'I just got a job': EastEnders legend Nigel Harman didn't feel 'in control' at height of soap fame
Nigel Harman was "blissfully ignorant" about the kind of fame 'EastEnders' would bring him and thought at the time that he had just "got a job" but didn't feel "in control" of
Nigel Harman didn't feel "in control of" his 'EastEnders' fame.
The 51-year-old actor has been a regular face on stage and screen for two decades now, but got his big break when he was cast as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera in 2003, and was "blissfully ignorant" about just how well-known he would become.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I just got a job, and I knew the show was quite popular, and I wasn't even sure who I was playing.
"So, at the time, it was, I think, blissful ignorance. I just sort of went into it and did the best I could.
"And then, as things took off, you're just on a wave, and you're just trying not to fall off your surfboard, really. So, it all happens around you, rather than something that you feel like you're in control of."
The former 'Casualty' star - whose 'EastEnders' alter-ego was killed off in 2005 - is actually "quite a quiet person" away from the cameras and insisted that "being famous" is not his reason for being in the industry.
He said: "I'm quite a quiet person, really. So, I just didn't go to any premieres. Being famous is not why I'm an actor. I'm an actor because I enjoy acting and telling stories and working with people, and I enjoy singing, and I enjoy being in front of a camera, and I enjoy doing plays. I just love acting, and then with that comes some form of profile, and you just deal with that as it comes along. But it's not what I set out to be – famous."
Meanwhile, the former 'Strictly Come Dancing' contestant is now gearing up to appear in the world premiere of the musical 'We Aren't Kids Anymore', which will run as a concert at the Savoy Theatre in London.
The show explores the ups and downs that come with chasing a dream, and Nigel - who features alongside fellow West End actress Melanie La Barrie and former 'Six' star Aimie Atkinson among a host of others - is convinced that it has the "power" to become a mainstay eventually.
He said: "For me, the music is kind of extraordinary, and I think if that takes root, how some shows just take root in people's hearts, and this show has the power to do that. And once that happens, then this show is capable of doing anything."
Nigel Harman will be performing in WE AREN’T KIDS ANYMORE on Monday 28 April 2025, with both matinee and evening performances at the Savoy Theatre, London, alongside Dylan Mulvaney, whose debut book, 'Paper Doll', is now available worldwide.
Tickets are available from www.thesavoytheatre.com/shows/we-arent-kids-anymore-a-new-musical-a-new-story-by-drew-gasparini
