TGtS Meets...Oliver Mellor

Former Corrie actor, Oliver Mellor stopped by for a chat about snogging Michelle Keegan, life after the cobbles and his dreams of playing Bond.

Tell us a little bit about your role in Black Coffee…

I play Edward Raynor, the secretary of Sir Claud Amory, he's a scientist, who's probably had a lot more academic training than he's let on. He's essentially the brains behind most of Sir Claud's ideas and during the play invents a new weapon of mass destruction called Amorite. He's also a brilliant dancer, which meant that I had to learn some seriously sharp 1920s moves. 

What attracted you to the part?

As an actor, I always look for roles that are as far removed from my actual person as possible. Sometimes it's difficult to find them in TV, where you're often cast because of how you look or sound. Theatre gives you a chance to play more character-led roles, which is fantastic for me as an actor. I love that I get play an academic and the 1920s inspired costumes are always great fun to slip into. 

Do you have to do much research for a role like this?

A role like this requires you to think about every single tiny detail of your character, from your grammar and dialect to your body language, everything has to change. Knowing that my character was fairly light on his feet, the first thing I did for this role was Youtube  "1920s dancing" - although it made me laugh to begin with, it's actually fairly complex and I’m more used to throwing drunken shapes than dancing in front of an audience. 

Growing up did you always want to become an actor?

When I was really young I actually wanted to become a rugby player, but when I realised that I probably wasn't good enough and had too many injuries, so I thought I'd give acting a go instead. I was never really any good at academic subjects, but the one thing that I was great at was making people laugh and doing impressions. After uni, it sunk in that I could probably make a bit of money out of it, and it's finally starting to pay off. 

What was your highlight of working on Coronation Street?

Probably snogging Michelle Keegan. 

Do you prefer working in TV or theatre?

I get more of a buzz being on stage. During my time on Corrie though, I was fortunate enough to appear in the live episode. I only had two or three lines, but it was such a rush performing live to 15 million people. 

Which actors do you admire the most? 

I've always admired the late, great Robin Williams, it's such a tragedy that he's gone, but to me, he'll always be one of the greats. 

Is there a role that you haven't played but want to?

James Bond would be pretty cool, I've always been a massive fan of the Bourne movies with Matt Damon. I'd love to do a big budget action film, with lots of car chases, shoot-outs and death-defying stunts.