Rob Brydon: I felt like an utter failure after divorce
ROB Brydon says he felt an “utter failure” as his first marriage fell apart – and he was being crowned Best Comedy Newcomer.
The Gavin And Stacey actor, 56, married first wife Martina Fitchie in 1992 and they had children Katie, 27, Harry, 25, and Amy, 23.
They split in 2000.
And that was the year he won Best Comedy Newcomer.
He said: “Suddenly, I’m at the British Comedy Awards and Michael Palin is congratulating me.
“But while you’re being praised, inside you’re feeling an utter failure because your personal life is falling apart.And that’s not a nice mix.”
Rob married second wife Clare Holland in 2006 and together they’ve had Tom, 13, and George, 10.
He said he was thrilled to see Gavin And Stacey co-star James Corden succeed in the US in 2015 as the host of The Late Late Show – but it didn’t make him ambitious for himself.
Rob said: “He had the odds stacked against him: an English guy going to Los Angeles to host a chat show in an overcrowded market. So many people were willing him to fail.
“But it didn’t make me feel I wanted to be one rung higher. I can trace that back to success coming to me relatively late and coinciding with my first marriage ending.
“I knew then that your home life has to be good if you’re going to enjoy things going well in your career. It taught me an important lesson.”
And a visit to see James filming his CBS chat show in LA a few years ago reaffirmed that inclination to resist trying to crack America.
He said: “I remember driving through Hollywood and seeing all these giant billboards for shows I knew, but most of which I didn’t.
“What struck me most forcibly was the brutal competition in the city. I was so glad I resisted moving there.
“We arrived at CBS and there was a massive billboard of James. You couldn’t fail to be impressed.”
But when asked if there was a part of him that wanted similar success, Rob told The Lady magazine: “Years ago, maybe. But I’m very happy now with where I am.
“I’ve come to realise that the key to happiness is not more, better, best. The key to happiness is within you, how you view your life, how you are with your family. It’s not to do with how high up the ladder you go.”
‘Home life has to be good to enjoy a career’