EastEnders legend Danny Dyer has never shied away from giving his political opinion, so naturally I had to end our recent interview with an important question: What is the first thing he’d do as Prime Minister?
Danny is set to star in new comedy series Mr Bigstuff, alongside actor and writer Ryan Sampson, who also sat down with Metro.co.uk for a chat.
In true Dyer fashion, the response to my question was an hilarious, if controversial, quip.
‘I’d bring back smoking in pubs.’
A very Danny Dyer response.
Prior to that, however, he took a more serious stance, revealing that he wanted to see more representation of the working class in the House of Commons.
‘I’d put in more working class politicians,’ he told me. ‘We need people that the majority of people can identify with. There’s not enough of that – well, there’s none.
‘There’s a couple knocking about around, and you go, “Oh God, that one’s working class, that’s amazing!”’
His answer stemmed from a previous discussion where he shared his goals for his career, revealing that he hoped to inspire more working class actors by starting his own production company.
‘I do want to potentially start my own production company, and I have a bit of a thing going on with the amount of working class people within the arts,’ he passionately explained.
‘I found out that it’s about 6%, and that worries me. So, I would like to, if I could possibly give something back to this industry, because it’s done a lot for me, it would be to try and give some real working class kids hope and opportunity.’
He also came equipped with some solid advice for young working class actors wanting to make it in the industry.
‘I’ll say this: Don’t let where you come from define where you’re going. That’s the key. Because we can be whoever we want to be, so we should never be suppressed.
‘Classism is a thing. There’s a lot of isms in this world. Everyone experiences it at some point, but it shouldn’t define you. It should, if anything, spur you on, because, in my eyes, working class are the most talented people, because they’ve got the most trauma. It takes a bit of trauma to be creative!’
Ryan, who has previously starred in Brassic and The Frankenstein Chronicles, also shared what he would do as Prime Minister.
‘I tell you what I’d do, and it’s a bit of a boring answer, but I’d make it so that, because being a politician is well paid in its own right, there’s no way of you getting any affiliations with anything outside of politics.
‘So, there’s no abilities for you to try to get the government to spend on certain PPE for example, so you can pocket out of it because you’re related to them. Because I think that has incentivized a whole load of bullsh*tery, and it has screwed things in a really bad way.’
We also touched on how their characters, Glen, played by Ryan, and Lee, played by Danny, would answer the same question.
‘I think Glen’s got a touch of the Rishi’s about him, in a way…’ Danny pointed out, and Ryan was quick to agree.
‘Yes, he has got that about him, sadly…’
New series Mr Bigstuff is set to hit NOW and Sky Max on July 17, and viewers are in for an absolute treat.
The series follows carpet salesman Glen in his seemingly perfect life with fiancé Kirsty (Harriet Webb) – until Lee comes crashing in, running from a past that is catching up with him.
In what Danny describes as a ‘really f*cking good bit of telly’, viewers can expect plenty of twists and turns, as well as some hilarious comedy moments.
‘We want [the audience] to laugh, ultimately, because it’s really funny,’ Danny enthused.
‘And the masculinity thing, it’s important. It’s relevant. If some young men can take something from it, the different parts of masculinity, and apply it to their own lives then that’s a double whammy.’
‘It’s about these two brothers going about being men in the opposite way,’ Ryan added. ‘They both think they’re doing it the right way – one of them is being this nice guy, one of them is being this maverick, aggressive kind of lifestyle – and yet they’re both kind of repressed by that. I’m fascinated to see what people think.’
