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JAMES WILBY INTERVIEWED
James plays Adrian Bishop in Little Devil for the ITV1 Network
Your character is called Adrian? Can you tell us about his story?
Adrian is a happy-go-lucky kind of a guy. He’s had everything a bit too easy. He is having an affair with his best friend’s wife, Laura and once that is discovered, very early on in the first episode, everything gets ripped away from him. His wife, Katie kicks him out, he is unable to see is daughter, the affair ends and he loses his best mate. Adrian’s side of the story is about his attempt to rebuild his life. He is a bit of a victim too. He gets shot at and thumped by his mate, Will. His wife gets the upper hand and she makes his business plans hell because she has shares in the company.
It’s a fantastic script – what attracted you to this role?
Work! I like the fact that the story is told from the perspective of the children who are brilliant. A lot of drama on television is actually about that much however, ‘‘Little Devil’’ is about something quite interesting. It attempts to tackle real-life issues with a touch of light comedy. I’m rarely given the opportunity to act in a slightly comedic way and I love comedy. The comedy that comes through the situation which is not contrived is great because it’s truthful comedy.
Are there any similarities between you and your character?
Not really. I tend look for the things that are different between myself and the character I am playing. I’m always trying to get away from playing me.
Does Adrian realise that the destruction of his marriage is affecting his daughter?
Adrian is to blame as he had the affair. I think he is probably one of those people who doesn’t think his actions affect anything. He thinks he can get away with everything. The trail of destruction and time eventually makes him realise his actions have had an effect on both families. Ironically, Adrian does end up apologising to his best mate, Will but not to his wife which is quite interesting.
There is a bit of a buzz about the right way to bring up children and plenty of programmes on TV and articles in magazines about it – what do you think of them?
I would never take advice from any magazine or television programme about how my children should be brought up. I’ve always been a believer in letting children live. Giving them the most amount of freedom they can cope with. My children were given tremendous amounts of freedom. If they screw up, then you can come down on them hard. You just need to prepare them for life and ‘life aint fair’. I’ve never had a desperate desire for my children to do well but if a child wants to be a brilliant violinist, then it’s got to come from the child and not the parent. School is tough enough as it is without parents being pushy too.
It seems that there is a role reversal between the adults and the children – do you agree?
I think its lots of fun! I’ve always thought of myself as kid and I will never change. I will still play practical jokes and trip people up – just like a used too. I still get blind drunk on occasion from time to time. I make mistakes and hate the idea of becoming some boring old father.
During the story, Will ‘sexes himself up’ - Have you ever changed your image to impress someone else?
Yes! I think one does that all through life don’t they? I love clothes but what you wore in your twenties doesn’t seem right in your thirties and what you wore in your thirties, doesn’t seem right in your forties. I’m pretty much a bit of a grunge dresser. But if I’m going out to a ‘do’ which specifies lounge suits or smart dress, then you have to think about what to wear and I do like to dress up. Some fashions suit you and some fashions don’t.
What is the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done?
I was a ‘Little Devil’ on occasions. I used to live in Jamaica and when I was fifteen, I was about to be sent back to boarding school. I would leave from Kingston airport and I packed my suitcase and all I put in were three small hand towels. I’d leave my parents and go straight into duty free and buy two or three bottles of rum and a couple of bottles of Tia Maria which only cost about 30p each. I’d then scoot into the loo and wrap each bottle up in the towels very careful and off I’d go to school. My case acting as a bar throughout the term!
What is your earliest childhood memory?
When I was four. We were living in Burma at the time. We had a swimming pool cut into the side of a hill and I remember seeing a little girl just crying on the top of some steps by the pool. She was standing there crying and I ran up to her to find out what was wrong. Her brother was lying in the middle of the pool very still and all you could see was the top of his head. I just froze for one, two maybe three seconds. I thought about jumping into the pool as I was able to swim at that age but I remember shouting help and my brother who was six and a much stronger swimmer than me, just came steaming up the steps and without thinking, just dived into the pool. He fished the boy out and saved his life. I later remember seeing the boy crying on his father’s shoulder.
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