Actor Dean Harris, who starred alongside Ronald Lacey in episodes of The Sweeney and Bergerac, took some time to answer a few questions for us!
Q: Is there any particular moment in your early career, on stage or on television, where you really felt that you were getting a foothold in your career?
A: "Recognising footholds? Not at the actual time.
Being a jobbing actor with no formal training, I was too focused, too head down, too nervous.
However, in Harrogate repertory theatre in 1969, realising that I was capable of playing such a wide range of characters and getting lovely writeups, was a pleasing light bulb going on.
During TV extra work in the late 60's/early 70's, getting my first speaking part.
It was only one word but it was in the script so warranted an acting fee and and a mention in the credits.
In 1964, being transferred from Front of House to backstage at Wyndham's theatre and then, ten years later, playing Judas in Godspell on the same stage. In audio work, being offered the part of Villa in the first boxset of Blake's 7. Actually, getting each new job was, and still is, a foothold. With so many actors and, comparatively, so few jobs, I have often pondered how I got gigs and was wide-eyed with wonderment and gratitude."
Q: Memories of working with Peter Cushing and others in Sherlock Holmes?
A: Oh, my goodness, fifty-five years ago!
This answer is full of 'Peters'. Ha!
Peter the Groom in Sherlock Holmes' The Solitary Cyclist was my very first TV speaking part. Only one word, "Whoa", when driving a horse and carriage before being bludgeoned.
It was also an early attempt at stuntwork. I naively offered to fall backwards off the carriage.
The director, Vik Ritelis, gleefully agreed and they found a mattress from somewhere.
My only memory of Peter Cushing is when we had brief eye contact when he found me in a ditch.
Another memory is when Charles Tingwell (ex-Emergency Ward 10) came into the Green Room, sat in an armchair and fell fast asleep until his call to be on set.
A masterclass in being relaxed and unfazed!
Peter Miles gave yet another wonderfully intense performance.
Thirty-nine years later in 2007, I attempted to be an agent and asked Peter Miles if I could represent him. He declined, saying that he wanted to pursue jazz singing.
Just as well, as I stopped being an agent two years later. It was more stressful than acting.
Q: Thou Shall Not Kill is quite a memorable episode. Did you enjoy playing the part of such a nasty character (Jimmy Wands)? Is that where you first met actor Ronald Lacey?
When it came to shooting it with such a lovely cast and following Douglas Camfield's direction, it was an enjoyable and exciting challenge.
Terry Wands' attitude and behaviour were his norm and he had good but naive reasons for robbing the bank.
The police were the bad guys and a nuisance.
His nastiness didn't hit me until my first viewing at the director's home when it was first transmitted.
It was the first time that I properly met Ronald Lacey, although we had appeared in an episode of Z CARS some years earlier when I was an extra.
However, we didn't actually 'meet' until THE SWEENEY. I have to tell you that Ronald Lacey was always one of mine and my father's favourite tv actors. When I told my dad that Ron and I were robbing a bank together, his look was one of wonder and disbelief. I can remember being with Ron in makeup on the first day of filming. Surreal.
Q:
The Sweeney has very much passed into TV legend, as did its lead
actors, but you were in quite an early episode. Was there any sense of
prestige in getting a role in it, or was it another of the many police
television shows at the time?
A: Prestige? Yes indeedy! I'd played small crooks in Dixon and Z Cars but Terry Wands was my most exciting role to date. I can remember the postman delivering the script, folded in half and somehow squeeeezed through the letter slot, tearing the envelope. How dare he! If only he knew. Me first reading of it was exhilarating. The weeney earned an early good reputation and was something very special for me.
Q: What was it like working with Ron – did you work well together and get along? Did you socialise outside of filming?
A: Working with Ron Lacey was superb. He was a brilliant actor, always a fave of my family and to be cast alongside him was unreal – he made me laugh lots and we worked very well together. As much as I would have liked to, we didn't socialise afterwards. That happens so much in the business. You work with people like a family but, with the the best intentions in the world, it rarely happens that longterm friendships occur.
By coincidence, thirteen years later, Ron and I were cast as gang members in Bergerac in Jersey. I once knocked on his hotel door to go for a drink. He was in a vest and horseracing was on the tele. So that was a no-no. My timing could have been better. A shame. On set we got on well and I would have liked to have known him better.
Question from Jackie, TV fan (Chelsea's mum): Have you ever worked with Rebecca, Ron's daughter?
A:
Yes, Jackie. Rebecca Lacey and I worked together on THE BILL in "Once
Bitten". As I remember, our characters were closely linked in the
storyline but we had only one tiny scene together so I doubt she would
remember me. Hey-ho.
Question from Colander on Twitter: “What it was like to work alongside John Thaw and Dennis Waterman? You also appeared alongside John Thaw again later in an episode of 'Mitch'!”
A: Hi, Colander, working alongside John Thaw and Dennis Waterman was the best. Yes, I was fortunate enough to work with them both, twice.
John in THE SWEENEY & MITCH and Dennis in SWEENEY & STAY LUCKY.
On screen, we see them as the characters they play but in real life they are the same as everyone else with everyday foibles, concerns and emotions.
I once went for a pint or three with Dennis - he had a bodyguard with him, just in case someone, after too many drinks, wanted to hit a 'hard man'.
A sorry shame but true. He and Mr Thaw were lovely storytellers.
A: Hi, Colander, working alongside John Thaw and Dennis Waterman was the best. Yes, I was fortunate enough to work with them both, twice.
John in THE SWEENEY & MITCH and Dennis in SWEENEY & STAY LUCKY.
On screen, we see them as the characters they play but in real life they are the same as everyone else with everyday foibles, concerns and emotions.
I once went for a pint or three with Dennis - he had a bodyguard with him, just in case someone, after too many drinks, wanted to hit a 'hard man'.
A sorry shame but true. He and Mr Thaw were lovely storytellers.
Q: Bergerac was another project with Ron - filmed on the island of Jersey, a popular holiday destination in the 1980s. Was there any sense of ‘getting away’ in filming Bergerac, or was there too little time to appreciate the location?
A: Working with Ron on BERGERAC's "Whatever Lola Wants" was a treat - there are so many actors in the business and, thirteen years later, to have our paths cross again in Jersey was remarkable. For me, there wasn't a sense of ‘getting away’. We were taken there, worked and brought back again.
I'd been to Jersey three times before, anyway.
When I was 11, boy scout camping. At 17, I went on a spur of the moment adventure and spent a summer being a silver service waiter at The Ambassadeurs & Victor Hugo Hotels. In my mid twenties, I holidayed with my then girlfriend. I'd seen all the 'getaways' by the time Bergerac came along.
A: Working with Ron on BERGERAC's "Whatever Lola Wants" was a treat - there are so many actors in the business and, thirteen years later, to have our paths cross again in Jersey was remarkable. For me, there wasn't a sense of ‘getting away’. We were taken there, worked and brought back again.
I'd been to Jersey three times before, anyway.
When I was 11, boy scout camping. At 17, I went on a spur of the moment adventure and spent a summer being a silver service waiter at The Ambassadeurs & Victor Hugo Hotels. In my mid twenties, I holidayed with my then girlfriend. I'd seen all the 'getaways' by the time Bergerac came along.
Q: You were also in a show called The Knights of God, which is very well-remembered by those who saw it but sadly has never been made commercially available. Do you have any particular memories of the production?
A: Particularly memories of THE KNIGHTS OF GOD? Hmmmm, I don't know why but not many. The director was Andrew Morgan who I've worked with, I think, seven times, over the years.
I played a monk in a silent order, although I DID have SOME lines.
Frank Middlemass was my governor. I remember going back to London with him on a train with George Winter. On the wrap,Andrew the director, PROFUSELY THANKED Frank for his performance. Because we didn't get thanked in the same way, George and I teased him about it.
I quite fancied Claire Parker.
My right-hand sandal squeaked loudly ... I had to walk the length of the chapel into an intimate and quiet scene between between two actors.
I can't remember what we did about that 🤔
A: Particularly memories of THE KNIGHTS OF GOD? Hmmmm, I don't know why but not many. The director was Andrew Morgan who I've worked with, I think, seven times, over the years.
I played a monk in a silent order, although I DID have SOME lines.
Frank Middlemass was my governor. I remember going back to London with him on a train with George Winter. On the wrap,Andrew the director, PROFUSELY THANKED Frank for his performance. Because we didn't get thanked in the same way, George and I teased him about it.
I quite fancied Claire Parker.
My right-hand sandal squeaked loudly ... I had to walk the length of the chapel into an intimate and quiet scene between between two actors.
I can't remember what we did about that 🤔
Q: From Tristan on Facebook: “In Howard’s Way you played an animal rights extremist; you’ve also spoken in the past about your early love of animals. It made me wonder - have you ever played somebody who you felt was both very like you and very unlike you? Or, has there ever been a role where you felt you were very close to playing yourself?”
A: Ooooh, my goodness, this made me think, Tristan. The vast majority of characters I've played have been unlike me but it's my job, as an actor, to find similarities. I've played villains, policemen and all points in between.
The main thing they all have in common is each of them believing that what they say and do is correct.
Even when it isn't.
I'm happy with that conflict.
It can be dramatic and/or comedic.
And, hopefully, watchable.
Does any of that make sense? 🤔
One of the parts I felt closest to was George 'Choucas' Macklin in THE FOURTH ARM, a series for the BBC. He was the best peterman (safe cracker) in the business and was released from prison for the war effort, to help blow up a nazi V-2 missile factory.
Apparently, based upon a real guy, Johnny Ramensky, a Scottish safe cracker.
However, I played him as me, an easy-going cheeky chap from my hometown of Belvedere, just outside S.E.London. Another character I felt close to was the long-suffering father and husband, Mr Boyes in the children's comedy series BAD BOYES. Incompetent and dim-witted. Not a million miles from me.
Your question, Tristan, has made me think the deepest 😳
A: Ooooh, my goodness, this made me think, Tristan. The vast majority of characters I've played have been unlike me but it's my job, as an actor, to find similarities. I've played villains, policemen and all points in between.
The main thing they all have in common is each of them believing that what they say and do is correct.
Even when it isn't.
I'm happy with that conflict.
It can be dramatic and/or comedic.
And, hopefully, watchable.
Does any of that make sense? 🤔
One of the parts I felt closest to was George 'Choucas' Macklin in THE FOURTH ARM, a series for the BBC. He was the best peterman (safe cracker) in the business and was released from prison for the war effort, to help blow up a nazi V-2 missile factory.
Apparently, based upon a real guy, Johnny Ramensky, a Scottish safe cracker.
However, I played him as me, an easy-going cheeky chap from my hometown of Belvedere, just outside S.E.London. Another character I felt close to was the long-suffering father and husband, Mr Boyes in the children's comedy series BAD BOYES. Incompetent and dim-witted. Not a million miles from me.
Your question, Tristan, has made me think the deepest 😳
Q: From Aveleyman on Twitter: Your IMDB page credits you as appearing in the American television series Robert Montgomery Presents and Campbell Playhouse when you would still have been a child. Did you really start that early, or was there an American actor called Dean Harris?
A: Well spotted, Aveleyman.
No, I wasn't a child actor.
I have been confused with Dean Harens, a handsome American actor, sadly not with us anymore. Since exactly 27 years ago. He died May 20th 1996.
I'd like to delete those two early credits but, not being a techie, I don't know how.
If you can advise me, please do.
Also, I'd like to add three recent short films to my IMDb but I don't know how to do that, either.
Humph!
A: Well spotted, Aveleyman.
No, I wasn't a child actor.
I have been confused with Dean Harens, a handsome American actor, sadly not with us anymore. Since exactly 27 years ago. He died May 20th 1996.
I'd like to delete those two early credits but, not being a techie, I don't know how.
If you can advise me, please do.
Also, I'd like to add three recent short films to my IMDb but I don't know how to do that, either.
Humph!
Q: From Gavin on Twitter: “What memories do you have working on the Look and Read programme Earth Warp?”
A: Gavin! I'm going to tell you more than you might expect.
Although it's not on my IMDb page, filming EARTH WARP turned out to be a totally unique and truly remarkable experience. With a fabulous cast and crew. More than thirty years ago. A 10 episode Look and Read series for schools. About seaside pollution. Even more relevant and topical today.
I played Mr Belcher, who deliberately spewed toxic waste from his factory into the sea.
A weird looking creature from outer space warns local children about the imminent danger whilst they attempt to keep him/her/it hidden.
We filmed in Whitstable on the north Kent coast.
My first day of filming was in May, '91.
When I got off the train to walk to the location, every front garden was awash with open flowers.
Whitstable was BEAUTIFUL!!!
Here's the remarkable bit...
It was the best paid job I've ever had. It was shown every year for seven years and the initial fee was repeated each time. Unbelievable.
I showed my contract to my bank manager - and Bob's yer Uncle.
I bought my very first own home. A ground floor flat.
Where? Only in Whitstable.
A truly remarkable and unique experience.
A: Gavin! I'm going to tell you more than you might expect.
Although it's not on my IMDb page, filming EARTH WARP turned out to be a totally unique and truly remarkable experience. With a fabulous cast and crew. More than thirty years ago. A 10 episode Look and Read series for schools. About seaside pollution. Even more relevant and topical today.
I played Mr Belcher, who deliberately spewed toxic waste from his factory into the sea.
A weird looking creature from outer space warns local children about the imminent danger whilst they attempt to keep him/her/it hidden.
We filmed in Whitstable on the north Kent coast.
My first day of filming was in May, '91.
When I got off the train to walk to the location, every front garden was awash with open flowers.
Whitstable was BEAUTIFUL!!!
Here's the remarkable bit...
It was the best paid job I've ever had. It was shown every year for seven years and the initial fee was repeated each time. Unbelievable.
I showed my contract to my bank manager - and Bob's yer Uncle.
I bought my very first own home. A ground floor flat.
Where? Only in Whitstable.
A truly remarkable and unique experience.
Q: I recently discovered The Fourth Arm, in which you played George Macklin; it seems to me that drama from that era of television often manages to be very powerful through the strength of the writing and the acting, where modern dramas sometimes rely on their greater freedom to be graphic. Am I just being nostalgic, or were you aware of a shift in the way stories were told through your career?
A: I THINK I know what you are asking - and I'm answering accordingly.
"... freedom to be graphic"? Do you mean the images and language that's used in storylines?
Some might say that art is imitating life. Or is life imitating art?
Either way, yes, I recognise changes in the way scripts are written. As in, "graphic" violence. And some sex scenes. And using expletives that may offend.
I'm old-fashioned and like to see writers and storytellers entertaining without offending.
However, for each new generation, being what we call "graphic" is becoming the norm.
Where will it end? Will there be a time when the the 9pm watershed will become obsolete?
We have come a long way since 1939 when Clark Gable's, Rhett Butler said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" in GONE WITH THE WIND - with the emphasis on the word "give" to cause less offence. I hope that I have understood your question and that my answer makes sense.
Let me know, please.
A: I THINK I know what you are asking - and I'm answering accordingly.
"... freedom to be graphic"? Do you mean the images and language that's used in storylines?
Some might say that art is imitating life. Or is life imitating art?
Either way, yes, I recognise changes in the way scripts are written. As in, "graphic" violence. And some sex scenes. And using expletives that may offend.
I'm old-fashioned and like to see writers and storytellers entertaining without offending.
However, for each new generation, being what we call "graphic" is becoming the norm.
Where will it end? Will there be a time when the the 9pm watershed will become obsolete?
We have come a long way since 1939 when Clark Gable's, Rhett Butler said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" in GONE WITH THE WIND - with the emphasis on the word "give" to cause less offence. I hope that I have understood your question and that my answer makes sense.
Let me know, please.
Q: As recently as 2019 you were appearing in a stage production of Beauty and the Beast as Belle’s father. Are you still working, and if so, is there anything coming up that we should look out for?
... In a similar way, of all the many roles you’ve had, is there any particular one that you’d like to be remembered for, and which you might recommend that people seek out?
A: Yes, pantomime, Beauty and the Beast... and, the following year, King Bumble in Jack and the Beanstalk.
Am I still working?
I resigned two years ago... I couldn't cope with today's way of auditioning.
It was giving me nightmares.
Once upon a time, actors would go to a theatre or studio with a couple of contrasting pieces and a bit of a song... and meet people.
These days they email you part of their script to learn dead letter perfect.
Then you blu tack your phone to the wall and video yourself giving some kind of performance.
And then, not hear another word about it.
Too solitary for me.
So, there's nothing coming up. Only the occasional repeat.
Is there a particular role that I'd like to be remembered for?
Hmmmmm 🤔
I'd like to be able to see some of the theatre work I've done over the years but that's impossible, so it will have to be something that's immortalised on video.
To be REMEMBERED for? Gosh...
I was quite pleased with a couple of episodes of THE BILL and a two-hander scene with Judi Dench. Another with David Jason. Another with Tom Conti.
However, in terms of screen time, Terry Wands in THE SWEENEY would be a contender... but, by a nose, I'm gonna single out George Macklin in THE FOURTH ARM.
However, I'm going to have to seek that out and watch it again - just to be sure.
... In a similar way, of all the many roles you’ve had, is there any particular one that you’d like to be remembered for, and which you might recommend that people seek out?
A: Yes, pantomime, Beauty and the Beast... and, the following year, King Bumble in Jack and the Beanstalk.
Am I still working?
I resigned two years ago... I couldn't cope with today's way of auditioning.
It was giving me nightmares.
Once upon a time, actors would go to a theatre or studio with a couple of contrasting pieces and a bit of a song... and meet people.
These days they email you part of their script to learn dead letter perfect.
Then you blu tack your phone to the wall and video yourself giving some kind of performance.
And then, not hear another word about it.
Too solitary for me.
So, there's nothing coming up. Only the occasional repeat.
Is there a particular role that I'd like to be remembered for?
Hmmmmm 🤔
I'd like to be able to see some of the theatre work I've done over the years but that's impossible, so it will have to be something that's immortalised on video.
To be REMEMBERED for? Gosh...
I was quite pleased with a couple of episodes of THE BILL and a two-hander scene with Judi Dench. Another with David Jason. Another with Tom Conti.
However, in terms of screen time, Terry Wands in THE SWEENEY would be a contender... but, by a nose, I'm gonna single out George Macklin in THE FOURTH ARM.
However, I'm going to have to seek that out and watch it again - just to be sure.
Comments
Post a Comment