'I'm so pointless': The Feud's Jill Halfpenny struggles when she is out of work
Jill Halfpenny has admitted she feels "pointless" when she isn't doing any acting work.
Jill Halfpenny feels "pointless" when she is out of work.
The 49-year-old TV star - who recently starred in the Channel 5 drama 'The Feud' - has appeared on screens for 36 years, but when budding actors ask her for advice on working in the industry, she quickly points out the need for people to successfully operate during "downtime" so they have a purpose in life.
Speaking to singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the 'Spinning Plates' podcast, Jill said: "Whenever anyone asks me for advice about being an actor, I always say, 'How do you operate in your downtime,' because they are the most challenging times.
"The work when it arrives is easy, but it's when you're in your own head, going, 'I'm so pointless.' I literally need to put points in my day to make me feel that there's a point to me being here today.'
"When I am out of work and I've been out of work so much in my career, I've had long spells when I am not doing anything and I realise that I like structure, for my day to be punctuated with certain things."
The 'Strictly Come Dancing' 2004 champion admitted that as actors get older, it is "mentally hard" for them to build a "structure" for themselves.
Jill said: "I really struggle, maybe now more than ever with just waking up and my boyfriend [Ian McAllister] will say, So what have you got on today?'
"In my head, I am saying, 'Nothing, absolutely nothing.' I have to give myself structure and it's mentally hard."
However, the former 'Coronation Street' star said actors can have "faith" and think "logically" that a job will arise, but she added there are still no guarantees.
Jill said: "Some of my friends don't like their jobs and they'll say, 'Oh I've got an 8.30am meeting and it's with a person I hate and I've got a two-hour meeting with them.'
"And I find myself thinking, 'I wish I had a meeting with someone I didn't like', because at least it would be something and I'd have something to whinge about, like, 'Oh that meeting was dreadful.'
"But no, there's nothing to say, you're out of work, never knowing if you'll work again. You have the faith and think, logically something will come up, but there are no facts there."
