lot of things happening, and if you end up in a small town where you don't have all those things, you can feel the difference," he says.

"Somewhere along the way, though, I think I learned to appreciate that difference. I realized people have different realities, and I learned to respect that. It really opened my eyes a little bit more to the most important things in the big picture," he says.

"Respecting and understanding different people is pretty key. And as an actor, I think you need that. It's about your comfort level, and whether or not you know you can do what's being asked of you."

Lerman looks across the table and pauses.

"I know it all sounds kind of obnoxious for someone my age to talk about the importance of experience and perspective," he says. "But it's true, and I've learned to embrace it."