Stephen Mangan's 'tough' family sacrifice as he makes West End return
The Episodes actor, 58, is starring in the new West End play, The Truth, at London's Apollo Theatre alongside Ardal O’Hanlon, Sarah Hadland and Janie Dee
It's been four months since Stephen Mangan last had a day off. Juggling the demands of his new West End play, The Truth, with the filming schedule for Sky Arts' Landscape Artist of the Year, has left the 58-year-old actor feeling, in his words, "quite knackered".
Indeed, sitting down with HELLO!, the London-born star confesses that his passion for the theatre can come at a personal cost.
In The Truth, Stephen plays a charismatic narcissist having an affair with his best friend's wife. The comedy has been widely acclaimed, but spending six nights a week away from his family is "tough".
Specifically, it has meant missing the nightly bedtime stories Stephen shares with his youngest son, ten-year-old Jack.
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"I worry that once I come out of the play, he's not going to want me to read to him any more because he's gonna have grown out of it," admits the actor, who also has two older sons Harry, 18, and Frank, 15, with his actress wife Louise Delamere.
"Normally, I only do a play every couple of years. That gets tested if I'm offered things like this. I couldn't say no."
Here, Stephen – who landed his big break in the Channel 4 hospital sitcom Green Wing and has since starred in the BBC legal drama The Split and in the sitcom Episodes – reveals why he refuses to read reviews of his performances, what his Episodes co-star Matt LeBlanc is really like and why London will always be the only place to call home.
Stephen, what drew you to the role of Michel in The Truth?
"It's a cracking part. He's so self-centered and blind to the pain he causes others. But every time anyone causes him any hurt, he's completely outraged. It's so far from the way I go through my life, it’s just really fun to play a part so different from me."
How do you manage the demands of theatre work alongside family life?
"If you have children, like I do, then you have to rely on a partner who's going to take up the slack because I'm just not there six nights of the week. It’s hard on family life and that definitely comes into the decision-making process."
Stephen is famed for his roles in Episodes, Green Wing and The Split
What do your sons make of your career? Do they think you’re a cool dad?
"I don’t think any dads are cool to teenagers, are they? I think it's quite an odd job for your parents to do and, because I'm not from a showbiz family, I didn’t have to grow up with that. I remember I did a play in 2012, my eldest would have been five, and I was playing a pregnant man. He was at his friend's house and he saw a picture of me pregnant in the paper and came home and said: 'Are you having a baby?' I think now they’re getting a bit older, they're kind of getting their heads around it a bit more."
Do you read critical reviews?
"I don't. I would if I was in a TV show, but when you have to keep going out night after night for three months after that review has come out, even if they're good, they annoy me in some way. The theatre is full every night, that's all I need to know. Maybe in 20 years' time I'll sit down with a bottle of whisky and read all my reviews. But you know if you're in a good show or not, you don’t need someone else to tell you."
Stephen starred opposite Nicola Walker in The Split
Has Hollywood ever appealed to you?
"No. Episodes was a great job because we got to film in LA, but I didn't have to live there. It's nothing against the place, but you’re waiting for a big job and it might take several weeks. I just like being busy. And my family and friends are here.
"I think London is the best city in the world. I like the culture. I like restaurants. I like all the parks. I've been lucky to have worked in New York on Broadway and in LA, but I've never been tempted to move to either place."
What was Matt LeBlanc like?
"Matt's fantastic. He has that attitude that you really look for in all good people you work with, which is they take the work seriously and they don't take themselves seriously. He's just a really lovely guy and very generous. I’m delighted to count him as a friend."
You worked with Nicola Walker in The Split and in the West End play Unicorn last year. Would you like to work with her again?
"I always want to work with Nicola. She's not only a really great actress, she's a really fantastic person and we have such a laugh together. But we've played husband and wife now on telly and in the theatre, so maybe she needs to be married to somebody else for a bit."
The Truth is at the Apollo Theatre, London, until 12 September.
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