How long have you been into amateur dramatics?

When I was around 13, they set up a youth theatre group at the Watermill Theatre near Newbury. At that age I just assumed that everyone wanted to be an actor, so I joined as soon as I heard. I've been acting on-and-off ever since.

Do you have any formal training?

Apart from a GCSE in drama, no. Everything I know about acting I've learnt from observation, practice and role-playing games.

How do you prepare for a role?

I look at it like I'm creating a character. I read the script and try and build up what sort of character would say those lines in those circumstances. Once the character is honed, then I simply role-play that character and acting becomes almost improvisation.

What roles do you generally play?

Looking back, it seems the majority of my roles have involved strutting about. From greek gods and dead poets to rock stars and psychopaths, I've played a lot of villains, egotists and other characters who demand the audience's attention. How much of this is my interpretation of the roles, and how much is me being typecast, I leave as an exercise for the reader.

What roles do you prefer?

I like playing extreme roles, roles you really have to put some effort into. I like the process of discovery, of gradually learning the best way to deal with the role. This might be the process of figuring out a complex psychology so you can really become the character, or figuring out the most effective physical performance characteristics for the more farcical characters in panto and suchlike.

What actor(s) do you model yourself on?

If I had to pick an actor I was most like, I suppose it would be Gary Oldman - someone who plays a disparate variety of characters and is not afraid to surrender himself to the part, even at the cost of his dignity or even his recognisability. If I was a more attractive man, I might compare myself to Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp, as they are also actors who are not afraid of taking on more extreme roles.

What productions have you been involved in?

I'm glad you asked...

My Acting Portfolio