Eddie Marsan: 鈥業 hate the idea of anyone defining me鈥�
Actor Eddie Marsan: 鈥業 decided very early on that I wanted to be diverse鈥�
The acclaimed actor Eddie Marsan has told the 鲍鱼tv he always wanted to pursue a diverse range of roles in his work to avoid being typecast.
Speaking to HARDtalk鈥檚 Stephen Sackur, Mr Marsan said, 鈥業 was always being cast, early on in my career, as drug dealers or bank robbers or thugs in one way or the other. And I wanted to be an actor. I didn't want to be a professional caricature of a working-class character.鈥�
Mr Marsan is widely regarded as one of the UK鈥檚 best and most successful character actors, but he says class still has an impact on casting in the UK film, TV and theatre industry.
鈥業 hate the idea of anyone defining me,鈥� he said, 鈥榖ecause usually when they define me鈥� it鈥檚 some posh bloke defining what he thinks I am, and I have to wait around for him to give me a job.鈥�
鈥業 wanted to empower myself as an actor, to be able to play all different parts,鈥� he said.
Eddie Marsan has found success playing a wide range of roles in the US and UK. He is currently starring as Mitch Winehouse in a recently released biopic of the singer Amy Winehouse, and as John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, in a series for Apple TV.
Acting, he says, has given him freedom: 鈥業 found it very liberating to become somebody else鈥� to explore other personalities and other characters.鈥�
