Ben Price, who left Coronation Street last week in his role as Nick Tilsley, gave an exit interview to Radio Times, talking about why he left and what's he going to do next.
Speaking about Nick's final scene with mum Gail, Ben says: "There wasn’t a lot of acting involved because it was actually me saying goodbye to Helen. So, yes, I was saying goodbye to Helen under the guise of it being Nick saying goodbye to Gail. It’s been a hell of a ride – and she, Jack [P Shepherd] and Jane [Danson] have been there all the way for me.
And on his decision to leave the show he says: "My thing has always been to leave the party while it’s still going... But, you know, my kids are growing up and I want to be there helping them with their homework and teaching them how to ride a bike. I don’t want to harp on – lots of people work away from home, I get that. But I was only ever with my family on a Saturday, and I felt that had to change."
Since leaving Corrie, Ben says: "I’ve been writing and I’ve been over to the States. I went for a meeting with a TV network, which might result in a gig over there. It would mean the whole family having to move. But there was talk about me making a longer take on my third film, Hope Dies Last. It would look at the Second World War and the displacement of Jewish people around Europe. It’s certainly given me something else to think about, and the family’s going out there in August for a while, so who knows?
You can read the full interview here.
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Here is what I don't get. He did not move his family to Manchester to be with him, but he will take them all to the States for a possible gig.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason he gave for leaving Corrie was perhaps not accurate.
On an interesting note...the actor who played Brian Tilsley also left to pursue a career in the States.
It could have been the standard polite reason people give to leave but then again, it might still be accurate because a family move wouldn't be only about him.
DeleteI read that his wife was a designer: I'm pretty sure you'd find it easier to convince one of them to move from London to New York or Los Angeles than Manchester.
I agree, Newfy Pearl. He can move the family to the States but not to Manchester?? Reading between the lines, he got bored and it wasn't worth being separated for the sake of a boring job. Why not just say it was time to try other ventures?
ReplyDeleteI think he's gonna need a lot of luck breaking the US. Better actors than him have tried and failed.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be more as a producer and he seems to have had a successful start in that with his short subjects.
DeleteI think he's done with acting. He wants to write and direct now. Didn't he make a short film with Jack Shepherd and the actor who played Owen Armstrong? The film he mentions, "Hope Dies Last," sounds interesting as well. (He describes it at greater length in the interview.) I hope it works out for him. Maybe he'll continue to cast his Corrie mates in future projects!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above. If it was really about his family, he would have moved to Manchester. And breaking into the American industry? Wow, that's pretty delusional.
ReplyDeleteMust be shallow, fickle people then if that's the case.
ReplyDeletePoor actor all round.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he will come to Canada and try out for Murdoch Mysteries, already have Thomas Craig on there and Chris Gascoyne has been on there.
ReplyDelete