Post by tomsgirl on Sept 18, 2006 1:13:39 GMT 1
MATT HEALY: WHY I DON'T FALL IN LOVE
EMMERDALE heartthrob Matt Healy is poised to sweep the boards at the Inside Soap awards later this month.
The 35-year-old actor - better known as Beckindale's handsome but ruthless businessman, Matthew King - is in the running for Best Bad Boy, Sexiest Male and Best Actor.
If he does make it a hat-trick it will be a personal triumph for Matt, in more ways than one - he was about to quit acting altogether before finally getting his big break on the soap in January 2004.
Talking to him today, it seems he has far more in common with the heartbreaker he plays than he might care to admit.
For starters, he is still resolutely single and, judging by those come-to-bed green eyes, it can't be for want of offers.
"I think I'm very scared of commitment," reveals Matt. "I've had long-term relationships but I've never actually got down on one knee and said, 'Will you marry me?'
"I've never even been close to thinking about asking someone to marry me. Ever.
"I've seen so many marriages break up, I think you have to be absolutely certain before you do anything. I didn't want to take a risk then end up being divorced two years later, so I've chosen to wait in the hope that I'll bump into someone."
As he relaxes on set, it's not hard to see why many of the soap's female fans might be dreaming that they might just be that someone.
With his rumpled hair and casually dressed in jeans and trainers, Matt looks not so much the mean bad boy as Matthew King's naughty twin.
Friendly and down to earth, you could never imagine his cold-hearted Emmerdale alter-ego giggling quite so much, or admitting that he fancies being a marine conservationist because he has a thing about dolphins.
Yet on screen, Matthew King is one of life's sharks who only ever smiles at someone else's misfortune.
His most recent victim was blonde barmaid Louise. He lured her away from safe, reliable Terry, just to win a bet. She was so traumatised that she fled home to Australia.
Now viewers are waiting to see what happens next between Matthew and his blonde sister-in-law, Sadie (Patsy Kensit). The pair have already had two passionate kisses.
I RONICALLY, Matt himself has been linked with an Emmerdale blonde - 23-year-old Jenny Gleave, who played posh Tamsin.
The pair were recently spotted holding hands in a Thai restaurant in Leeds. An eyewitness, quoted in a Sunday newspaper, said: "You could have charged up the National Grid with the electricity between them. They were definitely in love."
Matt insists, "I was friends with the girl. We've been out a couple of times, but that was it. Single man goes out on a date. Wow."
Is he still seeing Jenny? "No."
Did he break her heart? "No!" he repeats. "We're just mates and we had a laugh. It was no more than that."
And as for the idea that they were "definitely in love", Matt's not sure he's ever experienced that emotion.
"It depends what your definition of love is," he says, cautiously. "I do get very, very close and fond of people, but whether I'm absolutely head over heels I don't know."
Matt - his real name is David - was born in Paisley, Scotland. When he was two, his family - mum Sheina, dad Douglas and older brother Jack - moved to Oldham in Lancashire.
His parents' marriage hit the rocks when he was 11 and they separated two years later. Has that affected his view of commitment?
"It was a shock and at the time I felt terrible, as any kid would," says Matt. "I withdrew into myself a wee bit, but now I think that splitting up was the best thing they ever did.
"My mum and dad get on better now than they ever did, and I was never part of a home where the parents were shouting and bawling at each other."
Having been more or less self-sufficient since he left home at the age of 16, Matt has grown used to his own company and having his own space.
"I'd be a nightmare to live with," he grins. "I'm sure I have ways of doing things that would drive any woman around the twist - like listening to David Bowie constantly.
"The right person would have to be very understanding and patient and trusting. I couldn't go out with somebody who's very clingy.
"She'd have to accept that I like my own space and doing my own thing. And that it doesn't mean I'm going to run off with another woman."
The only girl he's ever shared his space with was an actress he chooses not to name. They shared a place in Sydenham, South London, but spiralling debts and his stalled career contributed to their break up.
"That was the first time I'd ever lived with someone and it was scary for me," he admits. "It was her flat, so it was a case of me going into her territory. But circumstances were against us more than anything else."
Matt had moved South hoping it would open doors, but in his two years in the capital he hit a new low.
"There were a lot of lean times before Emmerdale came along," says Matt, who was a tiler, a joiner and laid laminate floors in between roles. "Money was tight and I struggled to pay the rent."
Despite winning small parts in The Bill and Coronation Street, and as a stripper in the touring play Girls' Night Out, his career was going nowhere. After spending 18 months as a courier, driving a delivery van, he was on the brink of turning his back up on his acting ambition.
"I was doing a job I hated and was desperate to get some decent acting work and it wasn't happening," he says. "It was a recipe for disaster.
"The pressures of money and just being unhappy with life in general probably put paid to that relationship.
"My girlfriend was off touring and I just thought, 'What am I doing here? Doing a job that I can't stand, for very little money, in a place I don't particularly like, so I can pay for a flat that I don't want to be in?'
"So I walked into work and said, 'I'm not coming back'."
M ATT went back to Oldham and stayed at his mum's. By this stage he'd been auditioned by Emmerdale to play three different King brothers.
He was considered too old to be Carl, too young to be Jimmy, and was then up for the middle brother.
"I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get that part either," he shrugs. "I was seriously thinking of giving up acting altogether.
"I really thought that things couldn't get any worse - and I was right, because they got better.
"I was in a pub in Oldham with my mates when my agent rang and told me I'd got the part. He was laughing over the phone, saying, 'Your worries are over for a wee bit.' He knew of my debts and that I'd have been in real trouble if Emmerdale hadn't come along.
"Maybe that's why I've never settled down. Maybe I didn't want to put anyone else through the hard times."
He flashes a cute, puppy dog smile at me. But when I tell him that just sounds like an excuse, he caves in.
"It probably is... I probably just like being on my own," he laughs. "People tell me, 'It's about time you acted your age, settled down and had kids'.
"I just don't think I've met the right person yet. But I hope I do. I don't want to be the bad boy for ever."
13 September 2005
www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_objectid=16122944%26method=full%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
EMMERDALE heartthrob Matt Healy is poised to sweep the boards at the Inside Soap awards later this month.
The 35-year-old actor - better known as Beckindale's handsome but ruthless businessman, Matthew King - is in the running for Best Bad Boy, Sexiest Male and Best Actor.
If he does make it a hat-trick it will be a personal triumph for Matt, in more ways than one - he was about to quit acting altogether before finally getting his big break on the soap in January 2004.
Talking to him today, it seems he has far more in common with the heartbreaker he plays than he might care to admit.
For starters, he is still resolutely single and, judging by those come-to-bed green eyes, it can't be for want of offers.
"I think I'm very scared of commitment," reveals Matt. "I've had long-term relationships but I've never actually got down on one knee and said, 'Will you marry me?'
"I've never even been close to thinking about asking someone to marry me. Ever.
"I've seen so many marriages break up, I think you have to be absolutely certain before you do anything. I didn't want to take a risk then end up being divorced two years later, so I've chosen to wait in the hope that I'll bump into someone."
As he relaxes on set, it's not hard to see why many of the soap's female fans might be dreaming that they might just be that someone.
With his rumpled hair and casually dressed in jeans and trainers, Matt looks not so much the mean bad boy as Matthew King's naughty twin.
Friendly and down to earth, you could never imagine his cold-hearted Emmerdale alter-ego giggling quite so much, or admitting that he fancies being a marine conservationist because he has a thing about dolphins.
Yet on screen, Matthew King is one of life's sharks who only ever smiles at someone else's misfortune.
His most recent victim was blonde barmaid Louise. He lured her away from safe, reliable Terry, just to win a bet. She was so traumatised that she fled home to Australia.
Now viewers are waiting to see what happens next between Matthew and his blonde sister-in-law, Sadie (Patsy Kensit). The pair have already had two passionate kisses.
I RONICALLY, Matt himself has been linked with an Emmerdale blonde - 23-year-old Jenny Gleave, who played posh Tamsin.
The pair were recently spotted holding hands in a Thai restaurant in Leeds. An eyewitness, quoted in a Sunday newspaper, said: "You could have charged up the National Grid with the electricity between them. They were definitely in love."
Matt insists, "I was friends with the girl. We've been out a couple of times, but that was it. Single man goes out on a date. Wow."
Is he still seeing Jenny? "No."
Did he break her heart? "No!" he repeats. "We're just mates and we had a laugh. It was no more than that."
And as for the idea that they were "definitely in love", Matt's not sure he's ever experienced that emotion.
"It depends what your definition of love is," he says, cautiously. "I do get very, very close and fond of people, but whether I'm absolutely head over heels I don't know."
Matt - his real name is David - was born in Paisley, Scotland. When he was two, his family - mum Sheina, dad Douglas and older brother Jack - moved to Oldham in Lancashire.
His parents' marriage hit the rocks when he was 11 and they separated two years later. Has that affected his view of commitment?
"It was a shock and at the time I felt terrible, as any kid would," says Matt. "I withdrew into myself a wee bit, but now I think that splitting up was the best thing they ever did.
"My mum and dad get on better now than they ever did, and I was never part of a home where the parents were shouting and bawling at each other."
Having been more or less self-sufficient since he left home at the age of 16, Matt has grown used to his own company and having his own space.
"I'd be a nightmare to live with," he grins. "I'm sure I have ways of doing things that would drive any woman around the twist - like listening to David Bowie constantly.
"The right person would have to be very understanding and patient and trusting. I couldn't go out with somebody who's very clingy.
"She'd have to accept that I like my own space and doing my own thing. And that it doesn't mean I'm going to run off with another woman."
The only girl he's ever shared his space with was an actress he chooses not to name. They shared a place in Sydenham, South London, but spiralling debts and his stalled career contributed to their break up.
"That was the first time I'd ever lived with someone and it was scary for me," he admits. "It was her flat, so it was a case of me going into her territory. But circumstances were against us more than anything else."
Matt had moved South hoping it would open doors, but in his two years in the capital he hit a new low.
"There were a lot of lean times before Emmerdale came along," says Matt, who was a tiler, a joiner and laid laminate floors in between roles. "Money was tight and I struggled to pay the rent."
Despite winning small parts in The Bill and Coronation Street, and as a stripper in the touring play Girls' Night Out, his career was going nowhere. After spending 18 months as a courier, driving a delivery van, he was on the brink of turning his back up on his acting ambition.
"I was doing a job I hated and was desperate to get some decent acting work and it wasn't happening," he says. "It was a recipe for disaster.
"The pressures of money and just being unhappy with life in general probably put paid to that relationship.
"My girlfriend was off touring and I just thought, 'What am I doing here? Doing a job that I can't stand, for very little money, in a place I don't particularly like, so I can pay for a flat that I don't want to be in?'
"So I walked into work and said, 'I'm not coming back'."
M ATT went back to Oldham and stayed at his mum's. By this stage he'd been auditioned by Emmerdale to play three different King brothers.
He was considered too old to be Carl, too young to be Jimmy, and was then up for the middle brother.
"I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get that part either," he shrugs. "I was seriously thinking of giving up acting altogether.
"I really thought that things couldn't get any worse - and I was right, because they got better.
"I was in a pub in Oldham with my mates when my agent rang and told me I'd got the part. He was laughing over the phone, saying, 'Your worries are over for a wee bit.' He knew of my debts and that I'd have been in real trouble if Emmerdale hadn't come along.
"Maybe that's why I've never settled down. Maybe I didn't want to put anyone else through the hard times."
He flashes a cute, puppy dog smile at me. But when I tell him that just sounds like an excuse, he caves in.
"It probably is... I probably just like being on my own," he laughs. "People tell me, 'It's about time you acted your age, settled down and had kids'.
"I just don't think I've met the right person yet. But I hope I do. I don't want to be the bad boy for ever."
13 September 2005
www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_objectid=16122944%26method=full%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
