Tag Archives: Acting

Damian Lewis Interviewed Real Spies For Film Role

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Actor Damian Lewis arriving for the press conference of the movie "Queen Of The Desert" at the Berlinale 2015

John le Carre is having a moment. The Night Manager was a huge hit for the BBC and now Our Kind of Traitor is coming to the big screen starring Homeland actor Damian Lewis.

The actor interviewed real life spies when researching his new role. He will play secretive government official Hector Meredith in the film, Damian said about his lunch with two spies:

“I went to Special Forces Club and had lunch with – for want of a better word – two spooks working for the British government, They were brilliant and discreet, while also being indiscreet – happy to share tidbits.”

Damian missed out on the role that Tom Hiddlestone played in The Night Manager: Damian had read the novel, he told Total Film magazine, “I’ve read the Night Manager, Larry Kasdan gave me a copy when we were making (2003 film) Dreamcatcher. He said ‘You must play this!’ I read it and stuck it on my shelf.” Never mind Damian, you still got to be in a le Carre story.

Our Kind of Traitor opens in the U.K. and U.S. in May (16).

Olivia Wilde “too old” To Play Leonardo DiCaprio’s Girlfriend

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olivia wilde too old to play leonardo dicaprio's girlfriends, ageism, sexism, acting, acting adviceOlivia Wilde has revealed she was “too old” for Margot Robbie’s role in “Wolf of Wall Street”
During an interview with Howard Stern the actress revealed she was “too old” for the role.  Stern had asked if she had ever not gotten a role because she was too good-looking. Wilde said:

 

“The funniest thing I heard recently was I had heard for a part that I was too sophisticated. And I was like, Oh, that sounds nice. I like that feedback. I didn’t get the part, but I’m a very sophisticated person. And then I found out later that they actually said ‘old.’ I want to make a translation sheet for Hollywood that’s all the feedback your agents give you and what it really means.” Wilde was 28 at the time.

 

Martin Scorsese did end up casting Wilde in “Vinyl,” his new HBO series. “I did not [have to audition for ‘Vinyl’] because I had auditioned unsuccessfully for ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ — that’s the one I was too old for” she clarified.

 

If you are an actor then check out How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon.

 

 

Top of the Potts: Jason Manford Talks to Vicky Edwards

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Currently starring as Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jason Manford talks to Vicky Edwards about musicals, being a dad and why ibuprofen is his new best friend…

Photo: Alastair Muir

Photo: Alastair Muir

There’s more to Jason Manford than being funny. Warm, articulate and astute, he also happens to have been born into a family of talented singers. Trilling for longer than he’s been cracking gags, the 8 Out of 10 Cats star has notched up some impressive credits, not least playing Pirelli in Sweeney Todd with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, and Leo Bloom in The Producers with Phill Jupitus, with whom he also stars in a brand new touring version of the classic musical story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 

 

 

“My family are all folk singers and we have been singing together for a very long time,” Jason explained. “I was always interested in musicals; I was always in productions at school, then at university I directed shows like Bugsy Malone. I wrote a musical, too.”

Offered the role of Caractacus Potts, Jason says that while he didn’t want to over-think the characterisation, he nevertheless gave careful consideration to what he could bring to the role.

“I re-watched the film and what I saw was someone who was not dissimilar to me: a dad who would do anything for his kids. He keeps trying and failing and he’s reached a point in life where he thinks that something just has to go right for him. He really is that heartbroken, lonely, lovely man that Truly Scrumptious sings about.

“The setting is 1919 and my idea of him was that he was in the Navy but that he had to leave when his wife died to look after his kids. I like his journey. He’s optimistic, although he has his darker moments, and he’s a man who doesn’t like confrontation. But then suddenly the kids are taken by the Childcatcher, Grandpa is kidnapped and the car is stolen – everything that he knows and loves about his life is gone. He has to man up,” said Jason, who while mindful of driving himself bonkers by fleshing out a complex character history, knew that he needed to give Caractacus a back-story. (“You need that weight otherwise it’s just a musical about a flying car.”)

Although Jason is perhaps better known as a comedian than he is for his musical theatre talents, in terms of being the source of all things comedic, Chitty gives him a bit of a breather.

“What’s nice for me is that no one is counting on me to be funny. If I’m funny it’s a bonus, and Caractacus does have some funny moments, but you’ve got the spies and the Baron for laughs. I just have to play the heart and soul of the piece to keep it interesting and I love that.”

As for Chitty’s enduring qualities, Jason cites the film rather than the original book as being responsible for inspiring such huge affection across the generations.

“The biggest thing for me isn’t the Ian Fleming story, but the Roald Dahl film adaptation. The original book is actually quite linear; quite similar to his writing for James Bond, and there was no Childcatcher or Truly Scrumptious. But the film is much more magical and for many the Childcatcher was probably the first time you were scared by something on the telly. Nostalgia and magic is what I think does it for people.”

It is a highly physical show for Jason and he confessed that the number Me Ol’ Bamboo, in particular, is a bit of a killer. Part manic Morris dance and part frenzied tap routine, it is certainly breath-taking to watch and, one suspects, leaves even the fittest dancers out of breath.

“I’ve lost a stone and a half – it’s unbelievable!” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Joking that he has thought about releasing an exercise DVD based on Me Ol’ Bamboo, he added: “It takes a lot of work but it’s so spectacular and to get it right is just brilliant. It’s the one moment of the show when I take the applause and let the audience clap until they stop.”

Does such a frenetic routine result in a few aches and pains? A heartfelt groan said it all.

“My poor knees and lower back! Ibuprofen is getting me through and I have to go for a swim between the matinée and evening shows because if I sit down I seize up,” he sighed.

And when he staggers off the stage and back to his digs he’s got fellow cast member Phill Jupitus [who plays Baron Bomburst and Lord Scrumptious] to look out for him and, it transpires, to rustle up some top-notch grub.

“We’ve been pals a while and we enjoy each other’s company. He’s also a great chef and cooks some brilliant meals. We look after each other. You need that when you’re away from home.”

Talking about being away from home, with a partner, and five children, Jason’s got plenty to miss.

“The thing about this show is that it’s all about family and the kids in the show [three pairs of Jeremy and Jemimas tour with Chitty] are roughly the same height as my two oldest girls. At the end when I’ve rescued them and they run over to me for a big hug there’s that moment every night when my kids flicker into my head.”

And it’s home and family that is part of the reason that Jason is taking a well-earned break from Chitty between 4 May and 18 September, when Lee Mead will be playing the part of Caractacus Potts.

“Having young children you can’t be away too much, but as well as the children I’ve also got to write my own tour for 2017 and then I’m writing a sit com and also a musical. It’s lovely to know that I can do all that and then come back to Chitty.”

Touring the country, working on several writing projects and keeping his successful comedy career on the boil, not to mention family life – it is certainly an impressive juggling act. How does he find the energy and stamina to sing and dance his heart out at every performance of Chitty? Shrugging, he referred me back to his friend ibuprofen, although just being in such a stupendous show seems to be the real spur. Even if it does mean that his joints creak like an old banger in need of the oil can.

“A lot of effort goes in but it’s a great show so it’s really worth it,” he told me as we said goodbye.

And so it is. Prompting standing ovations wherever they go, the audience reaction is unified: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we love you!”

For more information, visit www.chittythemusical.co.uk

Facebook: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Musical       

Twitter: @ChittyMusical / #chittymusical

Vicky Edwards

Not just a pretty ‘chu-chi, woo-chi, ooo-chi, coo-chi’ face

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Kicking up her heels in Vulgaria rather than kicking people out of The Rovers, Michelle Collins tells Vicky Edwards how she loves playing alongside the most famous flying car in history…

Photo: Alastair Muir

Michelle in Chitty Chitty Bang Pic: Alastair Muir

Michelle Collins should be in a musical about an express train, not a flying car. Currently on tour with a brand new production of the family favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which she plays Baroness Bomburst, her passion for the show and life in general is so animated that it’s hard to keep up.

“The Baroness is such an iconic role, but initially I wasn’t sure,” admitted Michelle, as we chatted in her dressing room. “But it is a really great fun part and I see myself more of a character actress now, so it was a chance to reinvent myself a bit.”

Any concerns she had about the show “going down the panto route” were swept away when Michelle discovered who the production’s creative team and other cast members were. A co-production between Music & Lyrics Limited and West Yorkshire Playhouse, the show had already been a smash-hit in Yorkshire. With Phill Jupitus, Martin Kemp and Jason Manford (and Lee Mead in Jason’s place for a section of the tour) also signed up, Michelle was instantly reassured and set about throwing herself into the role. Or rather roles. Plural.

“In the first half I play Mrs Phillips, secretary to Lord Scrumptious,” explained Michelle. “She’s quite passive-aggressive and is secretly in love with him, I think. The Baroness, in the second half, is quite clever. I’m not going to tell you who I based her on, that would be unfair, but it’s someone in the public eye,” she teased, adding: “To me the Baroness and the Baron are George and Mildred [of 70s TV sit com fame], but she’s always got the upper hand. He’s just a child who abuses his power and wants to be mothered.”

Agreeing that Chitty bears all the hallmarks of a traditional musical, for Michelle there’s a particular ingredient that makes it extra special.

“It’s the wonderful songs,” she sighed. “Some musicals don’t have memorable songs, but in Chitty every single one is unforgettable.”

But song and dance is not something she has huge amounts of experience in.

“I am definitely not a West End Wendy type,” she laughed. “I did a few tap classes as a kid but I gave it up because I didn’t like it that the lessons took place above funeral directors in the Holloway Road.”

Even though her CV includes a couple of musical credits (Daddy Cool and The Take That Story), for Michelle, neither entailed the epic, high-octane production numbers that Chitty demands.

“I have had to work really hard and I’ve found joints in my body that I never knew I had,” she said, with a playful grin. “But I’m 53 years old and I’m prancing around the stage in my fishnets and heels, so life could be a lot worse.”

When it comes to having sufficient stamina for a show like Chitty, an experience earlier this year made her realise that she’s tougher than she thought: the TV show Bear Grylls: Mission Survive.

“It was seriously hard-core,” she said of her time in the South African Bush. “It was beautiful, but weather-wise it was extreme and we lived off soldier’s rations. For me to even be in it was a challenge, but I definitely found out that I am more courageous than I thought I was.”

Best known on TV as conniving Cindy Beale in EastEnders and feisty landlady Stella Price in Coronation Street, Michelle also has a clutch of impressive film and theatre roles to her name. Not bad for a girl who at 17 was turned down by every single drama school in London.

“I went to quite an academic grammar school. My mum was a single parent and we didn’t have much money, so stage school was out of the question. I started at the Cockpit Youth Theatre when I was 15. That’s when I realised that I really wanted to act.”

Joining the pop group Mari Wilson and the Wilsations at 18, Michelle hasn’t looked back. Of being rejected by drama schools she shrugged. Having achieved success under her own steam it’s not something that troubles her and, typically, she uses the experience as a silver lining to encourage others.

“I always tell young people that positives can come out of failure and not to let it put you off.”

That determination and focus is still much in evidence.

“With two shows a day I have to conserve my energy, but I’m trying to use the time when I’m not on stage constructively,” she said. “I’ve just produced a short film which I’ve written and I’m acting in, and I’ve written a kids’ book that I hope will come out later this year.”

There’s also her ‘Women in Media’ networking group that she created and runs with comedian Brenda Gilhooly. “We set it up as a forum where women can share ideas, inspiration and expertise. We meet monthly and have breakfast, listen to a guest speaker and chew the fat,” she told me.

A real no-nonsense grafter, given her schedule there’s not much time for relaxation, but when she does snatch some free time her needs are pretty low maintenance.

Michelle reflects that touring does bring home how much she misses her daughter, now away at university, her mum, her boyfriend and little pooch, Humphrey.

“Walking my dog in the park with my boyfriend, seeing my mum and catching up with my daughter – simple pleasures are what I love most,” she said.

“I thrive on being busy and being busy makes you appreciate the simple moments more.”

Putting the finishing touches to her make-up ahead of curtain up, we returned to chatting about the enduring success of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

“It is a show that has heart, honesty and truth,” she declared, giving a smile as wide as Chitty’s wingspan. “I’m so excited by how popular it is – we have packed houses at every performance!”

The success is well deserved. The entire cast and crew work their socks off.

As for the Baroness, she’s marvelously minxy. Michelle, on the other hand, with her infectious enthusiasm, husky laugh and determination to work hard but enjoy the ride, is a delightful tonic.

For more information, visit www.chittythemusical.co.uk
Facebook: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Musical
Twitter: @ChittyMusical / #chittymusical

Vicky Edwards

Spandau Baddie: Martin Kemp Meets Vicky Edwards

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Martin Kemp tells Vicky Edwards why his musical theatre debut is going with a bang-bang…

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Photo credit: Alastair Muir

From gangster Reggie Kray to evil control freak Steve Owen in EastEnders, Martin Kemp is extremely good at being bad. Currently on tour in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang playing the Childcatcher, arguably one of the most iconic villains of all time, Martin is drawing on his previous roles for inspiration, but admits that there’s unchartered territory to explore when it comes to the character that regularly tops the polls of movie monsters.
“The Childcatcher is an exaggerated version of everything I have ever done before, but it comes from a completely different angle,” explained Martin. “He’s a step away from reality; all the characters are really, especially in the second half when we go to Vulgaria.
“In the first half I play a character called the Junk Man, but in the second half that kind of Alice in Wonderland thing happens and the Junk Man becomes the Childcatcher. Robert Helpmann did an amazing job [in the film], but my physicality is not the same as his; I don’t have his ballet background, so instead I try to bring a bit more horror to the role.”
Judging from the booing that fills the theatre before he has even set foot on the stage, he’s clearly doing that very effectively.
“Kids are scared of the name: Childcatcher. When the Baron says “Call for the Childcatcher!” I can feel the tension in the theatre and then I hear the boos,” he laughed, adding, “But that’s part of the whole experience. If you haven’t laughed, cried and been scared then you haven’t seen a good show. You need to be taken to all those places.”
And with cheers at the curtain call almost taking the roof off the theatre, it seems that it’s a journey that audiences of all ages are delighted to undertake. A co-production between Music & Lyrics Limited and West Yorkshire Playhouse, this brand spanking new reimagining of the much-loved Sherman Brothers musical is winning critical acclaim as well as standing ovations.
“Ten years ago I saw the show in London and the main thing I remembered about it afterwards was the car,” said Martin. “But now it’s very much about the story. It amazes me, but every night I walk out of stage door and people are there saying how much they loved the whole show. From old people who saw the movie on their first date to kids meeting Chitty for the very first time, the demographic is extraordinary. Yes, it’s changed from the book, and then again from the film and again from the original stage musical, but it really works. We’re sending people home with big smiles on their faces.”
As for his fellow cast members, mention them and it is Martin with a big smile on his face. “It’s a great cast,” he enthused. “I’ve worked with Michelle [Collins] before and it’s lovely to work with her again, but they are all brilliant performers.” And so they are. Funny men Jason Manford as Caractacus Potts and Phill Jupitus as Lord Scrumptious and Baron Bomburst are joined by Martin and Michelle, as well as Andy Hockley of Phantom of the Opera fame as Grandpa Potts, and West End leading lady Amy Griffiths as Truly Scrumptious. Add to that a world class company of singers and dancers and you have a show that is dazzling, star-studded and that absolutely lives up to the ‘fantasmagorical’ praise.
But while the story of Chitty might have been knocking around for a good while, musical theatre is a new challenge for Martin.
“One reason I am here is that I have never done a musical before and I thought this might be a nice way to dip my toe in. I love trying new things and I love working with new people.”
That happy-go-lucky, have-a-go attitude wasn’t always there, however. In fact, as a child he confesses that he struggled with crippling shyness.
“I’ve been doing this a while now but at the age of eight I was incredibly shy, so my mum sent me to Anna Scher’s drama workshops,” said Martin, who knows first-hand what an advantage drama classes can be to children.
“What drama clubs give you is a small amount of this magic dust called charisma. I always say that I owe everything to Anna Scher because she formed my personality as a kid.”
Pointing out that whether you become an actor or join a band or you just use that acquired confidence to get through interviews when you’re 16, Martin is certain that drama clubs are a fantastic way of developing both character and life skills.
As for children watching live theatre, absorbing stories close up rather than on a screen, Martin loves the way they get totally involved.
“Adults watch, but kids believe and become part of the world they see unfolding; they just dive in,” he nodded.
“For Chitty we recently did what is called a ‘Relaxed Performance’ for children with disabilities and conditions like Autism. The show was adapted around the audience’s needs and it was a wonderful thing to be part of.”
A member of one of the most popular bands of all time, star of movies, TV and now a musical, Martin certainly can’t complain of always doing the same old same old.
“I have always changed it up a bit and I like never knowing what’s around the corner,” he laughed, although actually this time he does know what is coming next.
“I have just finished a year on tour with Spandau which was wonderful, but it’s this great big machine that needs five artic trucks and a 100-strong crew. When you play huge arenas the size of Wembley you know that to people at the back you’re just a speck of dust in the distance and that you’ll never get to meet those people. So in May I am doing the sort of antidote to not meeting people with a show that’s going to tour called An Audience with Martin Kemp. I’ll be travelling around England chatting about my life and career and taking questions from the audience. Yeah, it’s going to be different and fun,” he grinned.
With such a busy professional life, relaxation, he says, comes in the form of painting.“That’s my down time. Sometimes it shuts me off from the world and I lose myself completely.” Asked what he paints and the smile that stole my sixteen-year-old heart lights up his face again. “I paint rock ‘n’ roll,” he says with a chuckle.
Super-talented, funny, warm and with rock ‘n’ roll artistic flair to boot, however brilliantly nasty he is as the Childcatcher, in real life Martin Kemp is a total sweetie.
Vicky Edwards

 

A gentleman and a scholar: Vicky Edwards Meets Stephen Boxer

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About to play the great author C.S. Lewis, Stephen Boxer takes a break from rehearsals to talk to Vicky Edwards about touring, making an ass of himself and his own connection with Narnia’s creator
Having played everything from soap opera to Shakespeare, as well as appearing in movies such as The Iron Lady, Stephen Boxer is packing his suitcase and hitting the road with a new national tour of Shadowlands. Arguably one of the best plays ever written, Stephen plays Narnia creator C.S. Lewis and, he reckons, the story’s central themes of grief, belief and love will resonate with audiences.
“It’s a beautifully structured play and it’s very poignant, so we can Stephen Boxerall relate to it. But it is also very entertaining; very witty with some real belly laughs,” he said.
Having cleaned up on the awards circuit (the subsequent film version also collected gongs) William Nicholson’s play charts the developing relationship between Lewis, an Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and feisty American poet Joy Davidman. Finding his peaceful life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour is at complete odds with the atmosphere and rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university, Lewis and Joy show each other new ways of viewing the world. But when Joy is diagnosed with cancer Lewis’s long-held Christian faith becomes perilously fragile.
But, Stephen pointed out, Lewis’s struggle with his faith resulted in the beautiful book A Grief Observed, an extraordinary collection of the author’s reflections about bereavement.
“It is a kind of bible for both religious and non-religious people,” said Stephen. “It rises above religion and belief and talks about how we deal with loss and how a theory of life is tested by reality.”
As for the relationship between Lewis and Davidman, Stephen explained that while there were some fundamental differences between their characters and life experiences, there was also a definite meeting of minds.
“Their intellectual acuity was an absolute meeting place for them both – they could both spar in the same intellectual boxing ring and they enjoyed that; they enjoyed the cut and thrust of intellectual debate. That’s how their relationship started,” said Stephen, adding:
“He was a classically repressed quite conservative thinking Englishman who lived a classic ivory tower life. Part of his emotional repression, I think, was that he was sort of cushioned by the Oxford life you could live as a don. She was an ex-communist Jewish American who told it how it was and shot from the hip. Yes, they were very different, but mentally they were perfectly matched.”
As for his own connection to C.S. Lewis, as a direct result of being an ex Oxford choir scholar and school boy (“I wasn’t an undergraduate but it was my academic home for eight years from 1960 – 1968”) he is in the position of knowing exactly where he was the night that the World lost two great men.
“I was at Magdalen college school, the school that was related to C.S. Lewis’s college. It was the evening of the twenty-second of November 1963 and I was walking back from chapel, in my gown and mortar board, having sung a service. An undergraduate stopped me, which in itself was quite unusual. He told me that President Kennedy had just been killed. It was the same night that less than a mile away C.S. Lewis died, so not only do I know where I was when President Kennedy was shot, but I also know where I was when C.S. Lewis died because I was right on his doorstep.”
Admitting that the insight into Oxford life has proved useful in preparing for the role, what appealed most to Stephen about the play?
“Firstly it’s a whacking great part – I’m never off the stage. In rehearsal I’m finding that a bit daunting,” he laughed.
“At the moment I’m at that stage of running before I can walk and falling over a lot, metaphorically, but that’s a necessary part of the process. Making an ass of yourself and feeling like a fool in rehearsals is a prerequisite.
“Another reason I wanted to do it was that I’ve just done a year of television. I’ve done some lovely stuff which I really enjoyed, but there’s no real rehearsal culture in television and I was dying to get back into the rehearsal room and that organic way of creating on the shop floor.”
Thoughtfully, he added: “And getting to know people, too. You develop very warm relationships in theatre and after a year I missed that.”
With the tour of Shadowlands he is certainly going to have plenty of time to bond with his fellow cast members. Not that life on the road bothers Stephen one jot.
“It’s a great way to catch up with friends, but touring is also a great way to see the country. I visit the galleries and museums and do the walks and whatever else there is to do or see. It’s part of the fun and I’ve seen the world that way. I love working and travelling at the same time.”
Playing opposite him is Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy. “She was made to play the part,” said Stephen, who doesn’t look too far into the future when it comes to his own career.
“I don’t really plan and the things that come along always surprise me. I wasn’t expecting to play Titus Andronicus at the RSC for instance. It was a play I didn’t know but I loved doing it; it was intriguing, absorbing, and demanding. I think I’d like to play Lear when I’m about seventy,” he mused, before laughing and saying: “Not that long to go then!”
But for now this charming gentleman and scholar is delighting in Shadowlands. Go to see it and you will too.
Official website: www.shadowlandstour.com
Twitter: @shadowlandstour
Facebook: shadowlandsthetour

 

Jolly good show, chaps! Vicky Edwards meets actor Graham Seed

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Vicky Edwards meets actor Graham Seed to talk about Rattigan, romance and how wearing a uniform might give his wife ideas…
With the tractors and traumas of Ambridge well and truly behind him (he played Nigel Pargetter in the radio soap The Archers for an incredible 27 years), award-winning actor and broadcaster Graham Seed continues to work extensively. Just starting out on a national tour, Graham plays Squadron Leader Swanson in Terence Rattigan’s Flare Path, directed by Justin Audibert.
“It’s going very well and we have a terrificGraham Seed as Squadron Leader Swanson and Daniel Fraser as Teddy Graham in the 2016 National tour of Flare Path credit Jack Ladenburg cast,” beamed Graham, a self-confessed Rattigan fan.
“As an actor I am really enjoying it because Rattigan writes such good characters; he just didn’t write bad parts. One of his best plays is The Deep Blue Sea and this has early elements of that. It’s rather delightful and I like the play enormously.”
Based on Rattigan’s own experiences as a tail gunner during World War II, the play is rooted in wartime Britain, where the life-and-death existence of the RAF bomber crews, and their wives and sweethearts who were on tenterhooks awaiting their return, created a permanent state of high anxiety. The story tells of former actress Patricia, the wife of RAF pilot Teddy. When Patricia’s ex‐lover and Hollywood idol Peter arrives out of the blue her emotions are thrown into turmoil and the survival of her marriage to Teddy becomes uncertain. As the conflict rages in the skies above, on terra firma feelings simmer, threatening to become every bit as explosive.
A romance with shades of Brief Encounter then? Graham nodded. “She has to decide what she’s going to do, but it does have humour, too. It’s a very evocative and powerful play.
“My character is quite funny and rather charming. He’s a frightfully good chap; full of that stiff upper lip phlegm.”
But in pitching his performance Graham has had to take care not to stray into parody. “If you did it wrong you’d be into Black Adder or Monty Python territory, which you don’t want at all.”
But it’s not just the good of the play that Graham is mindful about; he clearly has great respect for the real life pilots who carried out such dangerous missions.
“These boys were incredibly brave and they understated the danger always. The play is set against the backdrop of planes taking off and not coming back and at one point my character says: ‘we do owe these boys something.’ You can see why Churchill loved it. The Great War was so ghastly that it became romantic, but in the Second World War far more civilians were bombed.”
Mixing history with an intriguing story gives it broad appeal and the cast are delighted that Flare Path is attracting audiences of all ages.
“It’s definitely a play that is suitable for all the family and I do hope that lots of young people will come to see it,” said Graham, who admitted that these days he isn’t feeling as sprightly as he once was.
“I am suddenly feeling my age,” he confided. For years you’re the youngest in the company and now I’m suddenly the oldest – I’m about twenty years older than everyone else!”
But there’s something about this particular production that has had a rejuvenating effect on Graham. Botox? A bit of a nip-and-tuck? As it transpires nothing so drastic.
“I know it sounds slightly immature for a sixty-five-year-old man to say it, but it’s quite nice to put on an air force uniform. I look pretty chipper,” he teased, agreeing that any fella in a military uniform looks instantly dapper, even if they look like a bag of spanners. Not that Graham does, I hastily reassured him. Laughing off the unintended insult he said:
“It’s like evening dress – if you’re a woman and you suddenly look at your old man in evening dress you say ‘goodness he polishes up well!’ When my wife sees me in my RAF uniform I hope she thinks that there’s life in the old dog yet!”
Certainly on the work front he continues to have offers lined up and, although he is best remembered for The Archers, his CV is crammed with credible theatre, film and TV credits. “That’s because I’m so old,” he twinkled. “I’ve ducked and dived; I’m what they call a jobbing actor.”
As for life on tour, Graham doesn’t mind living out of a suitcase in the least.
“It’s rather romantic and like being with a family. For me, as an older member of the company, there’s a responsibility to make sure that everyone’s happy. But it’s a lovely way to see friends in other parts of the country and to visit wonderful theatres.”
With all the schlepping about he does for work, how does Graham relax?
“I find it very hard to relax,” he confessed. “I do What the Papers Say every other Sunday, so don’t get many Sunday’s off. You always worry about your next job and even at sixty-five I’m always worried that I’ll be found out. But I’m actually pretty content. Getting older makes you less ambitious; there are more important things, like your health. So now I am absolutely thrilled to play good supporting roles and to really enjoy them.”
Anxious that he doesn’t come across as “worthy” (he doesn’t), Graham believes that there is a duty to tour good plays around the country, especially to unsubsidised theatres.
Speaking of which, it was time for him to head off to transform himself into a fine young man in uniform for the evening performance.
“I’m revving up for chocks away,” he grinned, before adding: “It’s not a bad life.”
Indeed. And he’s a jolly good egg. A jolly good egg in a jolly good show. Go and see for yourself.
Official website: www.flarepaththetour.com
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Chris Pratt To Struggling Actors: ‘Don’t give up. It will break before you do’

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Chris prattParks and Recreation actor Chris Pratt has said he always knew he was going to be successful. Pratt has achieved leading man status in films Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World.

Chris posted teasers of the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel on his Instagram page. He posted a picture of his commute and wrote: “It’s 3:20am. I got picked up for work at 6:45am yesterday. I’m not good with math, especially after being up for approximately 61 hours but I think I’ve been up for over 77 hours. I did a table read for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 this morning and then shot all day on Passengers and just now wrapped some 144 hours later. Weirdly both films, which I’ll be shooting back to back, are being shot in Atlanta at Pinewood studios. We have the best crew. Total rock stars busting their asses. And the stuff we’re shooting. My God. I can’t wait for you to see it. I go back in in about 8 hours to do more.”

It’s 3:20am. I got picked up for work at 6:45am yesterday. I’m not good with math, especially after being up for approximately 61 hours but I think I’ve been up for over 77 hours. I did a table read for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 this morning and then shot all day on Passengers and just now wrapped some 144 hours later. Weirdly both films, which iI’l be shooting back to back, are being shot in Atlanta at Pinewood studios. We have the best crew. Total rock stars busting their asses. And the stuff we’re shooting. My God. I can’t wait for you to see it. I go back in in about 8 hours to do more. I am doing what I love. It doesn’t feel like work. Even though it is. I’m having fun. I’m overcome with joy and gratitude. I felt like posting this to say to anyone out there chasing your dream… Fifteen years ago I felt the same passion I feel today, but I had very little opportunity. I had to hustle hard and go hungry. I had to eat sardines and figure out how to get gas money. And I never had a plan B. I never stopped believing. Ever. Don’t give up. Apply constant pressure for as long as it takes. It will break before you do. Go get it.

A photo posted by chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) on

He then went on to tell fans to never give up on their dreams by saying:

“I am doing what I love. It doesn’t feel like work. Even though it is. I’m having fun. I’m overcome with joy and gratitude. I felt like posting this to say to anyone out there chasing your dream… Fifteen years ago I felt the same passion I feel today, but I had very little opportunity. I had to hustle hard and go hungry. I had to eat sardines and figure out how to get gas money. And I never had a plan B. I never stopped believing. Ever. Don’t give up. Apply constant pressure for as long as it takes. It will break before you do. Go get it.”

 

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