Doing movies with Burt Reynolds and Spielberg was great but I love doing the stunts on Emmerdale
As soap villain Al Chapman, Michael Wildman has never been far from trouble since he joined Emmerdale three years ago, but tonight his feud with Cain Dingle gets dangerously out of control, culminating in a horrific crash.
Michael relished the chance to film the car chase through Yorkshire’s country lanes as it reminded him of his movie days before joining the soap.
He says: “Making films is what I love doing, but I am also really enjoying playing Al and this week’s super stunt week has been so much fun to do.
“It’s filmed in a cinematic way and I got to do my own driving sequence stunts, which I loved. It’s great getting into a car and putting the foot down.”
He has worked with some of the Hollywood greats, including Burt Reynolds and Steven Spielberg.
He was in Spielberg’s 2018 sci-fi hit Ready Player One, worked with Gerard Butler in the 2016 thriller London Has Fallen, and was Magorian in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Michael, 47, says: “I’ve actually started to write a journal about some of the stories that happened on the film sets. Once you do a job, it’s quite easy to move on and forget, but arguably it doesn’t get bigger than working with someone like Burt Reynolds.”
They were both in the 2008 British comedy A Bunch of Amateurs. Michael says: “We were worlds apart, but he was very complimentary and I learned a lot from Burt.
“I can remember him telling me to keep on going. ‘Mike,’ he told me, ‘don’t ever let the b ***** ds grind you down’. It was such a beautiful moment of support that I really appreciated.”
Michael laughs as he recalls Spielberg approaching him on the set of Ready Player One to apologise. He says: “I had been offered the part of a character by Steven but, when I arrived, it hadn’t been written up, so he gave me bits of A4 paper with lines on to learn every day.
“At the end of the shoot, Steven shook my hand and told me, ‘I really want to apologise for putting you on the spot. I kept on throwing stuff at you’. I laughed and replied, ‘What am I going to do? Turn down extra lines from Steven Spielberg? No way’.” Michael has also starred in TV series such as Ricky Gervais’s Extras, Rellik, Deep State and Being Human. Does he ever yearn for a move back to the movies?
He says: “It’s the world I am from. And I do love doing them. I have been lucky the American stuff I’ve done has been filmed over here, but I will go where the work is.
“We will have to wait and see what happens to Al tonight, but hopefully if he does survive, I can look forward to Emmerdale’s 50th anniversary later this year.”
The Emmerdale bad boys have been at war since Al hurt Cain’s daughter, Debbie Dingle, twotiming her with Priya Sharma. Al has also been caught up with loan sharks, and even burned down The Woolpack pub.
A happily married dad of one, Michael lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, Ceri Ann Gregory, an actress and singer, and their son,
Lucas, eight.
Michael and Ceri wed in 2018, but have been together for 23 years. He says: “She has supported everything I have done as I do for her. She is my partner in crime in every aspect.”
Talking of crime, how does he feel about playing Emmerdale’s resident villain?
Michael declares: “He is known as a villain, but he hasn’t killed anyone yet. Many people walk around that village with smiles on their faces knowing they have murdered someone, but he hasn’t done any of that yet.” He pauses, grins and then says: “I don’t think he has to murder anyone, though. He can get up to enough mischief without doing that.
“And he is certainly not boring. Whatever happens, he will always be known as the person who burned down The Woolpack.”
■ Emmerdale is on ITV weekdays, 7.30pm to 8pm. Tonight’s is an hour-long episode.