Post by SheWolf on May 13, 2007 23:21:25 GMT 1
From the People
EMMERDALE'S MY DREAM JOB
EXCLUSIVE From van driver to Emmerdale murder suspect, Nick Miles takes nothing for granted JIMMY KING STAR FEARS THE CHOP
By Jon Wise
EMMERDALE star Nick Miles should be basking in his good fortune at playing loveable rogue Jimmy King.
As the randy rascal, the actor has romped with a bevy of beauties and currently features in one of soapland's most gripping courtroom dramas.
Yet far from taking life for granted as one of TV's leading soap actors, Nick is in constant fear of getting the axe from the show.
Nick, whose character will learn this week whether a jury has found him guilty of murdering his dad Tom King (Ken Farrington, 71), confessed his anxieties in an exclusive interview with The People.
Nick revealed: "There's a lot of death in Emmerdale and we are always looking around at each other wondering who may be next.
"We've all been on tenterhooks about the trial for the past few months because the murderer could be facing prison which would mean the end the line for the character.
"A while back there was a rumour that I was going to get killed off which was pretty worrying. The pendulum swings and so you can never be too secure, but at least it is more regular than most acting jobs."
Nick, 45, landed the role of property developer Jimmy King - whose conquests include super sexy Kelly Windsor (Adele Silva, 26) - just over three years ago and has a stern warning to any young actors out there.
"You have to save your money," he warns. "It's so important. Everyone thinks that because we are in a soap we are earning loads of money and are sorted for life.
"But it's just not like that. These jo can come to an end at any time. I have learned that the hard way.
"Young actors need to make sure they don't become too dependant on the money and make sure they put away enough to live on.
"It is very tough for young actors and don't think just because you have one job in telly other jobs are going to keep flowing in."
Nick is talking from experience. He has had to take on driving, telephone sales and industrial cleaning work pay off mounting debts.
When he landed the role of Jimmy he was working as a courier driver make ends meet. "It has been bad in the past and I've had to get loans. Thing is, it's this industrial cleaning. Which would you choose?" he shrugs as we chat over lunch near the Leeds-based Emmerdale set.
"Just before Emmerdale I was the worst courier driver ever. I was always lost in London.
"I borrowed money on a credit card to pay £3,000 for a small van which had belonged to a builder and was full brick dust and kept choking me.
"I was the worst courier in the world because I couldn't carry much because nothing would fit inside and then I would always get lost.
"I was quite literally taking the p*when I got the job here because I was delivering urine samples to a hospital when my agent called."
Nick is friendly, relaxed and very down-to-earth. He has had bit parts on Casualty, The Bill and Peak Practice and in 2002 worked with Leonardo DiCaprio on the Martin Scorsese blockbuster Gangs Of New York.
"I thought that would have opened doors for me," he admits. "But didn't happen and I was close throwing in the towel and going to do a post-grad in teacher training." Nick, born in Birmingham, studied film and drama at Reading University before moving to London.
At 23 he shot a film with some friends that was shown at the Berlin film festival and decided to carry on with his acting dreams.
"It should have been a really glamorous time but I was working as hard as I could just to keep at in of baked beans in the cupboard," he says.
Fast-forward a couple of decades and after a whirlwind six-week engagement, Nick wed financial director Stephanie Lumb, 34, in December.
"I managed to get a Monday off and we went to a hotel on Lake Windermere," he says. "We kidnapped a couple of witnesses and took them with us and went to the nearest register office that was open that weekend.
"It wasn't the most romantic setting. We were advised to park our car in the Somerfield round the corner."
Nick, whose previous marriage to a literary translator ended in 2001, is quick to dismiss any ideas of starting a family with Stephanie.
"We are thoroughly selfish," he eating out in nice restaurants and going on holidays. We both have nieces and nephews. And being the favourite auntie and uncle is great. There's a lot to be said for it.
"You can hand them back and also when you are a kid it's sometimes good to have another voice who is trustworthy."
But for now Nick is happy at Emmerdale and living in Leeds. He adds: "If I was to leave then I would like to leave just like Patsy Kensit did with a nice fat offer of another job.
"My first thought when I landed Emmerdale was 'It's not a movie' but then not many British movies were being made.
"I knew nothing about Emmerdale or Yorkshire and didn't know Leeds, so I liked the idea of the adventure of it.
"I had been living on the south coast in Brighton since 1997 so it felt like a big step into the unknown.
"It was terrifying but exciting. With acting you should always do the jobs that frighten you the most.
"Emmerdale was a liberation from my typecasting. I had always played coppers or evil characters.
"Jimmy was just a thug at first but now he has become a much rounder character."
He adds: "Leeds is home now so I'm very happy here. I have fallen in love with Yorkshire and I love the Dales. "I have got myself a convertible car so I can rip the top off it and zip around."
This week's hour-long Emmerdale episode reveals the outcome of the murder trial that sees Jimmy King in the dock alongside brothers Matthew (Matt Healy, 37) and Carl (Tom Lister, 30).
Nick smiles: "It has been great. But it has had a few tense moments when people have shouted things like 'Murderer!' at me in the street.
"This guy shouted murderer across the road and two policemen put their hands on my shoulder and asked if I knew what he was talking about.
"Then they realised that I was off the telly. It has all been pretty crazy but I can't complain."
EMMERDALE'S MY DREAM JOB
EXCLUSIVE From van driver to Emmerdale murder suspect, Nick Miles takes nothing for granted JIMMY KING STAR FEARS THE CHOP
By Jon Wise
EMMERDALE star Nick Miles should be basking in his good fortune at playing loveable rogue Jimmy King.
As the randy rascal, the actor has romped with a bevy of beauties and currently features in one of soapland's most gripping courtroom dramas.
Yet far from taking life for granted as one of TV's leading soap actors, Nick is in constant fear of getting the axe from the show.
Nick, whose character will learn this week whether a jury has found him guilty of murdering his dad Tom King (Ken Farrington, 71), confessed his anxieties in an exclusive interview with The People.
Nick revealed: "There's a lot of death in Emmerdale and we are always looking around at each other wondering who may be next.
"We've all been on tenterhooks about the trial for the past few months because the murderer could be facing prison which would mean the end the line for the character.
"A while back there was a rumour that I was going to get killed off which was pretty worrying. The pendulum swings and so you can never be too secure, but at least it is more regular than most acting jobs."
Nick, 45, landed the role of property developer Jimmy King - whose conquests include super sexy Kelly Windsor (Adele Silva, 26) - just over three years ago and has a stern warning to any young actors out there.
"You have to save your money," he warns. "It's so important. Everyone thinks that because we are in a soap we are earning loads of money and are sorted for life.
"But it's just not like that. These jo can come to an end at any time. I have learned that the hard way.
"Young actors need to make sure they don't become too dependant on the money and make sure they put away enough to live on.
"It is very tough for young actors and don't think just because you have one job in telly other jobs are going to keep flowing in."
Nick is talking from experience. He has had to take on driving, telephone sales and industrial cleaning work pay off mounting debts.
When he landed the role of Jimmy he was working as a courier driver make ends meet. "It has been bad in the past and I've had to get loans. Thing is, it's this industrial cleaning. Which would you choose?" he shrugs as we chat over lunch near the Leeds-based Emmerdale set.
"Just before Emmerdale I was the worst courier driver ever. I was always lost in London.
"I borrowed money on a credit card to pay £3,000 for a small van which had belonged to a builder and was full brick dust and kept choking me.
"I was the worst courier in the world because I couldn't carry much because nothing would fit inside and then I would always get lost.
"I was quite literally taking the p*when I got the job here because I was delivering urine samples to a hospital when my agent called."
Nick is friendly, relaxed and very down-to-earth. He has had bit parts on Casualty, The Bill and Peak Practice and in 2002 worked with Leonardo DiCaprio on the Martin Scorsese blockbuster Gangs Of New York.
"I thought that would have opened doors for me," he admits. "But didn't happen and I was close throwing in the towel and going to do a post-grad in teacher training." Nick, born in Birmingham, studied film and drama at Reading University before moving to London.
At 23 he shot a film with some friends that was shown at the Berlin film festival and decided to carry on with his acting dreams.
"It should have been a really glamorous time but I was working as hard as I could just to keep at in of baked beans in the cupboard," he says.
Fast-forward a couple of decades and after a whirlwind six-week engagement, Nick wed financial director Stephanie Lumb, 34, in December.
"I managed to get a Monday off and we went to a hotel on Lake Windermere," he says. "We kidnapped a couple of witnesses and took them with us and went to the nearest register office that was open that weekend.
"It wasn't the most romantic setting. We were advised to park our car in the Somerfield round the corner."
Nick, whose previous marriage to a literary translator ended in 2001, is quick to dismiss any ideas of starting a family with Stephanie.
"We are thoroughly selfish," he eating out in nice restaurants and going on holidays. We both have nieces and nephews. And being the favourite auntie and uncle is great. There's a lot to be said for it.
"You can hand them back and also when you are a kid it's sometimes good to have another voice who is trustworthy."
But for now Nick is happy at Emmerdale and living in Leeds. He adds: "If I was to leave then I would like to leave just like Patsy Kensit did with a nice fat offer of another job.
"My first thought when I landed Emmerdale was 'It's not a movie' but then not many British movies were being made.
"I knew nothing about Emmerdale or Yorkshire and didn't know Leeds, so I liked the idea of the adventure of it.
"I had been living on the south coast in Brighton since 1997 so it felt like a big step into the unknown.
"It was terrifying but exciting. With acting you should always do the jobs that frighten you the most.
"Emmerdale was a liberation from my typecasting. I had always played coppers or evil characters.
"Jimmy was just a thug at first but now he has become a much rounder character."
He adds: "Leeds is home now so I'm very happy here. I have fallen in love with Yorkshire and I love the Dales. "I have got myself a convertible car so I can rip the top off it and zip around."
This week's hour-long Emmerdale episode reveals the outcome of the murder trial that sees Jimmy King in the dock alongside brothers Matthew (Matt Healy, 37) and Carl (Tom Lister, 30).
Nick smiles: "It has been great. But it has had a few tense moments when people have shouted things like 'Murderer!' at me in the street.
"This guy shouted murderer across the road and two policemen put their hands on my shoulder and asked if I knew what he was talking about.
"Then they realised that I was off the telly. It has all been pretty crazy but I can't complain."
