Soaps - Do Actors Who Stay Long Term Have No Ambition?
Ben_Thistlewaite
Posts: 13,891 Forum Member
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Soap is a dying genre and unless a character that is bombarded with stories then why stay?
No rehersal time, no character progression, no loyalty to personality or realism and so on.
Not slating any actor but ge uinely curious other than the regular paycheck of course.
No rehersal time, no character progression, no loyalty to personality or realism and so on.
Not slating any actor but ge uinely curious other than the regular paycheck of course.
7
Comments
Kirk
Gemma
Chutney
just to name a few in Corrie
They know they have a top end salary for doing something they ain’t very good at so will never leave or have ambition to move on
There is a place for long termers in a soap, but it annoys me that so many crap characters or actors are allowed to stick around for so long. On Corrie, it makes me wish for a new producer who’ll just axe loads of them.
I know some people say they wouldn’t like anyone to lose their job, but acting is an insecure profession, and they earn loads on soaps. If they haven’t got the sense to put some away for a rainy day or whatever, more fool them.
If people in any other job were as lousy at it as, for example, PC Creepy or Steve McDonald, and made no effort to improve, they’d soon be got rid of.
With the pandemic I think stars would think twice about jumping ship. Plus for a lot of these actors, this is the dream job. Walking down Albert Square or filming in the Dales, something they may have grown up and wanted to do all their lives.
Working in soap is difficult, especially for actors who play popular characters. Multiple shoots, press calls, lines to memorise.
It's funny because we are so pre-disposed to assume that an actor will leave a "secure" soap role because they want to go and crack Hollywood and make it big etc While that will be true of some and I'm sure it would be "the dream" I don't think it's the only reasons actors leave a safe soap role. They perhaps don't care if they won't be as well known in their next project as they were in a soap. An actor generally wants to experience a range of acting experiences. They want to be different characters with different emotions and personality traits, they want fun stories and dark stories, change and renewal. It's a big part of why most of them become actors.
But yeah, some are content to play the same character and have steady pay which is fair, others want to move on and do different things, regardless of money or fame.
Nor would I. There's always a place for long term characters in soaps, Ken Barlow and Dot Cotton for example. It makes them more real. The trouble is that soaps nowadays are just one sensationalist storyline after another, always trying to outdo each other. I'm not keen on here today, gone tomorrow characters who are introduced for just one or two big storylines. It doesn't mean that actors who have been in it for decades are lazy or lack ambition. If anything they're the ones who have done alright for themselves. Acting is a tricky profession. It's often feast or famine. I for one wouldn't want the insecurity and the perpetual fear of losing my job.
Other jobs might have a more typical career progression, where you can aim to progress your career by getting promoted into a more senior position in the same or a similar company. But soap acting would be a whole different world.
I'm sure there are plenty of cast members though who have no desire to leave their current role, simply because they are happy and content.
Tully - Tony Warren adored him.
Kirk - I have no idea.
Gemma - Was the face of Corrie at one point so will be on a good salary.
Chesney - A good child actor only, who managed to bypass many a producer. I have no idea.
Dinnerladies was actually the program that defined Anne Reids career. Yes she may have worked before this but it was pretty much supporting/guest roles since Corrie.
After Dinnerladies she became a lot more prominent and had more leading roles.
I dont think William Roache would have been able to swing as versatile a career.
Regular pay check but stability. Some actors work right round the country, living out of suitcases and staying in hotels and air b&bs. I imagine some people prefer the comfort of their own home.
Theres a lot more acting opportunities in London than elsewhere.
Some might want to do stage work as well
I saw Anne Reid in a couple of good TV dramas before Dinnerladies, but yes, she did become more prominent after it, and was in a lot of very good stuff.
I don’t think William Roache would have done as well either, but he was ambitious when he started on Corrie, and expected to move on, and up 😁
Exactly. Longterm soap actors enjoy high visibility, a good salary and a character that they have developed personally and know better than anyone else. Then there's the added benefit of a close working relationship with your co-stars.
I don't doubt they are good reasons, but it does rather turn acting into an office job scenario- like a 9-5. Fair enough its security, but somehow it seems to turn the chance of a diverse and exciting life choice into something rather mundane.
Of course we have had some soap stars such as Suranne Jones and Sarah Lancashire to name a few who have gone on to work on dramas but they are few and far between.
And if we think it’s hard in the UK, it’s even harder in Australia where the industry is a lot smaller. I am thinking in particular of an interview with Ada Nicodemou where she was asked if she ever wanted to go to Hollywood and she said why would she, her family, her home and her friends are in Australia and she has an amazing job. In fact, I think it’s wrong to say they have no ambition, I applaud them for having good jobs in an unstable business.
I think some actors are just made for soap, especially if they land a character that is just right for them
Some will know that they wouldn't either and are on good salaries.
Others have said they love acting and get good storylines and constant work.
Lacey Turner could have gone on to get good TV work but she seems to like the stability of being in Eastenders
Never understood Katherine Kelly being in demand so much.
With the younger actors / actresses possibly but after a pandemic where the arts wasn’t seen as “essential” I can see why people might be even less willing to leave.
I suppose it depends on how happy you are within the role itself but as an actor I imagine everyone at some point must wonder what it’s like to be someone else but personal life comes into it family life etc I suppose you have to give up a lot to be successful outside of a soap and often there’s snobbery towards soap actors too. A nice debate though!
Some more examples, some bigger than others:
Alan Dale
Guy Pearce
Russell Crowe
Himesh Patel
Ricky Whittle
Anna Friel
Nathalie Emmanuel
Gaynor Faye
Rob Kazinsky
Michelle Keegan
Rachel Shenton
Martine McCutcheon
Jenna Coleman
Rakhee Thakrar