At 59, the acclaimed actor and screenwriter Mark Gatiss has fulfilled almost all of his dreams, from co-creating the TV phenomenon Sherlock to writing for the long-running sci-fi hit Doctor Who. In this exclusive interview, Mark tells HELLO!: "Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes were my two favourite things when I was a kid… I still pinch myself. I can't quite believe it."
Now, Mark is celebrating the success of his original period crime drama Bookish, which returns for a second season this month. Set in London in the Forties, it stars the Sedgefield-born actor as Gabriel Book, a gay antiquarian bookshop owner who solves crimes while navigating a lavender marriage.
"One of the wonderful things about Bookish is that it's a new idea," he says. "That's very unusual these days, because people constantly want existing IP. It's a great joy that we've got it off the ground."
Eager to demonstrate the realities of life when homosexuality was illegal, but "without it being too bleak", Mark drew inspiration from an encounter with an older man at a gay party shortly after he moved to London in 1990.
"I can see him now, just sitting in the corner like a duchess," he says. "He said to me: 'It's never been the same, you know, after it became legal.' I've never forgotten that. He'd had a great time in the war. It was fun and wrong and forbidden."
Sitting down with HELLO!, Mark reveals the one role he still dreams of playing and explains why Hollywood "isn't what it's cracked up to be", as well as opening up about the childhood trauma he recently overcame.
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Mark, what inspired the idea for Bookish?
"I've always loved detectives. Before the current vogue, I would always try to find a forgotten murder mystery to watch. Along with horror films, they're my favourite things. I had this idea for a bookshop. I played my own detective, what would it be? Then it just popped into my head. Bookish."
What is it like to co-write with your husband, the actor and writer Ian Hallard?
"We've always done it in the sense of discussing things, and he's a huge Agatha Christie fan. Twenty years ago, we were discussing things before Bookish was even conceived. I always go to him with anything I'm stuck on, or plot points, so it was a natural progression of that. It's useful to be in the same house discussing these things because we have shared knowledge of it. It's not without its challenges because you obviously can't leave it at the door, but it's been delightful."
Given your recent roles in blockbusters such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps and X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The Final Reckoning, have you ever considered going to Hollywood?
"Not at all. I'm in them because I live here and they came here and filmed it. I'm very grateful. The notion that Los Angeles is dying is quite terrifying for someone in love with Hollywood, like I have always been. It's as if the whole movie industry is shrinking."
"My life is here, and if I was 22 and single, you might go: 'Oh well, let's give it a crack,' but what would be the point?"
"I have far too many friends who signed some contract and then sat around in a hotel for six months, friendless, and then came home. It's not what it's cracked up to be and now I don't even know what it is anymore."
Are there any ambitions that you've yet to fulfil?
"Yes, and one of them might be happening next year – then I think I'm done.
"No, there's always something. I'd love to play Captain Hook. I was offered Captain Hook once, but it wasn't the right version, and I'm very particular about it."
"I think Peter Pan is the most amazing story. I just love the notion that Hook is reaching for the will-o'-the-wisp of youth and that the clock is ticking. I mean, increasingly we all respond to it, don't we?"
Mark is famed for his work on Sherlock and Doctor Who
What do you like to do for pleasure?
"I paint - that's my hobby. I used to run, but I've done my knee in, so now I slightly obsessively swim."
"I've surprised myself; I'm quite competitive in the pool. I had a bad experience learning to swim with a vile and vicious PE teacher. For two years I used to make myself sick to try and get out of it. It was properly traumatic. But I love swimming now and I regret that as a massive triumph."
What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself?
"Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't be in a hurry to grow up. Keep going."
Season two of Bookish is available from 26 August on Us&Alibi via Sky, Virgin and Now.
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