“I must admit, I’ve got a bit of a man crush on Adam Barlow!”
MIKEY NORTH Gary Windass
Gary Windass has been to hell and back these past 12 months – but hell is surely where he’s destined to return, given that he’s now up to his neck in an ever-deepening swamp of shocking crimes. But as Mikey North – who plays the builder turned desperate killer – admits, Gary’s only just getting started! So it seems fitting that his wicked alter ego has prompted a grand total of four nominations for Mikey: Best Actor and Best Bad Boy, as well as Best Shock Twist and Best Show-stopper for the Underworld factory collapse…
You’re nominated for a raft of awards, Mikey – you must be chuffed?
Absolutely! It’s always nice to know that the work you’ve put in is being appreciated – so it’s a privilege. You can never read too much into it, but whichever way you look at it, it’s nice. Gary’s life has changed so much, which has been really fun to play. And there’s lots more to come…
Can you pick a highlight?
There was a scene I did with Tina [O’brien, aka Sarah] in the Platt house, where Gary pins Sarah up against a wall – that sent me to places which physically help you as an actor. You don’t really want to be there for too long, as it was quite upsetting to do. It was definitely a highlight, but I’ve not actually watched the scene back yet…
Do you not like to watch yourself ?
I’ve come to a point now where I’ve spent years doing it, and you can end up criticising yourself a lot. So I’ve started trusting the opinions of people around me. And if it feels right on the day, that’s what matters.
Does it help to be working with someone like Tina, who you’ve been teamed with for a long time?
Yeah, I’ve been so lucky in the past couple of years to work with some really talented people, which does make your job easier. I miss working with Tina now that she and Gary aren’t together. She’s brought me on so much as an actor. She’s incredibly talented, so it’s been a privilege.
Might it be Sarah who ends up sussing Gary out in the end?
She’s definitely on his case! There’s Sarah, and there’s Adam – Adam could be the one. He’s a clever guy. But there will be lots of people trying to fathom it over the next few months. We’ll have to see if anyone gets close – but I hope not!
Unlike Gary and Adam, it sounds as if you and Sam Robertson (Adam) have a bond…
Yeah, I’ve got a man crush on Sam! He’s a good lad, and we’ve started knocking about together outside of work – he’s a really nice guy, really down to earth. Some people say you shouldn’t get on if you play enemies on screen, but I disagree. Being friends with someone means you trust them when you’re acting out a scene, and that’s a big help to me.
We’re seeing so many sides to Gary – killer Gary, loaded Gary, guilty Gary, manipulative Gary… Have you got a favourite?
Ha ha! Loaded Gary’s been fun, I’ve quite enjoyed that one. But it’s always nice playing a baddie – you just have to get used to people shouting at you in the street. It’s all fun and games, though – and I take it as a compliment.
How is Gary dealing with being a killer – is he comfortable with it?
A lot of it is bravado with Gary – he puts on an act of being the hard man and believes he could take on anyone. In reality he probably couldn’t, though! I mean, I wouldn’t want to mess with Kevin Webster…
Who are your favourite bad guys?
I thought Rick was a really good baddie, he had some great one-liners. And obviously there’s an element of Gary having learned from the best in Pat Phelan – Gary’s been tortured by him enough to learn something!
What other plots have you loved?
It’s going to be fun seeing Sam Aston [Chesney] trying to cope with all those babies on set! I’d be resigning if it was me [ laughs]! And James Burrows [Dr Ali] has a big storyline coming up that I’m looking forward to see. I think he’s going to smash it…