Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon has spoken frankly about his career in recent years, talking about the sorts of roles he’d hope he’d land compared with those he did
Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon has said that he sometimes doesn’t get the respect other actors get due to his crossover between presenting and acting work. Speaking about his career just a few months after turning 60, Rob reflected on how fortunate he feels to still be getting roles in his sixth decade.
He told the Telegraph: “I’m very lucky, I’m 60 and people are still asking me to do things. I like doing lots of different things.
“The downside of that is you don’t get the respect that somebody who focuses on one thing [gets], because one minute I’m hosting, the next I’m acting.”
Rob’s reflections on his career come ahead of filming about to commence on the next series of The Trip, one which sees him and Steve Coogan travel go on road trips in different countries, visiting restaurants along the way.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the programme has developed an avid following over the years, and it was the director who was the one who convinced Rob to do a fifth series.
When asked why he was doing another now, Rob replied: “Because Michael Winterbottom ‘Let’s do another one,’. We just turn up.”
This isn’t the first time Rob has touched on his career in recent years. Last year, he talked to the Guardian about the Gavin and Stacey finale and his relationship with other long-running cast members including Ruth Jones.
However, he also touched on rumours that he had ambitions for serious roles such as Succession-type dramas.
In response, he said: “I mean, who wouldn’t want to have been in Succession? Watching it, I thought, my God, the wit of it.
“I’d love to be in something like this. But all actors would love to do something different to what they’re known for, I think, which for me is a kind of warm-hearted naivety.
“My problem is that I am not driven enough or hungry enough to make the effort. And, yes, maybe part of that is, oh, then I won’t fail if I don’t try.”
While Rob may not have appeared in Succession, he will appear in the latest series of The Trip. Due to be six episodes long, it will see Rob and Steve, 59, explore Northern Europe.
Speaking about the return of the series, Steve said: “I’m delighted that Michael Winterbottom has managed to persuade me at the age of 59 to join Rob, aged 60, to squeeze the last few drops of comedy from a bottle that we both thought was pretty much empty.”