In our exclusive interview, the English actor discusses what it's like to work on a soap, Coronation Street's famous live tram crash and what he's up to now.
What’s the hardest thing about working on a soap?
I feel like soap acting doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It’s seriously hard work. If you don’t make quick choices in a soap opera, you’re either going to look absolutely silly or you’re going to be gone. I’ve found that a lot of the best actors have some sort of experience working in soaps. It’s fast. You can’t overthink choices, and you might have 12 scripts on the go, all being shot out of order. You get very little direction, so you have to be accurate, efficient, and on it all the time. You’ve got to learn lines quickly, and those are real key skills.
You starred on Hollyoaks and then Coronation Street. Both have huge fan bases. Do you get recognised?
You feel the change instantly. With Hollyoaks, I remember being recognised a lot. That’s when you realise you’re being watched by millions. My storyline in Coronation Street drew controversy as my character Paul started a romantic relationship with Eileen while still caring for his wife, who had early on-set dementia. Opinion was split, and I’d have some people come up and tell me how much the storyline resonated with them and other people tell me how out of order I was. But that’s the point of soaps. It’s to divide opinion.
What’s been your strangest fan interaction?
I did this film with Christoph Waltz a year or so ago, which was amazing. I’d been saying I wanted to go off and work with different people, and then suddenly I was working with Christoph Waltz, Cooper Hoffman and Lucy Liu.
We were filming in Belfast, and after we wrapped one day, Christoph actually knocked on my trailer door and said, ‘We’re going for a drink tonight, we’d like you to join us.’ We went into this packed pub and just had a pint of Guinness. Christoph was even asking me to explain the difference between a good Guinness and a bad Guinness, which was brilliant, although I’m still not sure I fully know the answer myself.
Then a coachload of a hen party turned up, and he was like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God,’ thinking it was all for him. Then they came over asking for photos, and at one point they handed him the phone and asked him to take a picture of me! That’s the wild impact of soaps. You’re in everyone’s homes night after night. So you can sometimes cause more of a frenzy than an Oscar winner!
You joined Coronation Street during its unforgettable 50th anniversary storyline, which featured the live tram crash that devastated the Street. What was it like filming such a huge television event, and what might viewers be surprised to learn about how it was pulled off?
It was a really strange experience, but brilliantly directed by Tony Prescott. What stood out was the amount of rehearsal we did. On a soap, that almost never happens, but for this, we rehearsed for about a week, with camera and technical rehearsals as well.
I spent a lot of time with Vicky Binns and Sally Dynevor in the cafe scenes after the tram crash. We were in this crumbling building set, waiting for our cues while snippets of other scenes played out across the Coronation Street lot. The wildest thing is how quiet it was. The floor manager would count you in, you’d do your scene, and then there’d be silence again. You knew millions of people were watching, but you had no real sense of it while you were filming.
At the end, we all heard the closing credits music come through the speakers, and there was this wonderful moment where all the actors piled onto the cobbles in celebration. It was like a big curtain call in the theatre, and really emotional for everyone.
During your time on Hollyoaks, the show famously leaned into its reputation for having one of television’s most glamorous casts, even producing the annual Hollyoaks Babes and Hollyoaks Hunks calendars. Do you think things have changed today?
I think there’s more care but of course, things can still happen. And pressure is a massive thing, especially with social media. I remember doing a Full Monty style scene on Coronation Street where we had to be naked. Some of the younger lads purposefully didn’t drink water for two days beforehand so they wouldn’t be bloated, and others were in the gym, trying to look as buff as possible.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a Channel 4 drama called Patience. It’s a really lovely company to be part of. Everyone’s been great, and I’m working with Jessica Hynes, who I think is absolutely brilliant, as well as a genuinely warm and generous person.
So that’s been keeping me busy for now. Beyond that, it’s hard to say what’s next, but that’s very much the nature of the job.
Visit Betway’s online casino page.
