Craig Parkinson and Vicky McClure
By Leah Grant
From Issue 28, July 2017
We think of life, of our careers, as a stage by stage process; progressive, one step leading onto the next. We talk of ‘career paths’, of ‘climbing the ladder’, rarely stopping to consider a professional life that is fluid and unpredictable. Actor Craig Parkinson (best-known for his roles in Line of Duty, Misfits and Indian Summers), addresses the importance of professional flexibility in a new podcast that offers listeners a rare opportunity to learn from those who have experienced first-hand the highs and lows of starting out in the entertainment industry.
Co-created with producer Thomas Griffin, the first six episodes of The Two Shot Podcast feature guests including Vicky McClure (This is England, Line of Duty) William Ash (Clocking Off, Great Night Out) and Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly, Waterloo Road) and whilst it’s important to note that this series will undoubtedly be of interest to new and aspiring actors, it will also hold a more general appeal, something Craig is keen to highlight: “I always talk to the actors and let them know it’s not a career retrospective. What I’m interested in and certainly what the audience will be interested in, is their support, their teachers and what they had in their community to inspire them when they were starting out…of course drama students are going to get involved and love it and learn from it, hopefully, but I know anyone who isn’t involved in the arts is going to really enjoy listening to these stories as well.”
Born out of Craig’s personal love for the format (“I am a massive fan of podcasts…I find them inspiring and I learn loads from them…”) and his concern for the increasing expense of drama school fees (“…not everybody has to, needs to or can afford to train, it’s ten/eleven thousand pounds a year…”), The Two Shot Podcast hosts a variety of guests offering an honest appraisal of an industry that presents more than its fair share of ups and downs. Perhaps that’s why, in this profession more than any other, flexibility and an open mind are vital: “In the next block of six, two of the guests trained as actors and one is now quite a high-profile director in the theatre and another one is a very well-respected casting director…I think it’s important for people starting out to understand that with the best will in the world, the greatest ambition in the world, this profession can knock you down so be open to the fact that it might veer off, your career might go on a completely different tangent.”
For an actor who this year celebrates twenty years in the industry, I find it incredibly touching that Craig should want to create a podcast that will inform a new generation of actors (and potentially directors, writers and producers too) and although inspiring others isn’t necessarily the podcast’s aim, I think it will certainly be a pleasant bi-product: “In one of the first six episodes I talk to an actor who is brutally honest about how tough she found drama school and she states that she didn’t fit in. Now, if there’s one person listening to that and they think, ‘well I don’t fit in, but look she’s doing what I want to do,’ maybe that’s going to spur them on.”
Perhaps it is Craig’s own background that has influenced his decision to undertake this task. Whilst struggling at school, Craig (who was born in Blackpool, but now lives in the Stroud District) was encouraged to participate in an original play written by a teacher with a passion for acting. He enjoyed the experience, but taking the next step and securing a place at Blackpool and the Fylde College proved difficult: “I knew that John Simm had gone through there and David Thewlis was from my area and I was a big fan of both…I got in by the skin of my teeth because I didn’t have the exams that were needed, but I had two teachers at my high school who wrote beautiful begging letters to the principle.”
Following his time at Blackpool and the Fylde, Craig auditioned for drama school in London, a move that marked the beginning of a highly successful career that has seen the actor star in films such as Control (2007), SoulBoy (2010) and Ghosted (2011) as well as popular television programmes including The Secret of Crickley Hall), E4’s Misfits and the BBC’s highly successful Line of Duty: “Line of Duty is one of the jobs I hold so dear to my heart…I’m very, very proud of it, I think it spoilt me for other jobs because Jed Mercurio’s writing is so vivid and exciting.”
With six episodes of The Two Shot Podcast ready to go and another six lined up, I’m sure this new endeavour will not only rival the work Craig has produced on screen, but highlight a side to the actor that is clearly generous, humble and above all extremely passionate: “…there’s no set formula, they’re very free, very open, very frank, funny, brutal, exciting episodes and I’m buzzing from it – I think they’re great, even if I do say so myself!”
Listeners will be able to subscribe to The Two Shot Podcast via iTunes. The first three episodes will be available fortnightly and on a weekly basis thereafter. Follow Craig Parkinson (@Cparks1976) on Twitter or The Two Shot Podcast on Twitter & Instagram (@TwoShotPod) and Facebook (The Two Shot Podcast) for updates, exclusive information, photos and sneak peaks behind-the-scenes.
The Two Shot Podcast has been created in conjunction with Splicing Block (splicingblock.com).
Leah Grant is a writer and photographer with a keen interest in art and literature. On her blog, Bellyful of Art, you can find reviews of exhibitions, installations, dance performances and literary events as well as her own lovingly created pieces of short fiction artbellyful.wordpress.com
As well as our recent project (Good On Paper TV) following Good On Paper’s current hiatus (click here for further info!) over the next few month’s we will be putting up articles from our archives for our readers to easily access and share…Community and culture can carry on in different ways. For now….