Family tale makes me an emotional mess. I cry every night

Musician Matt Willis, 38, made his name in the band Busted. More recently he has made the switch to acting, with a host of stage and screen roles. Here, the father-ofthree tells us about his part in the national tour of Waitress and the TV show that bring

What are you watching at the moment?

I’m obsessed with This Is Us, which follows the lives of two parents and their three children. I’m an emotional mess watching that programme – I cry every night. But it takes Emma [Willis, his TV presenter wife] and me so long to get through a series. Our kids go to bed at 8pm and before you know it, it’s 9pm. Then we’ll get in one episode before bed. What else do you like on TV? I watch most things that Emma presents and I’m always partial to a documentary because I love learning. Seaspiracy on Netflix was eye-opening. I have no interest in sports but if there’s a sports documentary on, I’ll watch it because I find sports people fascinating. Anybody who’s really good at something is fascinating.

Are you a film buff?

Massively. And luckily the kids are at an age where we can watch films together and all get something from it. In the last lockdown, we watched the Marvel movies in chronological order. drama school. I remember thinking, ‘I want to be in this so badly’. Then, last year, I was doing A Christmas Carol in the West End with Lucie Jones, who plays Jenna in Waitress – I told her how amazing she was in it and she said, ‘We’re going on tour – are you up for it?’ I auditioned and the rest is history. What else are you working on at the moment? I’ve been filming a World War II movie in Suffolk called Wolves Of War. I play an Army captain who has no empathy. I was filming alongside Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick and he’s a fantastic bloke and an amazing actor. He’s so focused. The more I work with great people, the more I take from them. Willis plays Dr Pomatter in Waitress: The Musical, touring now. See waitressthe musical.co.uk for more information and tickets.