Chris Flynn

23, Warrington

Tell us about Bring The Drama and what audiences can expect?

Bring The Drama is about aspiring actors who have struggled to get into professional acting and want to know how to breakthrough. Audiences might think it will be easy, you just learn your lines and that’s it but it’s really not. It’s one of the most difficult jobs. You’ve got long hours, you have to learn lines and the movement involved, and especially for me being deaf, I’m having to sign and have dialogue with people, and learn movement but it’s very exciting and encouraging to watch.

Why did you apply for the show?

I used to think there’s no way I can be an actor but my older sister tried to influence me to get into it. We both did a self tape to her director over zoom and he asked ‘who’s this lad’, and she told him that I was her younger brother and he said ‘he can act’ and encouraged me to apply for the Royal Exchange Theatre. At the start I was really nervous because I’ve never done anything like it before but I really enjoyed it and started to fall more in love with acting and then this opportunity came up and so I decided to apply.

Tell us about your background in acting and what had led you to this point?

From the age of 18 to 21 I went to the Royal Exchange Theatre and loved it. I did two big performance shows there and we had an amazing team. Then I went to the Storyhouse for a year, which really challenged me in a good way, having to stand on stage and learn lines, it’s really challenging but it was a privilege to do it.

What do you feel has held you back from fulfilling your dream?

So I wasn't very good at school because I'm deaf and have learning difficulties and wasn’t given enough support. Going to college changed my life though as they gave me the support I needed and access to sign language interpreters and I grew from there. Then going to Royal Exchange Theatre and Storyhouse, I finally found my dream.

What was your experience like filming the series?

It was one the best six weeks of my life. It was such a cool experience meeting all the people involved, we’d never done it before and so it was a dream to a part of it.

What was it like working with Bill Bailey?

He’s such a nice guy, very funny and hilarious. It was like being part of a family, he wanted to make sure that everybody’s ok and we had lots of conversations and we spoke about being deaf and sign language which was cool.

And how was it working with the rest of the team including Kelly, Gemma and the guest mentors?

Kelly is an incredible woman. She’s also really into sports and a fellow Manchester United fan so we really got on.

Gemma was really interesting too because she’s a drama school teacher and so is trying to get you to be a better actor and she really helped me with understanding the script, what the words mean and helping me connect to them.

The guest mentors are incredible professionals, they are of such a high level of standard having done so many shows, they were teaching us how to say the words and lines, such an amazing learning experience.

What has been your biggest key takeaway from the show?

Being on the set of Peaky Blinders and being taught stunts and movement. I learnt so much from it, it was the best day of my life being on the set of one of my favourite shows.

What would be your dream role?

My dream role would be in Ted Lasso because I love football, so why not become the first deaf professional in the premier league. That would be cool.

Is there anyone in the industry that you admire and look up to?

Christopher Nolan, he’s an amazing, incredible mastermind. He’s done so many action films which I like.

Do you have any stand out moments from filming?

Definitely being on the set of Peaky Blinders! It’s my favourite programme and so it was a dream come true to act on the set.