Brockley actor Bob Barrett is playing the role of the Colonel in R.C Sherriff's Journey's End at The Playhouse Theatre.

- Where are you from?I live in Ladywell with my wife and two small daughters. My wife is also an actress. We met when we appeared together in a West End production of Cyrano de Bergerac, with Robert Lindsay.

- How did you get into acting?

I have acted in school shows and so on since the age of 12. I recently found out a stage school spotted me in a school production and asked my parents if they could take me on. Having sensible parents, they refused as they wanted me to get an all-round education first.

- What happened next?

I spent a mad year at university in Belfast before applying to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

- How prepared were you to take on this role?

My father was a Royal Marine Commando in the Second World War. I well remember some of the stories he told about this awful time. I am pleased to be able to bring some of this to my part as Colonel in Journey's End.

- Which other productions have you starred in?

My favourites recently were John Reid in After the Dance, by Terence Rattigan, for the Oxford Stage Company, and Charles II in Victory, by Howard Barker. I was also in five episodes of EastEnders earlier in the year, which was a bit of a contrast to say the least!

- What other interests do you have?

I love music and spend a lot of time listening to it when I am not performing. I also play jazz piano. Maybe because of this my wife has just bought me an allotment so I am busy researching how to grow my own carrots and peas. Any allotment owners in Brockley who see a bemused man holding a spade, please go and give him a few tips!

-- You can see Bob Barrett in Journey's End at The Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, £37.50-£15, 0870 060 6631. For more information, visit www.seejourneyssend.com