Roger Allam: ‘Acting is easier than life – you’ve got something to do, and you try to achieve it’

Roger Allam, 68, starred in the BBC’s The Thick of It and HBO’s Game of Thrones. His roles on stage include Falstaff in Henry IV and Inspector Javert in the original production of Les Misérables. He has won three Olivier Awards.

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?
To be a train driver. In those days there were very impressive steam trains, and if we were going on a journey, my father would take me down to the front of the train to look at the engine. Being the driver looked marvellous and glamorous.

Private school or state school? University or straight into work?
Christ’s Hospital, a boarding school near Horsham, Sussex — a sort of charity school. We had to wear a 16th-century uniform in honour of its charitable status. I was miserable to begin with, because of being away from home, and I was behind academically, as the only way I could take advantage of the entrance exam was by missing my last year at primary school. But it got better as it went on. There were wonderful facilities, a lot of music and drama, an intelligent atmosphere. Then Manchester university, where I read drama and had a wonderful time.

Who was or still is your mentor?
I don’t think there is anyone.

How physically fit are you?
I try to keep fit — not tremendously well.

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?
I would place luck above both those two.

How politically committed are you?
I’m not a member of any party, but I read a lot, I think a lot and I give money to causes. What I’m politically committed to is government and politics in this country that does its utmost to provide full employment that’s decently paid, so that people can have decent housing, be warm, have enough to eat, access to education — so obviously, I’m of the left.

What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
A better view. I used to live in a flat in Stoke Newington that overlooked trees and the sunset — I hanker after a view like that.

What’s your biggest extravagance?
Going out. One of my oldest friends, Jeremy King, is a great restaurateur, and one of the advantages of that is that I can always get in. I like buying people dinner.

In what place are you happiest?
Probably the kitchen.

What ambitions do you still have?
To carry on for as long as possible, as well as possible.

What drives you on?
It’s what I do. I know where I am when I’m in a theatre or on a film set. Acting is easier than life — you’ve got something to do, and you try to achieve it. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. And in the theatre, you can do it again the next night and get better at it. In life, you only have one shot — acting is much better organised. And I love the social aspect. I love the talk of actors.

What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?
Slightly later in life, into my forties, having children and a relationship which is hugely engaging and sustaining.

What do you find most irritating in other people?
Discourtesy.

If your 20-year-old self could see you now, what would he think?
He’d be pleased that I’ve managed to remain an actor all these years and had a career of some variety.

Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had?
My parents were very keen walkers. When I was young, we went on a family holiday to Scotland, and stopped at a youth hostel. There was a man there who had these two oblong metal things and you could play them like you play the spoons. He showed me how to do it and he gave them to me. I played them a lot and was deeply upset when they got lost. Though I always suspected my parents weren’t as keen on my playing as I was.

What is the greatest challenge of our time?
Not destroying the planet.

Do you believe in an afterlife?
No, not really. But I don’t know.

If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?
Gosh, I don’t know. Seven, eight? Eight. I think one needs a certain amount of dissatisfaction to keep going.

Roger Allam stars in “Murder in Provence”, out now on BritBox

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