An actor's life life for me...with Scott Kyle

Protect and survive

We live in frightening times! Never before have the majority of us ever seen the kind of situation the world is experiencing right now.

Covid-19 is affecting more than 200 countries and has already been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.

Despite the anxiety and grief being experienced by millions around the world the bravery and dedication of nursing staff and other key personnel - including shop workers, lorry drivers, teachers and others - has been breathtakingly magnificent.

Along with millions of others in the UK I stood outside my home during the recent national show of support and applauded the doctors, nurses and emergency staff risking their lives every day to treat others. And, while I am grateful to all of the frontline hospital staff, I have to admit this is personal!

I am immensely proud of my sister. Lindsey Kyle, who despite only graduating as a nurse a short while ago is fully engaged in the battle to save lives and halt the spread of this killer virus.

For the sake of my wee sister, and all the other selfless workers as well as ourselves, can we please all follow the guidelines of our respective countries and help save lives.

My sister Lindsey

Spirit of kindness

At times like these the generosity and goodwill shown by people never ceases to amaze me.

I was recently lost for words (almost) after receiving a wonderful letter from Diane in the USA.

It wasn’t just that she’d taken the time to write to Karen and I, or that she had sent a little gift to each of us. It was the wording of her letter that made me a little emotional.

Diane said she had sent me a little book about Walt Disney because she maintained he reminded her of me in a little way. Wow!

While I would never dare to compare myself to such a giant of a man I admit I am inspired by his positive, can-do attitude and ability to encourage people to dream. They are all qualities I try to emulate so it was very touching to discover that somebody else thinks I am managing to follow his example, even if it’s just a little.

Small world example #1

Like everyone else I’ve had some extra time on my hands lately. Apart from some gardening - when Jess the neighbour’s cat doesn’t get in the way - I’ve been catching up with some television.

I’ve really been enjoying the latest season of Outlander and it’s been especially great to see my old friend Richard Rankin getting such a good part in this series.

A few years ago Richard and I worked together in pantomime. My company put on a couple of productions, Cinderella and Aladdin, in which Richard played an ugly sister and the baddie respectively.

I can honestly say he was wonderful to work with, a true professional with a great talent - even back then.

Richard Rankin as a baddie in pantomime

But, that wasn’t the first time we had met. Richard and I started out around the same time and went to the same school, Stonelaw High, in Rutherglen, Glasgow.

Although Richard was a year older than me we knew of each other and even shared many of the same teachers, including one in particular.

Many years after we had left school, and were both working on Outlander, Richard and I ended up sharing a car one day with Sophie Skelton and Gary Lewis on the way to a rehearsal.

During the journey Gary, who obviously recognised our accents, asked us where we were from and what school we had gone to. When Richard and I both said we had attended Stonelaw High he gave us both a surprise. It turned out that our English teacher, Charles Stevenson - the man who had played a part in encouraging both of us towards drama, was Gary’s real-life brother. It really is a small world!

Richard (left_ as an ugly sister in Cinderella

Small world example #2

Another show I’ve really been joying lately is the new BBC drama The Nest, starring Sophie Rundle and fellow Glaswegian Martin Compston.

It really is a superbly acted, tense thriller and the scenery is fantastic. It was partly filmed about 45 minutes from Glasgow, near Helensburgh, using a house called Cape Cove (which featured in Scotland Correspondent a few of months back as it’s actually a holiday rental property).

Although I’ve never worked with Martin we both share a common link concerning our first break into movies.

Martin made his debut in Sweet Sixteen, which was directed by Ken Loach in 2002, and I got my first movie role in The Angels’ Share in 2012, which was also directed by Ken Loach. Maybe we should form a club?