Interviews Gavin Brocker by DJ Forrest

The interview with Gavin Brocker was a much more confident piece, in the sense that for once I remembered the Post it Note over the camera and I wasn't over explaining my questions. Gavin was a wonderful guest and you could tell from his responses regarding 'George' that he really enjoyed playing the role and he LOVED sci fi, especially the 'Realm of Who'.

I began by asking him how he'd got into acting, be it through drama school or talent scout?

Gavin: It was through drama school. I was originally at secondary school and wasn't particularly interested and classes didn't hold my interest other than Drama and English. I had an interview at North Kent College in Dartford for a computer course because my Dad suggested that would be good for me, which I wasn't really interested in. I went for this interview for the computer course and the woman who interviewed me looked through my NRA which is my National Record of Achievement and she could see that there was lots of things to do with acting, loads of reports, certificates and she suggested I go and have an audition at a place called the Miskin Theatre which was the course at the North Kent College.

So, I went home to my Mum and Nan and said 'this lady said I should go and act, and that's what I really want to do' and they said 'absolutely, you should go for it' and so I phoned up the Miskin Theatre and said 'I know it's late but are there any more auditions?' And the woman that I spoke to, Laura White, she actually said to me, 'We've got an audition in two days’ time, it's the last audition day but you're going to need to prepare a monologue.'

I said, OK great, fine. Got off the phone really excited and then thought - where do I find a monologue?

So, I went and found one and learnt it and went in and did a workshop, did my audition and the guy on the panel Dominic Power said, 'You need to follow this because you've got a raw ability' and that was when I was 16 and from then I never looked back.

From there went to audition for a drama school. There are 22 accredited drama schools around the country, RADA is obviously the most well-known but it was a place called Arts Educational Schools, London or Arts Ed and they auditioned there. And got in there and studied for three years and from there left with an agent, but my training, my acting training was six years in total, three at the Miskin College and three at Arts Ed. and those six years were brilliant. So that's how I got into acting.

So, you've not had any breaks, you know, two or three months where you've not had any work? Have you been able to support yourself through acting or have you had to take other jobs to keep a roof over your head?

Gavin: The acting industry is a very tough industry and when I first left drama school, my first two years I was very lucky and had solid work and then things dried up a little bit and you do have to start looking.  It's just life in general.  I'm thinking what am I going to be able to do if I don't get another acting job? So I, funnily enough went back to the place where it all started for me - the Miskin Theatre, who the directors that I'd worked with there became friends and they said, 'Look why don't you come and direct here and work here in education and if you get acting work you can go and do the acting work. So, I did that, and I had a trial period and loved teaching acting and I am still there to this day. So, when I'm not acting, I teach and when I'm not teaching I'm acting. So, touch wood it's a real fortunate position to be in.

What is your favourite type of role - modern day or period?

Gavin: I love every part that I get the opportunity to play. I mean period drama is really fun and certainly when I got cast in Torchwood and realising that the part I was playing in the episode was back in time - that's really fun because it's an era that I'm only accustomed to through either books or old period dramas because I didn't grow up in that time so when you get to go back in time and play those parts, they are really fun.

In terms of preference though, I think if the script is a great script I kind of genuinely love any script I get, that captures my imagination. Maybe that's not the answer you were looking for but period dramas I think, are great fun.

In the scene where George throws a punch at Torchwood's Captain Jack do you ever feel very conscious about when you throw a punch that it might connect with the person you're aiming for? I don't know how far the distance is from the camera angles as to how close you are to the other person.

Gavin: That's a good question. It's where you get your training - you do stage and screen combat and both are two very different disciplines. On camera, you have the camera angles to help you out and of course the sound effect - the punch effect will happen post production which they will add the sound effect of the punch. When you're doing it on the day you kind of feel, this feels a bit rubbish then you watch it back and go 'Oh my god that's amazing.' That's down to the edit. 

I never worry about it. However on this particular one when you get cast in a part and end up having a fight with the Lead and it happens to be Mr John Barrowman, at first you go, 'oh please don't hit him, please don't hit him' (laughs) but what's great is that John first of all is great to work with that when we got to that scene, when we filmed it, the fight choreographers came in, you rehearse it a few times, both actors have to feel comfortable and trust it. We both did, and I never really worried about it after you rehearse it because it's done in a real thoughtful and considered way and both actors just before you're ready to shoot - everybody feels comfortable with it and we all did.

Did you have to learn the dance moves before you danced Toshiko across the dance floor?

Gavin: Yes, I did! (grins) I assume you are a Torchwood fan, Djak

('Oh totally' laughs).

Gavin: It was great, man, it was real good fun. My Mum is a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing, so of course when I got given that scene, as much as I did dance at Drama school you go, 'I'm meant to look like I know what I'm doing.' I went up to Wales two days earlier than everybody else, so I could have a rehearsal with the dance. I believe there's a Torchwood Declassified episode of Captain Jack Harkness and you see some of the Behind the Scenes footage of us rehearsing the dance. It was great fun. I think there was a few times where I might have been treading on toes, literally (both laugh). That's one of my favourite things about being an actor, you get to do that stuff and that was what was great playing George in that script. I got to fight, got to dance, got to flirt, got to kind of be a little bit drunk and wear a great costume and that was all in that one episode, so the dancing was great fun.

Did you have much of a background story about George?

Gavin: I, as an actor I like to create a backstory. Your biggest part though is to start with the script. It's easy to make up all these things that can sometimes lead you down a different track and you end up performing a different character that is way out there. So starting with the script is the key point and I was very, very lucky to work with a great group, you know there was four of us, and Matt who played the real Captain Jack, we all stayed in the same hotel with each other and we all got on so well the four of us, so me and Matt after work we met up for the read through which was a day before we started filming and we would have a chat and we would talk about our character's previous relationships, and what they would be like and what they would do and the respect they would have for each other. 

So for example, in the scene where all of a sudden I punch John Barrowman, there's a kerfuffle and eventually going to be a fight, and Matt's character, the real Captain Jack, says something like 'That's enough, kiddo.' and there's an automatic respect there, that we spoke about, that because of the respect that George has for the real Captain Jack it's that absolutely what he says, goes, because of what they've been through and what they've seen, and that's what I loved playing about it. That was really helpful.

(We talked a little about Matt Rippy, the actor who played the real Captain Jack, about the character he played, the interview we had and how much Gavin enjoyed working with him.)

Gavin: He was great, man, he was so great to work with and a real lovely generous actor that was really happy to speak. It was really important I think for the four of us just to speak and bond off screen, so it could come across on screen when you're playing this character. So that's where that becomes really useful when you talk about back story and relationships.

Who were your acting influences growing up?

Gavin: It started as Robert De Niro. Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando. I grew up in a very working-class family background so most days it was watching soap and that's what I thought was acting. It is a part of acting but the films that I'd go and see were as a kid, were Ghostbusters and great, great real films that I love but never really watch it for the acting, I'd watch it for the entertainment value of it, which again is nothing wrong with it, because I loved film and I loved TV but I didn't look at it from a point of, 'oh that person inspires me or influences me'.

When I went to the Miskin and my friends now, an actor called Neil Maskell, he introduced me to a load of De Niro films and Scorsese films, Brando and Gary Oldman and suddenly, watching these performances where it kind of really excited me and wowed me and I thought (gasps) 'Oh WOW, who are these writers, who are these filmmakers? How are they creating that? I started to watch TV and watch films as an actor - I don't mean that to sound pretentious in any way, it just got my juices flowing, just excited me. I wanted to watch more. That was important, so Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando were massive inspirations.

Do you come from an acting family?

Gavin: No, I don't. I am the only actor in my family. There are characters in my family (laughs)

I think there's one in every family isn't there? (Both laugh)

Gavin: There's a few in mine but my Nan was a real massive support for me. She always called me her little actor when I was a child. If we would go on holiday and there was someone who had to go up on stage and dress up I would go and do that. So my Nan was always really supportive and always said 'You'll be an actor one day, you'll be an actor' and bless her, she was right. I come from a really supportive family and again I'm very fortunate.

Are you naturally a private person?

Gavin: Yeah. The reason why I enjoy acting is because I get to play loads of different people and different characters. Social media for example, I'm not one that gets into or particularly understands social media. I do it because now it certainly, in 2018, it's a part of my job so - the sort of things like Instagram, I'm involved in it but do it from a point of - this is what I'm up to, in terms of work and work environment. But personal stuff and private, I value that because that's my life and the people that know me personally. I'd say that I'm fairly private, yes.

(I explained a little about the reason for the privacy question - it had come from an IMDB posting that only listed his year of birth rather than the full date, so now having talked a little more, I can post that Gavin celebrates his birthday with Paul Rudd, Asa Butterfield and Pharell Williams. Have you guessed it yet?)

You also played a character in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Gavin: Do you know why I was so excited about being cast in Torchwood? One of my brothers, Nick, my closest brother is twelve years older than me and I was born in 1983 so a lot of my childhood and my brother Nick is probably, well one of the biggest Doctor Who fans. I grew up watching Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Peter Davison, I watched all of the Doctors, so I kind of grew up watching Doctor Who, and loved it.

So flash forward and obviously taken off the TV and my brother was gutted and lo and behold and flash forward I don't know how many years it was for Doctor Who to air back on TV he was super excited as was I. When they were doing the spin off of Torchwood and then I got the phone call 'would I like to go in to audition for it' I was super wowed by it.

 And of course, really excited and it was a no brainer that I loved the script, and of course after that, the same casting directors were casting Sarah Jane and they called me and it was actually the same director, Ashley Way that directed it, and directed Captain Jack Harkness, that was doing this episode of Sarah Jane Adventures so worked with me before.

.

So, they got me in and said 'do you want to do this part?' and I said, 'Absolutely' and again, loved that, and obviously a very very different script, more designed for children, Sarah Jane Adventures, but to work with Elisabeth Sladen was a great honour. She was my favourite companion and I used to watch her as a kid so, you know I don't normally get star struck when I work with actors but with her I was like 'hello' (laughs). She was great to work with and so to do Torchwood and to do Sarah Jane, I keep saying to my agent, I'd really love to do Doctor Who because I think that would make me one of maybe nine actors who have done all three. I've done two out of three - that would be great fun.

Can you tell us anything about your latest roles. Clipper in In Fabric?

Gavin: The film In Fabric is a British film by director Peter Strickland who has done various low budget and is a very artistic director and has been backed by BAFTA to make this film. Again, one of my friends, Leo Bill is the lead in the film.  I can't say too much about it now as it's post production. It's a psychological thriller/horror. It was a fun script to read but because you get told what you can and can't say I don't know how much I can talk about that. I believe that's coming out at the end of the year.

What I can talk a little bit more about is I've just been in Bulgaria filming a film called Doom.

Isn't that a remake of the old video game Doom with Dwayne Johnson?

Gavin: It's not a remake of the film, it's based on the video game. There was the film with The Rock in which was about ten years ago it was made. They're not calling it Doom 2. It's going to be called Doom and it's like a strapline, a working title, so it's a different entity which was cool. I'm playing a character called Harry who is a Space Marine from New York and I am on a spaceship (Gavin grins excitedly) which again is great fun. And again, anybody that knows the computer game of Doom I'm sure people out there will know in terms of what it's going to be about. There's some great aliens and demons in it which was great fun and lots of guns lots of shooting and I had a great time on it. It was really, really fun to shoot.

So, was there a lot of moving about looking at the tennis ball in the sky as in, that'll be the aliens and stuff coming towards you, so you've got to kind of improvise?

Gavin: Well there was actually people in prosthetics that were running down towards you which was scary especially when you've got a big AK47 type gun which I think people assume, you know,  I'm a six foot guy from London who will kind of go 'Aye, I'll give you a gun and you'll be fine with it.' I was petrified. I didn't know what I was doing, of course that's where all your research comes in. But it was great fun to play and anything growing up, as I say, my brother Nick being a massive sci fi fan and I grew up with Doctor Who, Blakes7, Space 1999, so anything that was sort of Space related, it was so fun to do, so to get cast in Doom was a real great experience. Doom comes out I think at the beginning of next year.

Have you voiced any audio dramas for Torchwood or any audio dramas at all? 

Gavin: I've not done any Torchwood audios or Doctor Who ones. I've done radio before, but I know there's Big Finish Productions - I'd love it if they called me up and said 'Do you want to bring...I've always thought that maybe George could come back in it. It would be great to maybe find out more about that backstory. Even to play other characters, I'd love to. I'm a big fan of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, those producers, that world is a very special world. I've not done any of those dramas, but I'd certainly be up for it, if they were interested.

Which role would you love to get your teeth into?

Gavin: That's a tough question! (I punch the air as I finally have a question Gavin has to think about...for quite a while :D) There's so many. There's so many I can't name one. I've always been, I suppose fascinated with my love for De Niro with kind of gangster, Mafia and a massive music influence for me is Frank Sinatra. That world, that kind of 60s, 70s America fascinates me - Italian/American.

Yeah, I'd love to find a story. The problem is the heyday of these films was made in the 70s so to try and recreate that - I would love to find a new story and character that you could explore more with. Any sort of period drama as well. I would say that sort of Mafiosa world I'd love to be up there for one of my dream roles but there's so many parts.

If you could go back in time, as in the dance hall scene in Torchwood, what era would you feel more at home in or explore in, but still be able to step back into present day at any time?

Gavin: Ahh that's a great question! (Ha, that's two now, I'm on a roll) There's so many people out there thinking - why don't you take this era? (laughs) If I could only choose one it would probably be, (laughs) this probably sounds boring, but the 60s. Just because I think it was a great time, it looked a fun time for music and fashion. That's being safe!

If I got two choices I think medieval. That sort of time that's always fascinated me just to see if I could survive (both laugh). I'd maybe do virtual reality just in case I didn't. I think maybe medieval times would be good fun.

Do you prefer to play roles where you're in uniform as going through your credit list, more than a few of your roles put you in either police, military or other? I saw you were in Holby city but wasn't sure if you were medic or...

Gavin: No, I was in Holby City twice, when I played a patient and then an obsessed lover to a patient. The second when I did play a patient I had an arrow through my mouth, which was a lovely scene to play.

I think it is strange that I've been cast in uniform for period dramas and police officers. There's a strange responsibility when you put on a uniform. There's a strange aura of authority when you stick it on. I wouldn't say I had a preference to it but for example when you again in Torchwood and when I was in a short film called Dip where I played a police officer, you do your preparation at home and you're rehearsing it and stuff. You learn the lines and do the character work and you break the character down but there's something unique when you put that costume on the first time, it just changes you physically. It really does make you feel different which then adds another element to what you've prepared when you play a part. But that isn't just the uniform, that's with everything I've done. I wouldn't have a preference. I have been cast in a lot of period dramas where I've played a chauffeur. I played a chauffeur in Mapp and Lucia and recently in the remake of Howard's End. Again, that just does something to you, it changes your physicality which is helpful as an actor, but I don't have a particular preference. I don't sort of phone my agent and say, 'only police officers and pilots please!' (both laugh).

I think there is sometimes. It's how you look and what you've done and whether you feel comfortable wearing costume and the thing is with your period drama those uniforms, they were heavy (laughs)

(They'd be itchy too I'd imagine, weren't they made of wool?)

Gavin: Yeah, when I was dancing on the dance floor, it took various amounts of takes and different shots, it's a good afternoon. I think it was a full - it was a few days but the dance scene, there was a big scene to shoot and it's very easy to get really, really hot and that's when the makeup department come on and fan you down straight away ready for the next shot. They look, and they feel great.

Also, I've got a beard and a moustache at the moment, but I've always had I suppose a period looking face, which people have cast and people have told me before. 'Oh yeah, really.' I don't know what that means it gets me work, so great.

The film 'Doom' I know you said you were filming in Bulgaria, but did you have to go to America for any of the scenes or were they all filmed in Bulgaria?

Gavin: There's a great studio over in Bulgaria called UFO but Universal do a lot of work over there and the studio is great, and Bulgaria is great if you ever get the chance to go, I'd really recommend it. But the sound studios that we worked in you go and you're not sure what to expect when you walked in on all the different sets, it was a real WOW factor for me, so all of it was shot there. At the moment they're doing all the post production over in L.A., so things left to do in ADR, you know if you add extra dialogue. We'll be travelling over there but a lot of the actors were European or British based, or any Americans that were cast I think were living in Europe and stuff. Again, I'm not sure, there was action all over. The studios in Sofia were great.

Do you still live in the East End or are you based in America or elsewhere?

Gavin: I'm a bit further out now from the East End, I'm more towards Kent but I am still in England. A lot of work is over here, and a lot of castings are still in London, so I am at the moment, I don't want to be too far away from London, but there's obviously a lot of things still happening in the States and all around and that's what you do, some self-tapes

What did you enjoy about playing George, the airman?

Gavin: First, I thought when I read the script, I just loved the story. And when you read it I thought that the fans out there would really enjoy the episode, and so when I read that, that was first, just as a fan of stories, I was like, this is a really cool story.

What I loved I think with George is inside of that world there needed to be someone who had a vibrant energy that was happy to joke and happy to insult and to let rip and to say things and be a bit boisterous and to just have fun. That's what I loved playing about him but also as an actor you can't just do one thing because as humans we're three dimensional so it was to find that other stuff so when you marry that stuff, that boisterous fun side but with a discipline and respect for the uniform and for his colleagues, that becomes really appealing though and that's what I loved about playing George. He wasn't scared to get into a fight, he wasn't scared to just walk up to a girl and to drag her on the dance floor.

(He was very brash)

Gavin: Yes, he's not like me at all. I'd be petrified of going up to her. He wasn't scared to do that. He wasn't scared to have a fight but on that absolute flip side what we spoke about earlier, the respect for the uniform, the respect for the job and the respect for the people that he was in battle with made him completely disciplined. So, you've got both sides of that character and that's what I loved playing with. That's why I loved playing George.

I'm a big supporter of the fan base, of certainly Torchwood. I mean, when did I do that episode of Torchwood, was it 2008? (2007 - It was eleven years ago!!!) Scary! But from everything I've done I still to this day, I still get letters in the post and fans that send cards and send photos or just write a letter to say they really enjoyed the episode and I genuinely really appreciate that because I get as I say, as a kid when I grew up watching Doctor Who, the way people care about the characters and care about the programme I kind of wish Torchwood went on. I thought it was a great success, so I am a massive supporter of that fan base.

Thank you, Gavin for an awesome interview!

Photos courtesy of Torchwood Declassified, Mapp & Lucia & Sarah Jane Adventures