5 minutes with: Ben Batt – 'If I hadn't broken my leg, I may not have become an actor'

It's easy for some actors to say: "it’s what I’ve always wanted to do" – but that certainly isn’t the case with me. When I was younger I played a lot of rugby, I was an alright student, and I started thinking about acting when I was in sixth form. My dad was selling a house for a drama teacher who said: "why don't you bring your son to me and see if he's inspired by it?" And I was. At about the same time, I broke my leg quite badly – in three places – while I was playing rugby, and was told I wouldn't be able to play at the standard I wanted to. It probably forced my hand a bit and I was lucky enough to get into Guildhall to study acting. It's all been okay ever since.

I think Shameless is what people know me for. I did a couple of odd episodes on TV but then I got a two-year contract on Shameless and moved back up north from London. The show had always brought great actors to the public’s attention, and I met my fiancée doing it too, which always helped. I could put bread on the table; it really was a turning point. David Threlfall was like a father figure in acting for me. He taught me that it was okay to be a nothern lad and a bit rough around the edges.

A Streetcar Named Desire is considered one of the best plays ever written. Tennessee Williams is a wonderful playwright. When you’re doing a play as popular as this, you’re sometimes a little overwhelmed by the history of it, and the people who have played the parts before you. Our director [Sarah Frankcom] has done a good job of telling us "no one is ever going to do our version again".

There are a lot of high-profile actors who have played Stanley. I think I was quite naïve about it. I read an article about how many people feel like they have to turn it down because it’s a real challenge. If I knew then what I know now then I would’ve thought about it a little longer. It’s a wonderfully written part but it’s so easy to concentrate on his anger. Before you know it you’ve turned him into a pantomime villain and I don’t think that’s what Williams was doing.

I'm not sure if I'd be shit scared of it, but I'd like to try playing Iago. I wasn’t the biggest theatregoer until I moved to London. Since then, it was really Iago that made me think "yeah, I’d like to give that a go". But I think as soon as I started doing it, I would immediately regret my decision.

---

A Streetcar Named Desire runs at the Royal Exchange Manchester from 13 September.