What made you go into acting?
To be honest, I don’t actually remember making a conscious decision to go into acting. It was more like acting chose me. I had been doing it for many years as a hobby, appearing in the school shows and the local amateur dramatics. For some reason acting just seemed to suit my personality.
What’s your favourite job so far?
Ashes to Ashes of course!! We had an amazing crew, an amazing cast, amazing writing and it was just so much fun to be on!
And your least?
Hmm, I think I would have to say a short film I agreed to do when I first came out of drama school. I was keen to get clips for my showreel and just said yes to the first thing that came along. The script was terrible and the director and crew were inexperienced. There was very little hope in making it a good film. It was a rookie error to agree to it, but I’m glad that I made the mistake so that I know NOT to repeat it in the future.
Favourite actors?
I couldn’t possibly say! There are too many to list! I admire any actor that I feel safe with, anyone that I can watch and not have any doubts in my mind that I am about to be entertained.
Tell me about Ashes to Ashes
Ashes was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a project to date. There was just this fantastic vibe to the atmosphere, like everything there just fit together perfectly. We had a fantastic cast, the crew were very professional, everyone was friendly and the storyline looked amazing. It felt like a true honour to be a part of the production.
What do you think of the industry at the moment?
If I’m honest I’m not entirely sure what to think of the industry at the moment. It seems to be lacking in a logical structure.
Gone are the days where you could start out in Rep Theatre and work your way up the ladder so I can understand how many young aspiring performers find it difficult to work out where to begin in an acting career.
These days as young actors, people seem to be very keen to pigeonhole us quite early on in our careers, or ‘type’ us so to speak, so that we end up playing similar roles. And politics in the acting game seem to be quite illogical at times too. Iit’s almost like people are terrified to take a chance of any kind these days, so they stick with safe decisions. Talent scouts no longer seem to exist either. It all seems to boil down to what drama school you went to and how successful your last show was.
Did you train? Do you recommend it?
I did indeed train but I never finished the course. One thing that was bugging me about drama school was that they focused primarily on the performing skills and neglected to teach how to function in the industry. It also bothered me how I felt like I was living in a bubble and that my fate was, to a certain extent, out of my control. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dead set against drama training, It sure as hell doesn’t do you any harm, it just wasn’t for me. I learn better from hands-on experience, so I cannot recommend it, but I don’t discourage it either.
What is your advice for aspiring actors?
I’m of the mind that if you want to be an actor, then don’t do it. If you’re going to be an actor, then do it. It sounds petty, but that slight difference in attitude makes all the difference. Loads of people want to be actors, but only a small percentage will actually go out and do it, so get out there, dive in, explore options, make mistakes, learn from them, and for the love of God don’t let anyone tell you: “You’ll never succeed as an actor”.
What’s next?
Well, now that I’m all fired up from answering that last question, I’m going to follow my own advice from above, dive back in and I’ll see you in theatre or on screen at some point.