Christopher Eccleston by Tom Browne

entertainment

The

Man Who

Nicked The Krays Actor Christopher Eccleston talks about his role as Detective “Nipper” Read in the new film Legend, and the part he played in bringing Britain’s most notorious criminals to book By to m browne

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Reader’s Digest

When I say the name Christopher Eccleston, what’s the first thing that springs to mind? If you’re under 30, it’s probably his acclaimed portrayal of Doctor Who in 2005, which introduced him to a whole new audience. Slightly older viewers may recall the earnest Nicky Hutchinson in the BBC’s eradefining Our Friends in the North. Others, meanwhile, will mention his disturbing turn in the cultclassic thriller Shallow Grave.

Three roles, all acclaimed, all entirely different. It’s fair to say that Eccleston has never been an actor in danger of typecasting. The real seriousness of purpose behind his choices is easy to see— one thinks of Jimmy McGovern’s hard-hitting Hillsborough, or the wonderful Thomas Hardy adaptation Jude, where he starred alongside Kate Winslet. But his career has been diverse enough to encompass everything from John Lennon to Gone in 60 Seconds, and when I tell him I’ve been cast as a zombie in a local stage production, he willingly gives me some pointers. (“You’ll have to locate within yourself and within the zombie some part that’s still human”—thanks, Chris.) “In terms of the things I’ve felt have been successful and I’ve enjoyed 22

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Christopher Eccleston on the set of Legend in East London; (right) Tom Hardy as the Krays

doing, it’s all about the quality of writing,” he says when I ask about the thread that ties his roles together. “I grew up in an era of British TV where the focus was on the scripts— ones that are alive to the ambiguity of character and the contradictory nature of human beings.” This is just as well, as it’s hard to imagine a more rich and vibrant movie in terms of character than © previous image: getty images /Mark Cuthbert

Legend, a new biopic based on John Pearson’s book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins. Eccleston plays a supporting role in the film, which is very much a showcase for co-star Tom Hardy; he portrays both Kray twins— the crime leaders who terrorised London’s East End in the 1950s and 1960s—and you quickly forget that it’s one actor playing two roles. After © WENN Ltd/Alamy / © studio canal

all, there’s a world of difference between the violent but reasonably grounded Reggie and the totally unhinged Ronnie, who was declared insane after his imprisonment in 09•2015

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Christopher was the first to bring Doctor Who back to life for a new generation in 2005

the history of the Metropolitan Police. in Legend is someone who feels completely out of step with the As well as pursuing gangsters—he Swinging Sixties. “He’s a man titled his autobiography Nipper Read: resisting all this excess, fluidity and The Man Who Nicked the Krays— change with every inch of his will. he also targeted rock stars such as This is someone formed The Beatles and The in the 1930s and 1940s Rolling Stones. in working-class “I think he was THEY WERE Nottingham, and wants present on the day things to remain that Marianne Faithful, a VILE way. When I first read a Mars Bar and a blanket CRIMINALS. draft of the script, I told were first revealed I’M DISMAYED [writer and director] to the world,” says BY THE WAY Brian Helgeland that Eccleston with a laugh, THEY’RE Nipper brought to referring to an infamous incident in 1966 during ROMANTICISED mind Malvolio from Shakespeare’s Twelfth which a drug search Night, who’s a very at Keith Richards’ home puritanical and self-righteous figure.” uncovered Mick Jagger’s girlfriend Despite this, Read comes across naked and draped in a fur rug (the role of the Mars Bar has been a source sympathetically, with Eccleston successfully channelling a sense of of fruitful speculation). righteous fury. And while it’s easy to Indeed, continues Eccleston, the mock the old-fashioned values that version of “Nipper” Read portrayed

1969 and spent the rest of his life in Broadmoor Hospital. “The boldness of [Tom Hardy’s] characterisations and their differences are pretty extraordinary,” agrees Eccleston. “I worked with him first as Reggie, and then towards the end I had a scene with Ronnie. Reggie was a pretty conventional, predictable individual, but Ronnie… well, Tom made decisions there about the level of his eccentricity that were fascinating. “On a psychological level, the Krays were very interesting. I myself have identical twin brothers, eight years older than me, so I know how extraordinary that relationship can be. Fortunately, my siblings were far more positive!” Eccleston plays the small but pivotal role of Detective Chief Inspector Leonard “Nipper” Read in the film, a man who looms large in

“Acting was a huge escape for me”

launches the careers of Ewan McGregor and future Oscarwinning director Danny Boyle.

1991: Comes to public attention as Derek Bentley—who was controversially hanged for murder in 1953—in the film Let Him Have It.

1996: Plays the lead character Nicky Hutchinson in the BBC drama Our Friends in the North, which makes him a household name.

1994: Appears in the low-budget thriller Shallow Grave, which

1996: Portrays Trevor Hicks, who lost both his daughters in the 1989

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Hillsborough disaster, in Jimmy McGovern’s TV drama Hillsborough. Eccleston is best man at Trevor’s wedding in 2009.

1988: Makes stage debut in the Bristol Old Vic’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Reader’s Digest

1996–2002: Appears in a number of high-profile film roles, including Jude, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, 24 Hour Party People and 28 Days Later. 2005: Cast as Doctor Who in the BBC’s massively successful reboot,

but only stays for one series, stating he didn’t enjoy the working “culture”. 2010: Portrays John Lennon in the BBC’s Lennon Naked, covering the Beatle’s life from 1967 to 1971. 2013: Appears as the evil Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, the sequel to 2011’s Thor. 2015: Plays Detective Leonard “Nipper” Read in Legend.

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he represents, there’s been a of the locals won’t give him any corresponding tendency in some information and cover up for the quarters to glamorise the seedy Krays instead.” criminal underworld of 1960s Is this a case of inverted snobbery? London—and even the Krays “Yes—it’s a class thing, to a certain themselves. It’s a tendency that extent. But I just think it’s b******s Eccleston deplores. whenever anybody starts roman“They were ticising the vile criminals, other side in my view,” he of the tracks.” says emphatically. “I’m Ecclestone’s dismayed at pride in the way they’re his own romanticised workingby some. I class mean, it’s all identity Christopher and Daniel Craig in the just nonsense: is obvious BBC drama Our Friends in the North ‘They were during these good to kids and exchanges. they were good He speaks to their mum.’ warmly of his Yes, and they early years murdered and in Salford and slashed and his relationburned. There’s ship with his no ambiguity for parents. “My me, and there’s father was no ambiguity quite a literary Alongside Kerry Fox (centre) and Ewan McGregor (right) in Shallow Grave for Nipper in man, and the film.” both of them In fact, says Eccleston, Read’s own encouraged me to read a huge working-class roots make him even amount. Looking back on my acting less receptive to the mythology of career, I notice there are many the twins. “I think Nipper felt—as father-son relationships—Our I would feel—a great deal of shame Friends in the North comes to mind. that they were using their class as Lots of men in conflict with their justification for their activities. And fathers, which I never was in real life; he expresses his dismay when some there was a deep love between us.” 26

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Reader’s Digest

Inspired by kitchen-sink dramas such as Kes and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, Eccleston trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and made his stage debut at the age of 25. For all that, the path to stardom wasn’t smooth, with a number of years between roles working on building sites and in supermarkets. And—as Eccleston is keen to point out at the end of our discussion—things are far harder for poorer kids today. “Acting was a huge escape for me. But nowadays, if you’re from my background, the door is almost shut. All the classical roles in London’s

West End go to white, middle-class males, and we get a culture that’s resultantly bland. To be honest, I find it very disturbing. “I like to feel that I’ve given as much to the culture as it has to me, but it’s getting much worse—nobody can argue with that. We have to keep up a dialogue about it and we have to keep up the pressure.” Legend is released in cinemas this month. You can hear an audio version of this interview at readersdigest.co.uk/ podcast. And for DVDs featuring Christopher Eccleston, including the best-selling Our Friends in the North, go to shop.readersdigest.co.uk

LOST for words

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Despite boasting more than a million words, there are some things that just can’t be expressed in the English language. Lagom (Swedish): Referring to the etiquette of taking your share, it means neither too much nor too little. Culacinno (Italian): The mark left on a table by a cold glass of water. Pena ajena (Spanish): The feeling of being embarrassed for another. Komorebi (Japanese): The interplay of light and leaves when the sun shines through trees. Pochemuchka (Russian): Someone who asks a lot of questions. Pana po’o (Hawaiian): Scratching one’s head to remember something. source: HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

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