Larry Lamb: ‘I took a 500% wage cut and never looked back’

Larry Lamb owes his entire career to a stroke of luck.

He tells Metro: ‘I was leaving one job, and somebody had told me about auditions going on for a local theatre company. I was going to do it, and I wasn’t going to do it. I took someone out for lunch and said, “I’ll walk you back to your car.” Turned out he’d parked his car outside the theatre where the auditions were going on.

‘As I said goodbye, I thought to myself, “What are you going to do?” So I ran down the road to where I knew there was a phone box, and phoned the theatre just to see — and they said, “Can you get here right now? Somebody’s dropped out.”’

The rest is history. From there, Lamb carved out a unique 50-year career. In the last two decades alone, he’s played both one of the most hated and most loved men on British television — EastEnders’ rapist Archie Mitchell and Gavin and Stacey’s unsung hero Mick Shipman.

The last half-century of his life has been defined by that stroke of luck. ‘I certainly wouldn’t be here talking to you,’ he grins. I can’t read if that’s a good thing…

Acting wasn’t always the plan. Until his late twenties, Lamb travelled the world working in the oil and energy industry. He worked in the US, Canada and Libya, and caught the acting bug performing in university plays in Nova Scotia.

He wasn’t born into privilege, but he wasn’t exactly struggling before breaking into acting either.

‘I was 27 when I first earned a paycheck as an actor, and it was about five times less than what I’d been getting before,’ he says.

‘I took about a 500% cut in wages to be an actor. I’d been a really keen amateur actor, and this was a golden opportunity — but when they saw what I earned, they said, “We can’t come anywhere near that.”

‘I was earning less than I used to spend on a big drinks bill.’
But acting was all Lamb wanted to do. The ascension from amateur theatre to screen didn’t take long.

He soon landed small parts in The New Avengers TV series and Christopher Reeve’s first Superman film, before his big break as Matt Taylor in Triangle. With his undeniable good looks and obvious charm, Lamb’s career swiftly snowballed — and he’s barely stopped since.

It was recently reported that Lamb was retiring from TV acting, with his last on-screen performance airing last Christmas Day in the Gavin and Stacey finale. Bowing out after the biggest moment of his career would be an effortlessly cool move, but he insists he’s far from done with acting.

‘Some journalist added two and two together and came out with five,’ he says. ‘You don’t retire as an actor — you suddenly realise the phone isn’t ringing.’

Ruth Jones and James Corden are currently working on the follow-up to Gavin and Stacey — an Apple TV series reportedly called The Choir — after signing a seven-figure deal. Does Lamb hope the phone will ring again with Jones and Corden on the other end?

‘Of course, yeah,’ he says. ‘But it’s all about stamina. It’s all about whether you can take the workload doing something like that. The workload is heavy, it really is, and as you get older, you’ve got to be realistic. I can’t work day after day with five o’clock starts and eight o’clock finishes.’

He adds with a smile: ‘If they’ve got a couple of days for a little old boy sitting in an armchair, I’ll be up for that.’

It’s hard to believe Lamb isn’t still inundated with job offers — particularly as arguably the most loved character in one of the most successful British television shows of the last two decades.

The phone is still ringing, he concedes — just not with the opportunities he’s interested in.

‘After Gavin and Stacey, the offers I get all seem to be about working with old people. I said to my agent, “Do me a favour — just keep your eye out for something involving working with young people. That’s what really interests me.”’

Thankfully, another stroke of luck recently came his way.

Lamb is fronting a new campaign with 29-year-old social media star Ash Holme for Sky Glass, which has conducted a deep dive into the nation’s rites of passage into adulthood.

According to its data, almost half of Brits say buying a home is the ultimate sign of ‘making it’ as an adult, ranking above getting married or having a child. One in four Brits sees buying their own television as a more significant step into adulthood than walking down the aisle or raising a family.

‘It was a relief to find that young people are prioritising buying a home over marriage,’ says Lamb, who is now very happily single after two divorces.

‘It’s a reality check and, frankly, it’s sensible — because I feel that before you start settling down to create a new life with somebody, and potentially creating more lives, you need to get yourself established. You need to know who you are and have a life of your own before you start linking up with someone else. I’m all for it.’

Getting a grown-up telly has never been easier, with the Sky Glass Air 4K TV available from just £6 a month.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.