RICHARD COYLE INTERVIEW Taken from The Telegraph on August 2nd, 2006 'My director thinks I'm a swine' 'Coupling' star Richard Coyle talks to Aleks Sierz about turning off the charm for his latest role in 'Look Back in Anger' Actor Richard Coyle is such a calm, twinkle-eyed charmer that you can't imagine him losing his cool - which is exactly what he'll have to do in his latest role as John Osborne's Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger. 'There's only so many drugs and so much booze you can take at university, so I joined the drama society' Yet Coyle - who is known to millions from his television appearances as the madcap Jeff in Coupling - says he has always been keen to play this angry young man. "It's one of those parts that all ambitious actors want to do," says the 32-year-old. "I figured that this was my first chance to play Jimmy Porter and maybe my last. By the time the next revival comes along in about 10 years' time, I will be too old for the part." This Bath Theatre Royal version of Look Back in Anger, whose first production at the Royal Court in 1956 created a sensation and kicked off a new wave of realistic kitchen-sink drama, marks the 50th anniversary of this iconic play. For Coyle it's a chance to work again with director Peter Gill, who originally gave him his big theatrical break in 2001. "Peter both wrote and directed The York Realist, my first theatre part. So I had the full Peter Gill experience, and it's left me gagging for more," laughs Coyle. "When I heard he was directing Look Back in Anger, I knew I could play Jimmy and I went for it. The only problem is that Peter thinks I'm a swine." Why's that? "He thinks I'm not as malleable to his directing as actors should be in rehearsal, so after The York Realist he swore he wouldn't work with me again. Since then, I've learnt how to be malleable," he says. With his lovable grin, it's hard to imagine Coyle being hard to direct, but appearances are deceptive. Coyle can be stubborn ("I've always had this strong sense that I know best"), and the same kind of determination has gone into keeping his West End CV free of turkeys. "I've been really careful about what I do on stage," he agrees. "I've done four plays and I've been very lucky, touch wood. If I want something, I pull out all the stops." His other theatre credits were Proof with Gywneth Paltrow, After Miss Julie with Kelly Reilly and Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi. Coyle is the kind of actor who loves doing research. "For me, 1956 is a long time ago, so the interesting thing has been getting to know that period in history. I enjoyed finding out what it was like to be a man of Jimmy Porter's age at the time. I'm also devouring everything I can about John Osborne, who based most of his characters on himself - his autobiography is crazy."   Coyle is best known for his role as Jeff in Coupling Coyle sees the play as a love story, but what about Osborne's misogyny? "I don't think Jimmy's a misogynist - he just rails against things in general and, if it happens to be women, it's women. And if it's men, it's men. I don't feel that he hates women. It's particular people that he has problems with - like his wife's mum." Usually, Coyle finds that the characters he plays "infect" him emotionally. "With After Miss Julie in 2003 it was quite freaky - I became the character. I started to get very angry; I would lose my temper all over the place. And when I was doing Don Carlos last year, I found myself getting very emotional. I was crying at soap operas on TV." Coyle was born in Sheffield and originally read politics at York University. "I only had one lecture and one seminar a week, so I had a lot of time on my hands. And there's only so many drugs and so much booze you can take. So I joined the drama society. It was either that or the beer society, and for health reasons I chose drama." After graduating, he took a year off to raise money for drama school. "Getting loans and raising money really sharpened my determination," he says. "I got so many knocks." Still, there were some compensations: after sending out begging letters, he got a hand-written reply from Clint Eastwood. It was negative, but he's framed it anyway. Coyle studied drama at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then got noticed in the 1999 clubbing film Human Traffic and BBC's frock-flick Wives and Daughters. By 2000, he was in Coupling, and starring in Lorna Doone. "I'm very lucky, which is why I feel I'm able to say no a lot. Also, I'm ambitious and I want to be an actor when I'm 65, so it's a long-term strategy - I just like to do good work." He's also a sports fanatic. "I'll watch anything. I love football, rugby and golf. I do a lot of running. Bit of squash, bit of tennis. I don't like feeling out of shape." He also admits, with a sheepish look, to supporting Sheffield Wednesday football club. And it's on the subject of football that he finally gets angry. Mention the World Cup or Sven-Göran Eriksson and he starts to boil. All good training for playing Jimmy Porter, the quintessential angry young man. Copyright © 2001-2005 RICHARDCOYLE.COM All Rights Reserved