"I played a deaf mute in Shameless"

Hometown
I was originally born in Openshaw and now I’m living in Newton Heath. Manchester born and bred!

What do you do?
I’m an actor. At the moment I’m employed by Contact Theatre and Victoria Theatre Co (Belgium), although this changes as I have to go where the work is.

How long have you been at it?
I’ve been on this current project for six months, and altogether have been acting professionally for about four years now

What was your very first role in theatre?
My first work in theatre was with a small theatre group called Moston Active Drama. I co-wrote a show with the director and another cast member and we took it around Manchester to some pretty cool theatres. My first professional job was with Quarantine as a performer in White Trash at Contact Theatre.

What else have you done in theatre?
I played Danny in M6 Theatre Company’s Danny King of the Basement and have also worked with Red Ladder Theatre Company. TV-wise, I played a deaf-mute in Shameless, and have been in The Royal, Northern Lights and Blue Murder.

Have you got qualifications?
I studied theatre, media and English literature for an access course in 2002. That’s really what got me into theatre in the first place. I don’t have any professional training. I did my training by learning from others while working in professional theatre.

What did you do before you worked in theatre?
I had quite a lot of other jobs before I discovered my passion, from waitering to driving a forklift truck! Before I stumbled into theatre, I was training to be a teacher, although it seems strange to think of being one now.

How did you make the move to working in theatre?
Well I kind of stumbled into theatre by taking opportunities offered. I didn’t know I wanted to be an actor until I was an actor!

What did you want to be when you grew up?
As a young child I wanted to join the army and save the world (every boy’s dream I guess), but as I grew older, I realised that it wasn’t the glorious fantasy life I’d imagined it to be so my dream changed. As a teenager I just wanted to make a comfortable living as a musician but my musical skills weren’t good enough to play session work and Sony weren’t exactly knocking on my door! I was on course to a steady life in teaching until theatre work came up.

What do you do all day?
Typically, the cast arrive on set about two-and-a-half three hours before the curtain goes up and sit with the director, who gives notes on the previous night’s performance. It’s important to do this every day to keep the show fresh and lively. After notes, we’ll usually go to the dressing rooms and maybe have a cup of hot water and lemon (for the voice) then about an hour before the curtain goes up we’ll begin warm-ups.

Every performer has their individual favourite warm-ups which work for them but it’s also important that as a cast we have a session of group focus exercises to get us all on the same level for the show. Fifteen minutes before the start of the show, the house is opened and we return to our dressing rooms to get mentally prepared.

A show lasts around 90 minutes and it’s 90 minutes of mentally exhausting focus and concentration. After the show, there’s sometimes a post-show discussion and then it’s off to the bar for drinks and to discuss the ins and outs of that night’s show.

What’s the best thing about your job?
I feed off the energy from the crowd. There’s nothing better in the whole world than having a few hundred people hanging on your words. Aside from that, getting comps (free tickets) to other shows is great. There’s something intrinsically cool about having a ticket with £0.00 – ‘Paid with thanks’ on it.

And the worst?
The worst thing about it is the constant effort to keep your energy up and keep a show fresh and lively. It’s exhausting to say your lines for the hundredth show and still feel them for the first time. Sometimes I’m absolutely wiped out by the end of a show – but usually that means it was a good one.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
I’d love to work more in dance-theatre. I’ve been choreographed a few times and although I’ve never had any formal dance training, I love being able to move my body in unusual and beautiful ways.

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Don’t give up. Identify your goals and figure out smaller goals which will get you to where you want to be in small steps. Keep going and trust yourself and your skills.