A glance at the Twitter page of former Footballers' Wives and The Bill star, Ben Richards (@benrichardsact), shows him to be an open, likeable guy, exactly how he came across while talking to RTÉ TEN’s Taragh Loughrey-Grant.
The actor is currently in rehearsals for his role as Captain Hook in the Grand Canal Theatre’s upcoming production of classic family favourite Peter Pan.
Although he may now be a daily Tweeter, he wasn’t always a Twitter fan.
I used to chastise people who were on it, didn’t understand it and then a friend of mine said to me that in our industry in order to keep people in contact with what you’re doing, you should do it. Then like all of these things, they become overtly addictive and now I’m completely addicted to it.
How are rehearsals going for your next role?
It’s the first day of rehearsals for Peter Pan and I’m very excited. It’s a fantastic company, there’s a really good vibe in the room and a nice bunch of people. We did a read through and it sounds great. It’s going to be a really good production, even just from reading through it. I’ve seen Peter Pan done in many forms but this by far is my favourite, from what I’ve read and experienced so far. It’s going to be a really good one.
Are you bringing anything new to Captain Hook?
This is quite a sexy Hook, not to give too much away but I’ve checked out the design but it’s not your typical Hook with the big flowing wig and moustache. This one is updated and has a bit more of the Jack Sparrow about him and I hope to bring a little sex appeal to the role, which will be quite fun.
Will this version differ from the traditional telling of the Peter Pan story?
We’re generations on from the original Peter Pan and we’re highlighting that. The original Wendy was the Darling family’s grandmother and the story is that it has been happening over generations in Neverland, that they carry on the story of Peter Pan and when the Darling family go over there it’s the original Peter Pan and the original Wendy’s grandchildren.
Then my Hook knows that every time they run this story he gets eaten by the crocodile but he believes that he’s going to be the first one to actually kill Peter Pan and not be like his predecessors and get eaten by this crocodile.
We have this enormous crocodile, I think it’s about 40 foot, it’s huge. Plus we’ve got the world premiere of this flying rig – the best one in the country. It can be done using computers; you can have people moving at the same time. And of course, you’ve got Daniel Boys who has the most incredible voice.
You have worked together before.
I did, way back when he was a mere pup, on Grease and then he went in front of this very small show on BBC called Any Dream Will Do! It was enormous and he came very close to winning it. I think he was in the top three so he’s a very much asked for actor in musicals and he does concerts all over the world. We just got him back from Australia, where he was doing a concert.
Why did the production company decide to host the world premiere in Ireland?
Because of this theatre, the Grand Canal Theatre, its brand new and the production company have been building a really great relationship with them. Also the company will also have ‘White Christmas’ on there so it’s an exciting time. It’s a beautiful theatre in a beautiful city.
Have you spent much time in Dublin?
I’ve been over for one day, years ago when I was a wee puppy, I was 22, doing Magic of the Musicals. I think it was on in the National Concert Hall and the audience were crackin’.
I did one night there and I got to visit one bar and then went to bed and we were the next morning so I haven’t seen Dublin properly. I’m looking forward to seeing Dublin and having a little mosey around Ireland. I want to get a feel for the place. The name Richards has Irish heritage so I’ll look into that.
You have a broad mix of TV and stage work, starring in everything from Holby City to a stage production of Guys and Dolls alongside Don Johnson - is this you always wanted to do?
I started off training as a song and dance man, musical theatre was my thing and what I always wanted to do was to star in a West End musical.
Luckily I got the chance to do that, Saturday Night Fever was my big break. As I started to get more of those roles, I retrained, doing some Misner at The Actors Centre and then landed my first TV role and it developed from there.
Luckily I’ve been able to come out of TV and developed a bit of a name for myself in the West End and luckily I get offered these very interesting musical theatre roles, so I bounce between the two which is what I wanted to do.
Have you ever thought of working in soaps?
I went up for Coronation Street a few times but my Northern accent is shocking. I remember conversations with the casting agent and I literally did a tour of England and ended up in Pakistan which is quite interesting. She said: ‘Ben if ever you are in this show, we’ll have to make it a London family coming in!’ I read for a character who’s not in it anymore, I can’t remember and the lad that got it had a good nice strong Northern accent.
There have been critical reports of Michelle Collins’ accent in the soap.
There are lots of comments on facebook and the internet but let her settle in and I know she’s a London bird but let her sink in. It’s very difficult because these soaps are like families, people have them in their house four nights a week, so they’re very passionate about them.
How about EastEnders?
We’ll see, the most important thing and I know a lot of actors say this but it's the character - is that going to inspire me, is that going to push me as an actor? And if I’m not then I’m not really interested. Doing Hook is such a classic role and it’s really stretching me and is very different to anything I’ve ever done before and those are things that excite me.
I probably would have earned a lot more money if I was more interested in money but it’s the characters that interest me. We’ll see, if there’s something in a soap and they want me and it’s an interesting role, then who knows, maybe.
Were your family supportive initially when you told them you wanted to be a performer?
I come from a very small town [Rustington in Sussex] and it was a bit of a Billy Elliott situation but they were fully supportive and helped me in every way so I could achieve my dreams. I originally studied in my local dancing school and then I went on to Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom [Surrey] and then on to The Actor’s Centre [London] to study my Misner stuff, which opened loads of doorways for me. Once dad became more educated to the sort of things I was studying and what I was training to do, he couldn’t be more proud. He loves coming to my premieres and seeing me up there.
What are your future plans?
I’ve started developing relations now in America with an agent and a manager out there so again I’m trying to diversify and add that to the mix to see if we can build a career that is bouncing over the Atlantic. That would be my ideal, to be doing theatre and television here as well as theatre and television in America.
Does Helen, your wife of eight years, enjoy the diversity?
She’s been really supportive, she knows it’s a gypsy life. I’ve been lucky in the past three years to be in the one place doing The Bill and it’s rare for me. She’s used to me having to up sticks and scoot round on tour or having to film somewhere else so she enjoys if I’m doing a West End run, she enjoys it because I’m at home of an evening or at times during the day or if I’m doing a TV series, both Footballers' Wives and The Bill were London based so I was around. Sometimes I’ve had to scoot off on tour so she’s prepared for that.
Following the closure of a number of theatre and opera companies in Ireland and worldwide, why do you think musicals are still popular?
If you look at times when people are struggling a little bit, at the moment people are struggling financially and there are an awful lot of sad and depressing things going on across the world and what people want to do of a night is to get away and to be cheered up and taken into a different place. To be sung to for an evening and to be cheered up, that’s the joy of musicals, that’s what they can do – they can make you laugh, make you cry and take you away from the world we’re living in, to a fantasy trip for two to three hours.
Ben Richards will star as Captain Hook in the Grand Canal Theatre’s World Premiere of Peter Pan from Friday 15 July to Saturday 6 August 2011.
