As stay-at-home dad Kevin in the hit TV series Motherland, he gave us a giggle trying to fit in with the cool mum gang at the school gates.
And when HELLO! catches up with Paul Ready, he admits that his people-pleasing character does indeed exist in real life – something he’s only realised now that he’s a father himself to his eight-year-old daughter, who he shares with his actress wife Michelle Terry.
"When we did the pilot, I didn't have a kid,” he says, "I do now and as she's grown older, I've gone, 'Oh my God, it's true, it's all true'."
© Alamy Stock PhotoSports day, says Paul, is when the reality of Motherland really hits home. "I can't turn up at a school event and something in me not go, 'Kevin from Motherland's here'. I'm like, no, this is too close to the bone!"
A doting dad, of course he competes in the dad’s race, "unless I can manufacture an injury". This happened last year, he tells us. "I do try my best," he shares. "I'm not very competitive but when I come in last again and again, it's not good for the soul."
Paul, 48, is speaking to us in his role supporting the eco charity Greener or Cleaner as part of Big Give’s Green Match Fund campaign, the UK’s biggest environmental fundraiser, running from 22 to 29 April.
As Big Give’s official media partner, HELLO! spoke to Bodyguard star Paul about his charity work, acting roles and hanging out with Hollywood star Christian Slater…
What did you love about playing Kevin in Motherland?
To me, Kevin is like a clown in the best sense. He has some kind of hole inside himself that he's trying to fill by pleasing other people - but also, he's a great dad, and would do anything for his kids.
I don't want to be him as a dad, but I think I have moments where I fall into it, being a bit like Kevin.
Another thing about him was playing a stay-at-home dad. I thought it was really important; to be a stay-at-home dad is an incredible thing.
© Daniel LewisYou have an eight-year-old daughter. How do you relate to the show now that you're a dad?
I don't know because so much of it is about the politics of the school gate, and we're very lucky to have a great bunch of parents.
There’s a WhatsApp group and I think that's where I go, Motherland really exists. The different characters, the things people get het up about - sometimes rightly so.
What was it like working with Lucy Punch, Anna Maxwell, and the rest of the cast? You must have had such a laugh!
We did have a great laugh. I've been lucky to do some great jobs, but it's rare that there's such fun on the job - we all got on really well. There's a chemistry there, and I think that's something that made it work on the screen.
We all have our different ways… Anna, Diane [who plays Liz], and me couldn't be more different, but there was something that worked, and obviously, Lucy is incredible.
And now Lucy's doing Amandaland, which is great. I think they've done that so well. They've taken the good ingredients of Motherland and expanded it in a different way.
Is there a part of you that would like to be in Amandaland as Kevin?
I never like to get caught as a character. There's always a place for Kevin, but I wouldn't want to get caught.
Do you miss filming Motherland?
In a way I do, because I love the material but also I think everything has its run.
I actually felt like we could have done one more season, just to close it off. It started to find a bigger and bigger audience, partly because of the lockdown - people started to discover it and then really liked it.
At the same time, you don't want to push. Things are popular because they’re of the moment.
© Alamy Stock PhotoWhat are you working on now?
I'm just about to finish a play at the Globe theatre. It's a Chekhov play called Three Sisters.
It's about life, having dreams, having them dashed, having affairs, making bad decisions, but at the same time still asking, what's life about?
My wife and I are both in this play. I've worked with her a few times - that's how we met.
Our kid is livid that we're doing this play together, because it means we're not around for bedtime. That's really why I don't do so many plays, or we certainly don't do many together.
I have to find a reason to do it because I want to avoid my daughter being livid. She's still young and she really feels the effect of us when we're away.
How would you feel if your daughter followed in your footsteps into acting?
I have a feeling that she won't. But if she did, I think I would have to say, it’s precarious for sure, but I would also say life is precarious, I don't think anything is certain.
I think it's a great thing to do. I've dedicated my life to storytelling; we'll always need storytellers.
You starred with Christian Slater in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. What was that like?
I've got to say I really loved Christian Slater. He was in a lot of the films that I loved growing up.
I remember coming off stage one time after the show and a friend of his had come to watch it.
I was going up the stairs on the way back to the dressing room, and it was him and Patricia Arquette, just standing there. I was like, 'Oh my God, that is one of my favorite films, True Romance.'
He’s fantastic; he's got a wild energy. It was a lot of fun to be on stage with him.
I find him really kind as well. You can imagine somebody who's a Hollywood star could be standoffish, or they could want their own space - and I think he did want his own space but at the same time I felt like he'd really talk to you, he'd really meet you.
There was this one time when it was a friend's birthday, and they were coming to the show - a big group of friends. I think they all loved Christian Slater.
I said to Christian, 'I know this is a bit annoying, but it's my friend's birthday. Do you mind having a photo?' He's like, 'No problem'.
Then 15 of my friends, including some strangers, piled in [the room]. I couldn't have been more embarrassed, but he took it so well.
You’re supporting the charity Greener and Cleaner – tell us about it and why you wanted to be involved
Greener and Cleaner is a sustainability charity and they have this hub in a shopping center in Bromley.
The idea is to normalise sustainability, and work with people and show the benefits of it - it's a real community outfit.
What Greener and Cleaner does is bring people together. It's about learning how to repair things rather than throwing them away and learning how to create less waste. It’s about ‘How do I insulate my house?’
A lot of the solutions are about saving money, but also people coming together. Skills like repairing things and mending clothes were skills we used to have, so the charity educates people.
They have workshops and a library of things - things that you might use once a year that you can rent like a library.
Somebody said: 'We come here to repair things, and we end up mending each other'. I thought that's totally heartbreakingly beautiful.
One of the other things they're working on is creating a blueprint to have sustainability hubs in different cities all over the country.
What do you love about Big Give?
It's an incredible way of making whatever we can, because these are tough times.
I didn't realise how big the Big Give are - they're a sensational platform and their impact is huge.
They're working with hundreds of charities doing really essential things in communities for the world and the country.
What do you do in your spare time?
It's very middle-aged, but I find great peace in the garden now.
There's one plant I talk to, an apple tree that needs a bit of encouragement. I don't have in-depth conversations, it’s just like, 'Come on, give me some apples'.
I once played a character who played the violin, so I took a crash course in trying to look like I could play the violin.
Anyway, I kept the violin and I still try and play, but my God, it's a noise. I wait for everybody to be out of the house. The dog sits there for a little while before giving me some sad eyes and going to his crate.
Big Give is the UK's biggest public fundraiser. Donations to Greener or Cleaner or any of the other 300 charities taking part in the Green Match Fund campaign will be doubled by Big Give.
To donate visit biggive.org/green-match-fund/
