www.RICHARDCOYLE.com

'A PROVEN TALENT'
Plucked from TV comedy 'Coupling' to star opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in 'Proof', Richard Coyle's heading for the big time.

Interview Emma Perry

Although Richard Coyle was in primetime dramas like 'Hearts and Bones' and 'Wives and Daughters', the first time he entered the recognition bank of the nation's consciousness was as daft, desperate Jeff in 'Coupling'. Currently filming a second (third actually!) series, Coyle seems happy to be playing for laughs again after a year in which he impressed theatre critics with weighty performances in 'The York Realist' and 'Proof'.
'In a sense, it was hard to go back to the nob gags,' says Coyle, laughing, 'but I really like that slapdash knockabout stuff.' He thinks writer Steven Moffat is now adapting the material to the actors' strengths. 'He's really pushing the boat out in some places but also there's more pathos and poignancy in this series.'

I ask what part of Wales Coyle is from and he looks confused. 'I don't sound Welsh,' he says, but his voice has taken on Jeff's burr. Coyle is actually from Sheffield, which makes it odd that he got criticised for his Yorkshire accent in 'The York Realist'. 'I remember that - Nicholas de Jongh wasn't it? He also said I "shambled dolefully" in 'Proof."' Coyle remembers comments word for word: 'The best one was in the Financial Times - it said I even lifted Gwyneth Paltrow's performance. I loved reading that,' he grins, but it's bashful not crowing. Was he surprised to be cast opposite her? 'In the audition, I had that bravado you have when you think: I haven't got a hope in hell. I presumed they'd want a real name.'

'Proof' put Coyle in the frame for meeting the Hollywood elite, but he's suspicious of how much currently that gives him in movieland. 'I'll wait until I have a successful film to show rather than go over and plead.' It might not be too long coming. He stars in 'Happy Now', a first feature for director Philippa Cousins, about an accidental murder that comes back to haunt two friends (Coyle and Paddy Considine). 'My character loses his mind,' says Coyle gleefully. 'I like to play roles with a dark side.'

Coyle has been so successful since he left drama school in Bristol (Old Vic) that he hasn't had to busk at other careers. During University, he'd help out his father in the building trade during holidays. 'I've got this romantic notion of me on a roof somewhere repairing rich people's houses in France or Spain, but I wasn't much good at it.' He wasn't much good at music either. 'I was in a band at York University, we called ourselves the JesseGaronBand after Elvis's stillborn twin.' One year, the band played the annual Derwent Barbecue but cleared the crowd so comprehensively that furious headline band Katrina and the Waves had to play 'Walking On Sunshine' eight times to woo them back.

After 'Coupling', filming on sci-fi drama 'Strange' begins. Coyle, who will be starring opposite Samantha Janus, seems a little surprised it got commissioned for a series after critics panned the pilot. 'It has the potential to be good,' he says diplomatically, but feels he'd like to move away from TV in the future.