The last TV show you loved
The last season of Glow was brilliant. It’s got a nice balance of drama, and it is hilarious. It’s quite nostalgic for me because I love wrestling, especially from the 90s era, which is what I grew up watching. Glow heavily references the 80s, and the brash, bright wrestling of that time – it brings it to life so clearly.
Your favourite TV show when you were 10
Well, I was obsessed with wrestling and the WWF so Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Randy “Macho Man” Savage – they were my heroes … I loved those guys.
I was also 10 or 11 years old when Friends started. It was something that my brother, my mum and I would watch. Over the years, we watched all 10 seasons as a family, and I ended up becoming a huge fan. So I pretty much grew up with Friends, and I now know everything about it.
It was hugely influential for me in deciding to become an actor, too. I really enjoy doing comedy, and a lot of my influences come from Friends; certain choices that I make in my characters, I think: that’s like when Ross did that or Joey did this. I always relate back to Friends.
The show you wish had never been cancelled
It wasn’t cancelled, but I could have watched another 10 seasons of Friends.
… and the show that should be cancelled
Lost went on for too long. Lost got lost, in my opinion. It dragged us down a rabbit hole and then left us in the dark. There were so many unanswered questions. There was also a writers’ strike halfway through, so they were clutching at straws to get good storylines. But the premise never really developed. As a viewer, you get frustrated, and I stopped watching after a while.
Your TV guilty pleasure
When we lived in LA, my wife would watch all of the Real Housewives shows, and I would get drawn in with her, watching three episodes back to back before I even realised what I was doing. The one that I also found very entertaining, because they’re just so far removed from the world that I live in, is Made in Chelsea. They’re so hilariously posh, and the whole thing is so scripted, it all comes across like strange, bad acting. But it’s addictive.
The best episode of TV you have seen
This is arrogant, but episode five of season two of a show I’m in called Black Sails I thought was just a phenomenal piece of television. It was so well crafted, and it had an incredible twist at the end. I remember reading the script and being so excited immediately. It was a gamechanger for viewers, and hooked them right in.
The role you wish you had never turned down
One role just passed me by because of a scheduling issue, which I’m not allowed to talk about. I always think these things always happen for a reason, though. And when you look back at your career, you see why things didn’t come to fruition. It’s like this butterfly effect in reverse.
Season two of The Umbrella Academy is on Netflix from 31 July
