Kent-born actor Shaun Williamson is back on stage in Bromley at the end of the month, appearing in the musical Love Me Tender.
His winding career also includes EastEnders, frequent work with Ricky Gervais, stage and film work. We caught up with Shaun, 49, to discuss his highlights.
EastEnders
Shaun was just six months out of drama school when he was cast as one of Albert Square’s most popular characters, the hapless Barry Evans in 1994. He played the role for a decade until leaving in 2005.
A high point was the double wedding on New Year’s Eve 1999, where Barry married Natalie (Lucy Speed) and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) married Mel (Tamzin Outhwaite). It was watched by an audience of 20 million.
Getting away from Walford was also fun for Shaun.
He said: “I always enjoyed going away on location. I did it three times: I had my stag night in Amsterdam, we went to Paris for a World Cup special and my death scenes were shot in Scotland over a fortnight. I enjoyed getting out of the studio.”
Extras
After leaving EastEnders, Shaun picked up work on Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s beloved sitcom Extras (and later their next project Life’s Too Short). He played a comic, fictional version of himself.
He said: “With all the Ricky Gervais stuff, I was very lucky he took me under his wing and he put me in Extras and Life’s Too Short.
“In the first series, I was in three episodes but I think we filmed it in two days because all of my scenes were in the office with Ricky and Steve. I thought ‘well, that was fun’.
“On the second series, I realised I was in every one and working with people like David Bowie. That was great.”
Scoop
Shaun dipped his toe in to children’s TV in 2009, playing Digby, the lead in the CBBC hit Scoop alongside puppet Hacker T Dog.
Shaun said: “Scoop was really great fun. It just opened up another level of fans – all these kids. You look back on all of those shows you really enjoyed as a kid and hopefully some of those people will say in future will say they loved Scoop. It’s great to be part of that.”
Houdini
“I was very lucky, I made a film with Adrien Brody last year called Houdini,” said Shaun. “That was in Budapest. It made me feel like a proper actor.
“It was great – we did one scene that was in a hotel. That was quite frightening, you’ve got the whole thing with the crane and the camera for a big open shot.
“The trouble is if you cock anything up it takes so much of a reset that you’re so nervous you don’t really enjoy it. You just want to do a good job and not make a tit out of yourself.”
Plebs
“Last year, I managed to get out to Bulgaria to film an episode of Plebs.
“That was good fun. It was incredible, it was Simon Callow and all sorts of people. I played a Roman chariot driving instructor.
“I had to go Rickmansworth to learn how to drive a Roman chariot, so that was fun. It’s the quirky little things that are fun.”
On Stage
“I loved playing Fletcher on stage in Porridge. It is fantastic when you think of the other person who played him, it’s an honour.
“My favourite stage performance has been Guys and Dolls. I played Nathan in the national tour. It is just the perfect musical, it is wonderful. There’s not a bad song in it.”
Love Me Tender
“I love Elvis and just love the music. If you don’t love the music sometimes it can be really uncomfortable.
“Elvis fans will enjoy it anyway because it has 25 Elvis songs but it is not about Elvis. It is not an Elvis tribute. It’s a feel-good musical. It is very funny and you don’t have to be an Elvis fan to enjoy it.”
Shaun Williamson stars alongside Mica Paris in Love Me Tender at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, from August 31 to September 5. Go to atgtickets.com/bromley
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