DANIEL MAYS: I've Worked with Hollywood’s Biggest Stars But I Still Sometimes Feel Like an Imposter
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What was Daniel Mays' childhood like in Essex?
Going from being an Essex boy with your brothers playing football to suddenly going doing jazz and wearing a leotard. Those are two separate worlds colliding. Literally head off.
It felt like I was leaving that life that I'd known. How old were you at that point? I was like 13. It's young, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was terrified when I first went to RADA. Really? I'm honest to God, I was like... I just sort of clammed up and I thought, I'm way out of my depth here. Feeling just so in fear and that imposter syndrome was kicking in and... Hi, I'm Danny Mays, and I'm in great company. Danny Mays!
Why did Daniel nearly not attend stage school?
I got nominated for a BAFTA for Line of Duty. When they say someone else's name, there's a camera pointed at you right at that moment. You're like, where do I look? And you just have to go, well done, Tom! And what's one role you missed out on? Oh, the casting director walked me down the corridor to the lift. I remember the door shutting like that. You were wonderful. Just really great. I didn't end up getting it. It's a harrowing story. It's a heavy role. It's a heavy role. One of Britain's worst ever sexual predators. Nicknamed the black cab rapist. I underestimated it.
And I heard that you had to take some counselling afterwards.
Yeah, and it was just very isolating. And again, I was like, I don't need to talk to a counsellor. But I ended up talking to the counsellors and it was really invaluable. Because I'll tell you what it was, Jamie. Our daughter is 13 now.
What unforgettable advice did Michael Douglas give Daniel?
As a parent, it absolutely terrified me.
Guys, welcome back. Really excited for today's show because we have Daniel Mays on. One of UK's greatest actors. When you see his face, you know exactly who he is. Today's episode, we talk about the industry. We talk about acting. We talk about his life. We go everywhere, all over the place, including his newest role, which is harrowing for so many reasons. Now, if you haven't yet subscribed to our show, if you could, you could join the community of incredible people. It's completely free. And also, it helps us keep getting better guests, keep making the show better for you every single week. If you can do that one thing, thank you so much. Okay, enjoy this insane episode of Great Company with Daniel Mays.
You're not shy of cameras here, are you? You must be used to this many cameras, eh?
Come on. Um, when I was on EastEnders, yeah, when I did four... That's multi-cameras, isn't it, on soaps? Is it? Yeah, yeah. That's the first thing I did was four episodes on EastEnders and it was like, I think it was like three cameras filming you at once and you get like two takes if you're lucky.
Okay.
It was like a... Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow that down. Are you kidding me?
So you go two takes, that's it? Pretty much. It was like a baptism of fire. It was just insane. I have absolute admiration for soap actors because they do all the homework on their own and they come and they go, right, okay, here you go. That's right. You got the dialogue in the right way. You didn't bump into the furniture. Move on.
It was really quick.
How did playing John Worboys impact Daniel Mays?
Because you were Kevin in EastEnders. Kevin. Yeah, so you were Kevin in EastEnders.
I was Kat Slater's ex-boyfriend who chose, when they first landed in Albert Square, I was her boyfriend and she didn't tell me that she'd moved there. So he turns up and he chains himself to the gate. He jumps on top of the taxi. He has the bedpan thrown over him. I mean, it was comedy gold. That was my first gig, though. Could you imagine? So that's fresh out of RADA? Yeah, but I didn't work for six months.
What was it like performing in front of Daniel Day-Lewis?
I literally couldn't get arrested. And I was like, what do I do now? I've got all my eggs in one basket. And I was just thankful that I got a part, you know. And it was Julia Cramsey was the casting director. And it was four episodes. And there I was, my first professional scene coming out of drama school was with Tamsin Alfway in The Queen Vic. It's just surreal, you know.
It's boring.
but i was like i didn't want to get typecast you know i didn't want to get bogged down in that you knew that from a very early like age so you did you from when you first started you're like i don't want to be typecast i don't want to yeah yeah and then like julia crampsy then got me my next job which was like a neo-nazi bomber on this thing called in deep with nick berry and steve tomkinson and i was like i don't want to be typecast i don't want to be typecast
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What was Daniel Mays' childhood like in Essex?
0:00–0:36
2
Why did Daniel nearly not attend stage school?
0:36–1:28
3
What unforgettable advice did Michael Douglas give Daniel?
1:28–2:55
4
How did playing John Worboys impact Daniel Mays?
2:55–3:25
5
What was it like performing in front of Daniel Day-Lewis?
3:25–9:21
6
How did Daniel Mays navigate his early career challenges?
9:21–12:20
7
What is the significance of the role in 'Believe Me'?
12:20–14:24
8
What insights does Daniel share about dealing with imposter syndrome?
14:24–1:08:30
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Great Company with Jamie Laing
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