Rupert Hill played popular Coronation Street character Jamie Baldwin between 2004 and 2008, briefly returning in 2011. Rupert was involved in many memorable storylines during his time in the Street, working with the likes of Bradley Walsh, Jane Danson and the legendary Johnny Briggs. Rupert very kindly agreed to answer my questions on his time in Coronation Street as well as finding out more about other aspects of his career and what he has been up to since he left Corrie.
First of
all, I'd like to ask why and how you became an actor in the first place?
I was in a play at school when I was three years old. I was
playing an innkeeper and after the show had finished I told my mum "I want
to do this", apparently. I knew I wanted to be an actor very early on!
What was it like to join
the cast of Coronation Street back in 2004?
Very exciting and very daunting. I'd already had a stint in
channel 5's Family Affairs prior to joining, so I'd had a small taste of what a
little fame can be like but nothing prepared me for being on The Street!
Fortunately the cast and crew and all the producers etc made me feel very
welcome and I had a blast throughout my four years there.
Bradley
Walsh made quite an impact as Danny Baldwin. Was he fun to be around on the
set?
He is a VERY funny man. It's in his bones. He
was also a great friend and he looked after me. I loved acting with him
actually, when the scenes got quite feisty, we'd both really go for it. It was
exciting.
You worked
a lot with Jane Danson who plays Leanne. What was she like to work with?
She is a delight and very talented. I'm pleased
to still call her a friend to this day. I was very lucky to have so many
storylines with her.
You worked
closely with Johnny Briggs during his exit storyline in 2006. What was it like
to be part of that particular story and work with Johnny?
It was very moving. Both my grandparents
suffered with dementia before they died so it held particular resonance with
me. Jonny was a legend and I loved working with him. The day he left he gave me
his "warm coat" which is what actors wear when they're filming
outside in the cold. I was very touched.
You went
back to Coronation Street briefly in 2011. Would you ever consider another
return?
Absolutely. I left when I did because I'd spent
the best part of a decade appearing in two different soaps and I really missed
the theatre. I also felt like I wanted to have a crack at film acting too. I've
done a fair bit of both now and feel stronger as an actor because of it. It
would be nice to revisit Jamie one day with a new approach.
I
understand you're also a bit of a musician – can you tell me more about that?
I have been in many bands and my proudest
achievement was with Biederbeck (Spotify, iTunes). We were a seven piece that
were very nearly signed but the music industry is more tricky than the acting
one! We made two records that I'm very proud of. I sang and played guitar. More
recently I have scored music along with some friends on my directorial debut
feature film Leatherbird. I adored writing music for film and hope to do some
more in the future.
From 2014
you toured with the play of The Full Monty – I bet that was quite an
experience. What was that like?
It was a blast. We had so much fun and every show was pretty
much sold out. I'll never forget the sound of approximately a thousand women
screaming at us. It was terrifying and sometimes deafening. All the cast really
got on well and I'll remember the job with very fond memories. I did miss my
family though so I was glad to return home in the end and get back to reality
again.
I've read
you have also gone into the pub trade since you left Coronation Street – how
did that come about?
I probably picked the worst time ever to leave a job like
Corrie. After we left, my wife and I went to Mexico for a well deserved break.
When we returned it was all across the news that we were in a recession! The
auditions started to dry up a bit and it became clear my career trajectory
might slow down for a while. Funding for projects was being pulled from
everywhere it seemed. I was quickly becoming skint (but also I was still very
recognisable from Corrie, and people assume you're a millionaire! Far from it).
I knew I had to do something, so when my guitarist (biederbeck) Jonny asked if
I wanted to take over The Castle Hotel with him, I thought, I need another
source of income. Let's give it a go. Fortunately it turned out well and we now
have 5 premises. It's another labour of love for me and I'm so proud that we've
rejuvenated some oldschool pubs and made them popular once more.
Can you tell me more
about your involvement with the Manchester Independent Collective?
This is my production company. I am very
interested in becoming a filmmaker myself and I pooled together a crew of
likeminded people who all work professionally in the industry. To date we have
made three short films, a music video and a "super-low" budget
feature "Leatherbird". We are currently sourcing funding for a new
feature film project.
If you had
to choose a favourite medium to work in, would it be theatre, television or
film and why?
There's a ying and yang effect to this work for me. It's
like being in a band, it's great recording songs in a studio and taking your
time making it as perfect as possible which is what TV and film is like, but
then you start getting antsy and need to get out there and play live so you can
feel the energy of an audience in a live setting, which is obviously what
theatre is like. The truth is they are all different mediums and they all have
their pros and cons. There is something particularly magical about theatre
though, when it's going well it's euphoric and what makes it more special, is
the knowledge that most other people will never experience that feeling. That
makes it extremely poignant for me.
What's
next for you?
Last year I shot a teaser for a Italian gangster film called
"Il Bracciante" (The Harvester) in southern Italy. It was such good
fun and I got to realise a schoolboy dream of mine, to one day play an
Italian-American gangster like the ones seen in Scorsese films! The producers
have now secured funding for the feature, which we will hopefully be shooting
this summer. Very excited about that.
I'd like to thank Rupert for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope we see him back in Coronation Street one day soon.
You can find out more about Manchester Independent Collective here
And you can follow Rupert on Twitter @RupertHill
If you are so inclined, you can also follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82
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