In the case of a missed opportunity you've no doubt heard the analogy before: "If one door closes, another one opens." But if don't believe it, do yourself a favor and take note of the world of possibilities that have opened to British actor William Moseley.

After all, the starring role of King Peter Pevensie in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" -- the hotly-anticipated follow-up to the 2005 hit "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" -- only came after he fell short on his bid to play a certain boy wizard.

"I auditioned for Harry Potter and didn't get it," Moseley said with a laugh in a recent @ The Movies interview. "I feel fortunate that I didn't get it because 'Narnia' is a dream come true. It's been an incredible experience."

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Opening in theaters Friday, the door to author C.S. Lewis' fantastical destination reopens when Peter, his brother Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and sisters Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are summoned to back to Narnia to aid Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes).

But while only a year has passed since the Pevensie children made their first trip there, 1,300 years have passed in Narnia -- and Prince Caspian, the rightful heir the throne, is in peril thanks to his diabolical uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), whose installed himself as ruler. But together with Caspian and a banished group of Narnians, the royal Pevensie family marshals its new forces in an effort to get the kingdom back.

Moseley has made Narnia his own before, first listening to the books on tape as a young child and then re-reading the stories in order to prepare for the role. The wonderful thing is, even though Moseley has become part of the story now, the Narnia experience is just as engaging to him as ever. "It's funny, when I started reading the books, I somewhat imagined that Peter was someone that looked like me, but it wasn't me," Moseley observed. "When you read something, you use your imagination but you don't put yourself there. Even when I see the films I still get immersed in the story. Even when I see myself in the film that I've worked on, I'm still watching it from a third-person perspective. So when I go back and read the books, I still look at it from a reader's point-of-view. It's very weird, actually."

The distinct difference between "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian" is that new film is significantly larger in scale. Filming took Moseley and company to various locations throughout the world, not the least of which the country which played the backdrop in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

"When the filmmakers needed a set that was just out of this world, we would fly to New Zealand and shoot it," Moseley enthused. "The location that was my favorite overall was where we shot the scenes in the rowing boat. There's this beautiful shot in the film of this blue water that you would think is fake, but it's 100 percent real. You could see through the water 40 feet down. This film on every level - location-wise, physically and emotionally - really was epic."

By doing a second "Narnia" film, Moseley said he was grateful to have the unique opportunity to tweak his portrayal of the character, especially since playing Peter in the first film was such of an eye-opening experience because it was his first major screen role. "This time around, I think I was really a professional -- you probably thought I was a professional in the first film but I didn't think I was," laughed the 21-year-old actor. "I'm always polite and grateful for everything I get, but on a work level I really gave everything I could to the film. I would work day and night on the script, and as to the physical aspects, I was running eight hours every other day and working out in the gym for two hours after that.

"I was so honored to get the chance to do the work and so pleased to see that my character had evolved," Moseley added. "Seeing the final product was really a humbling moment because I felt that all my hard work had paid off."

Topping the experience off, though, was reuniting with a crew of people that essentially became a family unit with the first film: a mutual feeling that's only appropriate given the family nature of the books and films.

"Just being around with Georgie, Skandar and Anna brought things back into that dynamic. When you spend seven months with somebody, six days a week for 16 hours a day, you are their family and they are yours in that time," Moseley said, humbly. "Emotionally you are giving to them and they are giving to you, and you respectfully receive and reciprocate. I was so fortunate to be working again with these really cool people. Plus, (director) Andrew Adamson really ran a relaxed set and would never shout. It was a pleasure to come back."