Investigates as a gay detective in new crime drama The Stranger
Fleabag star Kadiff Kirwan cuts through the yellow tape as a gay detective in a new thriller. He tells Thomas Stichbury about diversity in the industry and, of course, pencil haircuts
Making the most of his snip of screen time — all 21/ 2 minutes of it — in the sublime second series of Fleabag, Kadiff Kirwan proved to be a cut above the rest as hairdresser Anthony. Yes, the man responsible for Claire’s amazing ( and very French) pencil ‘ do.
And the pencils have been sharpened against the actor ever since. “I did one scene and it’s genuinely been bonkers, people stopping me in the str eet,” he exclaims. “I was in Charing Cr oss, I had my earphones in, and I sw ear I could hear someone saying my name. So, I t ook an earphone out and a w oman was screaming: ‘ Hair is everything, Anthony’.”
Counting Fleabag co- star and creator Phoebe Waller- Bridge as a good friend – we’re more than a little jealous – and with a growing roster of rich TV and film r oles to his name, 30 - year- old Kadiff has come a long wa y.
Born in Montserrat and growing up in the Caribbean, he and his family were forced to flee their home land when a devastating natural disaster struck. “I was born on a tiny island, a British overseas territory, and in [ July] 1995, a volcano [ the region’s Soufrière Hills, which had been dormant since bef ore the start of the 20th century] er upted,” he r ecalls. “We lost r elatives in it. I moved to the UK at nine years old — going from the Caribbean to Preston is quite a leap.”
After a stint in a Christian boy band, “We were called Like One and did tours of churches, very rock and roll, drinking lots of consecrated wine,” he chuckles, Kadiff was pestered into giving acting a go during his more tumultuous teenage years.
“I got suspended [ from school] a couple of times and there was this drama teacher, who was like: ‘ You need to come to after- school drama classes because it will really help with your behavioural issues’, and I thought: ‘ I haven’t got any fucking behavioural issues, what you on about?’ I went to one and that was it, I caught the bug.”
Kadiff went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London, an experience he describes as great and traumatic at the same time.
“I got there and the fi rst thing that was extremely obvious was the class diff erence,” he explains. “There were 18 people in my group, I think six of us hadn’t gone to boarding or private schools.
“I’d never been in that kind of environment before but it was a learning curve for all of us because you can’t buy your way into good training, you have to do the work.
“I struggled fi nancially at points,” he adds. “I wrote to people for help and the wonderful actor Jonathan Pryce [ replied]. I [ contacted] him for advice when I was about to enter my third year and he gave me a bit of sponsorship, which was the loveliest thing.”
The Pryce was right and Kadiff has proven to be a worthy investment, notching up appearances in small- screen gems such as Chewing Gum ( penned by another of his trail- blazing pals, Michaela Coel), Black Mirror and Timewasters, about a jazz band from South London who are transported back in time, and one of the few shows on television led by performers of colour.
“It’s at a glacial pace, but [ representation] is improving,” he states. “I’m seeing far more actors of colour and [ also] disabilities being given the scope to do what they do best, which is tell stories.”
Kadiff reveals that he has been discriminated against on account of the colour of his skin in the industry.
“Absolutely, even at drama school,” he begins. “They were like: ‘ You’re not a male lead’. I would ask why, and they’d reply: ‘ You’re just… no’. Things like that.
“I auditioned for a show in the West End that was well received,” he goes on. “I got the part, then I decided that I wanted to audition for something else within the production because [ the fi rst role] was a bit functionary.
“I went back to my team and asked if I could be seen for one of the other characters that was bigger which also had a proper arc and storyline. I think the feedback was, ‘ We know what we’d like to do with the part, aesthetically’.”
That’s why Kadiff is keen to tell his own stories to redress this imbalance. “I’ve got two TV shows in development,” he teases. “I’m writing for me, but also for everyone else. Using the platform that
I’ve got from shows like Fleabag, I’m absolutely going to use it for good and to try to bring up the rest. If you’re going to get the elevator to the top, send it back down for the others.”
First up, however, is Netfl ix’s twist- laden thriller The Stranger, based on Harlan Coben’s best- selling novel of the same name.
Kadiff slices through the yellow tape as DC Wesley Ross, opposite Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, Anthony Head and Absolutely Fabulous legend Jennifer Saunders. It is safe to say that no other series on the box features decapitated llamas.
“We shot that [ scene] in Bury,” he reminisces. “Siobhan and I were trying to keep a straight face, then we heard this group of school
“If you’re going to take the elevator to the top, send it back down for the others”
children go past going [ puts on a Mancunian accent]: ‘ Oh my God, fucking hell, who killed that polar bear?’ They were being deadly serious. It makes you worry about the youth of today!”
The part of Ross, a detective who just happens to be gay, appealed to Kadiff, an actor who just happens to be gay, because the writers didn’t make a big deal out of the character’s penchant for “daddies” on Grindr.
“It was nice to see a character who was openly gay but the show wasn’t about him being gay,” he stresses.
“No one in my experience walks around with their sexuality as the only defining feature.”
That said, Kadiff has never made a secret of his sexuality. “I am absolutely proud to be a black gay actor in the UK.
“It’s nothing that I’ve ever hidden from anyone,” he maintains. “I make a point of saying I am gay when people ask because it is for the next generation.
“I remember growing up not seeing any black gay actors out there, there just weren’t any, or not in my world anyway.
“I want people to know that you can have a career and be successful and play a range of roles and not be defi ned by your sexuality,” he says.
“I marched at Gay Pride last year for the National Theatre, and I was in the front row, making sure people know we’re here and we’re not going nowhere, so get on board or fuck off .”
Case closed.
The Stranger is streaming on Netflix now