Tuesday, 5 March 2019

Interviews Seren Whyte by DJ Forrest



Do you remember the young female hostage of the Blowfish in Episode 1 of Series 2 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? Well, I caught up with Seren Whyte, recently, and got talking about acting and cars, mostly the racing kind.

Hi Seren, how did you get into acting, who inspired you?

Seren: I have always loved acting but my biggest inspiration was my drama teacher when I was in school, she was so talented and encouraging. I lived for my drama classes and knew that a career in acting was definitely what I wanted to do.

How soon after college or beginning your career in acting did the gig for Torchwood Kiss Kiss Bang Bang come up?


Seren: I filmed Torchwood a few months before I went to drama college and I loved every minute, it marked the beginning of my professional career and was a fantastic way to start.

Had you seen any Torchwood prior to the role? Or Doctor Who?

Seren: Yes, we would watch Doctor Who every Saturday night as a family and then torchwood when it was released in 2006 which made it quite exciting when I got the audition and then offered the role.

Do you come from an acting family?


Seren: Not at all everyone was quite surprised when both my sister Elise and I decided to pursue careers in acting but they are extremely supportive

When did the Rally Driving bug bite?


Seren: The Rally Driving Bug bit in 2012, Elise and I were competing on a rally called ‘LeJog’, which is Land’s End to John O Groats in December and is considered the toughest endurance rally in Europe. We were only going to do that one just to prove that woman could do it to and to raise money for ‘The Pink Ribbon’ Foundation but we relished the challenge and found ourselves hooked on driving.

Other than television roles, have you worked in theatre?

Seren: The majority of my work since beginning my career has been in theatre and I really enjoy performing at different theatres and exploring the towns and cities that I have been based in. I love working in both stage and screen as I find the subtle differences required when you switch between disciplines really interesting. I would find it very hard to pick my favourite between the two.

You blog with your sister about the rallying, how did that come about, and how long have you been rallying for? 

Seren: We have been rallying for nearly seven years and we started the blog mainly to keep a written history of our adventures for ourselves so we could look back and see whether we had made any progress but also to remember all the crazy things that happen on every rally. We still keep track of each rally but now we create Facebook live videos after every day.

Have there been any or many scary/hairy moments during your rallying time?

Seren: Any form of motorsport is dangerous and we have had our fair share of scary moments, for me one of the scariest moments was losing the brakes of a BMW 1602 at the top of a mountain, we had to drive down a steep twisty road using the gears to keep a slow and steady pace to get down the mountain safely. It was very early on in our rallying so it was pretty terrifying at the time.

Do you share the driving, or does one navigate and the other drive?

Seren: We used to share so that we could have a go at both driving and navigating but it became quite apparent that Elise was much more gifted at reading maps than I am so we now stick to her navigating and me driving. Although our next rally in Cheshire we will actually be competing against each other both as navigators which could be rather interesting.



What has been the best road or track to drive along?

Seren: One of the best things about the rallying is that they take you over some of the best roads in the UK and Europe. My favourite has to be ‘The Pass of the Cattle’ in Scotland, it is a very wiggly road up and over a mountain, it has the most spectacular views on both sides and at the beginning of the road there is a sign that says it is not suitable for leaner drivers or caravans.

How did your panto season go onboard the ship, and do you often do panto?

Seren: In the summer I performed with my sister in Aladdin on a Brittany Ferries Ship. The season was excellent, we had such a talented and friendly cast on board that the show went down a storm and we had a lot of fun both on and off stage.  I really enjoy panto and have been lucky enough to be in at least one every year since graduating from Drama college.

Are you working on any new acting projects?

Seren: There are a couple of exciting projects happening this year but unfortunately, I can’t talk about them yet

What are your plans for the festive season? Do you still work then or enjoy with family?

Seren: I always hope to be performing in Panto over the festive period as there is something quite magical about being a part of so many family’s celebrations. Unfortunately, over the last few years I have been in Panto in towns and cities that are too far from home to travel back for Christmas. Luckily, I have been with my sister, so we always cook our own Christmas dinner and then we have a second Christmas (our real Christmas) with the family after the contract has finished.
              
If you were a leading lady in any genre role, who would be your leading man or woman and in what genre would it be?

Seren: I would like to be a leading lady in an adventure sci-fi and it would be really exciting to be able to combine my driving and acting together in a role, as for my leading man it would have to be someone a little quirky but as long as there was chemistry, I would not be fussy.

Of the roles you've been in and roles yet to gain which have been the most enjoyable and which would you love to get your teeth into?

Seren: I love portraying characters that are quite far from my own character as they are more challenging, and I find that more enjoyable. I have really relished playing the evil roles and would love to one day get my hands on Lady Macbeth, I just think she is such a fascinating character with so much depth to her actions and words that it would challenge me to push my own limits as an actress to be able to do it justice.

Thank you so much for the wonderful interview, Seren.

Headshot photos credit – Alishia Love

You can follow the Whyte Sisters on YT & Facebook here  




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