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NEWSSkins actor unveils new project
Mike Bailey says he's moving on from playing Sid in E4 teen drama Skins by playing an 11th Century peasant sent to fight the Vikings. He's appearing in a new two-part feature called 1066 being broadcast on Channel 4 in February. It's based on the events before and during the Battle of Hastings and is described as "an epic adventure of invasion, resistance and war". It tells the story of ordinary English, Norman and Viking men and their families. Mike Bailey said: "Everyone knows about the Hastings battle but they don't know about two other battles before it.
"The first episode shows the Vikings coming over and the English moving all around the country. "The second one is about the Battle of Hastings and what really happened, because what you get taught in GCSE history may not actually be the way it was." 1066 was unveiled at Channel 4's winter season launch in London and also stars Francis Magee (Layer Cake), Soren Byder (Foyle's War) and Anthony Debaeck (Wolfman). In the feature-length drama, Mike Bailey plays a character called Tofi. "He lives in a village of about 30 and has probably never left his village before and on his wedding day he finds out that the Vikings have come over and that all the men of the village have got to leave and fight them," he said. "It shows his story as he becomes more of a man, because he's only about 15 in the story. "He's always trying to get back to his village and back to his wife and his best friend." Directing work 1066 was filmed on location in Yorkshire and Sussex. Mike Bailey says villager Tofi is a totally different role from unlucky virgin Sid Jenkins from Skins. He said: "The scale in which they wanted to do it was so big. "They wanted to actually have real fights, battles go on for about 40 minutes, it was chucking it down with rain, it was so much fun. "It was just something completely different for me to do." Skins was Mike Bailey's acting breakthrough. Before being given the role of Sid, the 20-year-old was working at a branch of Topshop in Bristol. Sid's character has now been written out of the third series of Skins along with most of the old cast. But Mike Bailey says he's keeping a close eye on what's happening. He said: "I have met the cast and I have seen some of the episodes. "It is weird but it's a new programme really. There are little references to us all. "From what I've seen and what I've heard it's going to be really good. And all the new cast are really nice. "It's good for us to leave it now. We wouldn't have gone on and done another series. "It wouldn't have been as fresh as it is now if we would have carried on." But Mike Bailey hasn't left Skins completely. He explained: "I'm going to do a little bit of directing for Skins. They do all the little internet extras and I'm going to do some of that." Mates Are More Than Just Skin Deep
He might play spineless teen antihero Sid but Skins star Mike Bailey knows how to stand up for his mates when the occasion calls for it. The 19-year-old, who returns in the hit adolescent drama this week, claims he's no wimp when his mates run into trouble in town - especially when it's his co-star and on-screen best mate Nicholas Hoult who's getting the hassle. Despite the grief Nick gives him on-screen. Relaxing with a pint in Walkabout pub in Bristol with his girlfriend Rosie, Mike says: "I don't get so much trouble but I've been out with Nick when people come up to him and say things that make you think 'Just why would you say that to someone?' "It's fine when they come up and pay you a compliment about the character you're playing but when they come up and start being difficult that's different. "We all go out for drinks after work when we're filming. We're good mates, and we all tend to step in when Nick starts getting grief. "But we know most of the bouncers in Bristol now, so if we're getting any hassle ..." It's a mark of the show's impact that its stars are attracting such attention. It may also be a mark of the intelligence of some of those who watch it and are clearly unable to discern between fiction (Nicholas Hoult plays an obnoxious, self-serving hedonist) and fact (Nicholas Hoult is, would you believe, only an actor playing a character. When Mike joined the cast of Skins prior to its first series he had no idea it would be one of the most popular dramas of the year. He says: "When I got the part I was still at college so getting the role changed everything." Indeed it did. For one thing, a posse of teenagers with cameras descended on a branch of Top Man where he worked to take pictures after a local radio DJ announced it on air. Mike's boss, apparently, gave him the rest of the day off... "To have a main part in something like Skins was very lucky," says Mike. "Obviously I didn't know how the show was going to go when I started out in it, and it's been quite successful. We were like 'thank God' whenwewere commissioned for the new series." As Sid, Mike is the typical best-mate of the boy most likely to. Hoult's Tony swaggered his way through the first series, a fledgling lady-killer with a fast-living glint in his eye and a loyal best mate in his shadow. At the end of the last series, however, the smug smile was wiped off his face - by a bus. So things, this time round, are different. He says: "He's an entirely different character now, and he needs help with pretty much everything. "He's basically gone from the guy who can do anything to the guy who can't do anything. "He can't eat, write his name or go to the toilet without anyone assisting him. "The second series is a lot darker than the first. That's one of the ways it's different." The series, created by Scot Bryan Elsley, caused a storm of controversy when it hit E4 and Channel 4 last year. Its sexualised content, scenes of drug taking and general adolescent debauchery had the Mary Whitehouse followers in a frothy fury. Even Mike admits he was taken aback when he first read the scripts. "It was something brand new and fresh, and when I read the first draft of episode one, there was actually a lotmore swearing than there ended up being. "So it was toned down quite a lot. "When you read some of the stuff you do sort of think 'how are they going to get away with that?' "They do push the boundaries. But that's why it feels so fresh." One unforeseen effect of Skins saw some parents using it as a guide to teenage life for their kids. Mike says: "It was never intended solely to attract one age range, although there are obviously a lot of people who watch it who are the same age as some of the characters. "But people of all ages watch it. "Younger folk watch it and I think in some ways it allows people to look at it and think about what they want to do with their lives. "I've had folk in their 40s come up to me in the street to tell me that it reminds them of when they were younger. "It does cut across the ages. "I know some parents probably send their kids to bed the moment it comes on, but I know some people who say they want their kids to watch it. It allows them to say 'This isn't the way it has to be, you don't have to give into peer pressure.' "I suppose it's used as a sort of deterrent, like a documentary. It's dramatised, but it's realistic." Mike claims there's enough of himself in Sid for him to be the Skins character he would identify with most were he simply a viewer rather than a star. Friends and family and trying to do the right thing, he says, are the similar characteristics. As are confidence issues. In the world of acting, however, confidence comes with experience, and the second series of Skins exposed him to a pair of Scottish actors who he won't forget in a hurry. Michael Nardone (Rome, River City) and Maurice Roeves (Star Trek, Baywatch and, er, River City) play Sid's uncle and grandad in the new run. "They were the newbies of the show," says Mike. "And they were great fun to work with. Nardone's a right practical joker and was always having a laugh. "Both he and Maurice play quite fearsome guys and they got into character. Sometimes they stay in character and messed about with being aggressive towards me out of character too, but it was all a good laugh." With Scottish Oscar-winner Peter Capaldi playing his dad, Mike's had experience that many more experienced thesps would envy. "Not many people believe it when I tell them I've been working with an Oscarwinner," he says. "But Peter has been really good with me. He sat me down at the end of the last series and told me he didn't want to see anyone else coming back as Sid. "And apparently he's recognised in the street more for playing Sid's dad then he's been for any other part." There's a strong Scottish thread through the new run of the show. There's an impromptu highland fling from Mike - which was "terrible" apparently. Capaldi, Nardone and Roeves are starring and spaced-out Cassie, right, has been dragged off to Scotland to live. "The only way they can see each other is if they send videos to each other," says Mike, of the two characters' odd relationship. "But things end up going from bad to worse." Which is good news for the shows' millions of fans. Mike has some other good news for them too. Having become an internet hit with his version of Cat Stevens' Wild World which he sang in the last series, he's not - contrary to reports - set to pursue a music career. "No chance. I can't stand the sound of my own voice singing, and I couldn't even watch that scene." Neither has he been sacked for being one of the show's main earners. "I read that about myself," he says. "I had folk texting to ask me if I'd been sacked, and one of them was my producer on Skins, so that speaks for itself. I want to carry on with Skins, hopefully for another series as it's the first thing I've done. "I've had such a good time with it that I want to see what the world has in store for me. And for Sid." He's not alone in that. Skins, E4, Monday, 10pm and C4, Thursday, 10.35pm. 'When you read some of the stuff you sometimes wonder how they will get away with that. They do push the boundaries' Lowdown on the new hit series... Mike Bailey's Sid is one of the popular characters in the E4 show. But who are the others creating chaos in the series that has a big followng? CASSIE (HANNAH MURRAY) Spaced out Cassie has issues. She's bright as a button, but has an eating disorder which was dealt with last year. Now off to Scotland, will she and Sid ever finally get it together? Like .... yeah, wow, as she'd say. MICHELLE (APRIL PEARSON) Sid drooled over his best mate's girlfriend for the whole of series one. Now his mate's had the stuffing knocked out of him by a bus, she doesn't have his attention - or Sid's. MAXXIE (MITCH HEWER) Maxxie's still chasing the boys in the second series but he's also helping out with Tony's recuperation and round the clock care. Bill Bailey plays his dad. Like he didn't have enough problems already... CHRIS (JOE DEMPSIE) Possibly the most tragic of all the characters, Chris exists in a haze of drugs that would make Frank Gallagher wince. But with no family and no home - it's no surprise he's got 'issues'. TONY (NICHOLAS HOULT) The star man last series, Tony's had the stuffing knocked out of him by a bus and is entirely dependent on those around him to help him carry out the most basic human tasks. Could it have happened to a nicer bloke? We'll see. ANWAR (DEV PATEL) Anwar insist his family don't think sex has been invented yet. So he's here to go where few like him have gone before. He chases girls like there's no tomorrow. Skins stars axed? |
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