AND THAT'S MY STORY: DANIEL MILLAR, ACTOR

I have been intrigued to find out more about the creators behind projects that I have been fortunate enough to see and/ or hear for a long time now so I've decided to do something about it. And That's My Story is a series on this blog that shares with you a bit about the creators and talent I've met along the way and their journey towards fulfilling their dreams; it will run for as long as I can find people who are willing to share their story. Today, I would like to introduce you to the comical and easy-going Daniel Millar who is currently part of HOME's production of The Oresteia.

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After I had the chance to interview Hedydd Dylan and Gary Shelford at the preview event for the HOME's The Oresteia, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Daniel Millar and chatting about how he stumbled upon this project, his views on the differences between performing for the stage and the screen and finding your dream job. Despite having someone call me mid-interview (gotta make good use of that in-built voice recorder folks!) we managed to get through the questions okay I feel...

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WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PRODUCTION OF THE ORESTEIA THAT CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION AND HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT IT?

I heard about it when it was announced that there were about 18 different Oresteias on this year [chuckles]; I read about it in the paper. And I’d seen Blanche’s work quite a lot and thought she is brilliant and very exciting. So my agent got in touch with me, an audition came along and I thought, 'Yes, I’d like to go and see her for that'. And thankfully it happened so that's great.

CONGRATULATIONS!

[Laughs] Thank you.

SO WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WORKING UNDER BLANCHE'S DIRECTION SO FAR?

She’s wonderful, she really is - she's quite a dynamo. She's incredibly clever. I mean I've worked with clever directors [before] but she’s so generous with it. There's no right or wrong, there's no mistakes. If you say something that could be construed as stupid she doesn't make you feel stupid, she takes it on board entirely. She's so generous with her time and her spirit. And to have that in the rehearsal room makes the whole thing go quicker and better.

THAT'S BRILLIANT. A FEW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING.

Oh have they? Aw no, she’s horrible. My god!

[LAUGHS] OK, SO WHAT IS ONE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS AND ONE THING YOU DON'T LIKE TOO MUCH?

I think it might be the same thing for both ones. My character is pretty much me. So, my capacity as leader of the chorus is sort of speaking for the people. I come on as a Mancunian man, speak to the Mancunian audience and give them the back story and comment on what's going on. And I really like that and I feel comfortable with it. And I like standing in front of people and talking to them and not emoting. D’you know what I mean?

YEP.

And I guess the drawback of that is that I don't get to do any emoting which would be nice but I don't miss it. 

YOU'VE STARRED NOT ONLY IN THEATRE PRODUCTIONS BUT IN PROJECTS MADE FOR TV AS WELL. DO YOU FIND ACTING ON STAGE MORE CHALLENGING THAN FOR TV OR FILM?

Personally, no. I know a lot of people who do but I much prefer theatre to TV. I much prefer the process - how alive it is when you go out in front of people and you do it and it's you. TV and film, I find a little bit more draining. You’re waiting around a lot more. You do your takes and you might not be happy with it but you have to move on because you haven't got the time. With theatre you've got the time to explore so many things.You do it and it's great and you've got so many other people you bounce off… I'm in love with theatre. And I'm very lucky that I get to do it for a living.

THAT'S REALLY COOL. SO DID YOU START OFF IN THEATRE?

I mean as with the vast majority of professional actors, you take what pays. I've done a fair amount of telly, I've done a fair amount of theatre. It just happens that I've pursued theatre more than I have telly so that's where I've ended up and I'm very happy with that.

I'M GLAD YOU'VE FOUND SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE HAPPY WITH [BOTH LAUGH]

Thank you. No, I don’t mean to boast. I'm not bragging.

IT'S REALLY HARD. SOME PEOPLE DON'T FIND WHAT THEY LOVE TO DO THROUGHOUT THEIR ENTIRE LIVES OR MAYBE UNTIL THE TAIL END. BUT YOU'VE FOUND YOURS. 

I'm under no illusion as to how lucky I am, but equally it's a very difficult profession we’re in.

IT DOES LOOK IT.

But you know I've made me own bed so, just keep your fingers crossed for us [both laugh].

OK,  SO DOES YOUR APPROACH TO EACH MEDIUM DIFFER?

Yeah, I think it has to. So you come into a rehearsal room for a theatre show, you know you've got 4 or 5 weeks to explore a character to form relationships and learn your lines. With TV, you have to make all of those decisions before action is yelled. You have to know your lines, you have to know your character, you have to assume you know what relationship you are going to have with somebody. I'm sure if you work on a huge TV series or a film or something like that it might be slightly different but in telly you go on you say your lines, they yell cut, you go home - which is not a bad thing, you just don't get the time to explore.

AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION - OH! I'VE GOT A CALL... 

[Laughs] Answer it.

[LAUGHS; CHECKS PHONE] OH IT WAS STILL RECORDING. UM... NO, SHE'S CUT OFF FOR NOW. SO YEAH, THE LAST QUESTION IS: OPENING NIGHT IS ON THE HORIZON. HAVE YOU GOT ANY INTERESTING PRE-PERFORMANCE RITUALS? 

Not one that I take from theatre to theatre with me; depending on the show. Like I might always have a bottle of water on my left hand side and it always goes in that little corner there. You know, weird tiny rituals like that. But no, I don't really have rituals. I know a lot of actors that do, that have to sit and stare at themselves for 5 min. But no, it's not really my bag.

... and that's my story.

You can find Daniel here: twitter

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And there we have it folks! Many thanks to Daniel for answering my questions and to Karina for taking the behind-the-scene photos. I hope you all enjoyed this little interview. There is one last interview to round this up and then no more Oresteia posts... until there is another production that comes my way haha. Until then, have a fantastic weekend. IT'S FRIDAY!!!

Mo x

*Photos taken by Karina So. for WML*

Thanks to HOME for giving me this opportunity to interview some members of the cast of The Oresteia!