How did you become interested in acting?

It started at school. I didn't have a healthy attitude towards education: it took me a long time to work out that I was there for me, not for my teachers. There were only two teachers I could really respond to – one taught English, the other drama. When we were doing Shakespeare, it seemed crystal-clear.

What was your big breakthrough?

In 1968, I appeared at the Royal Court in the first major revival of Look Back in Anger (1). Then I starred in several other plays there. Roman Polanski saw one and offered me the role of Banquo in his film of Macbeth. Everything took off from there.

What have you sacrificed for your art?

I've grown a few grey hairs – well, a lot of grey hairs by now. And there's been a great deal of fatigue. Acting does put a strain on relationships. You're away from home a lot. In that sense, it's almost military.

Your three children also act. Were you worried about them following you?

I was. Acting was precarious in the 1960s, but it's even more so now because of the onward, crushing march of dumbing-down. Some producers and directors think acting is just about learning the lines and looking good. When I was at Lamda (2), acting was rightly considered an art form, like music, dancing, painting.

What advice would you give a young actor?

Don't do it unless you have an absolutely burning desire – and then just do the best you can. If you are at all attracted by the trappings of celebrity, walk away. You will have a miserable time.

Is there a downside to fame?

Oh yes. There aren't any upsides, really, other than the fact that people consider you first for parts, and you tend to get paid a lot more. Celebrity has nothing going for it. It's no good saying to me: "It goes with the job." No, it doesn't. My contract says: "to play the part of, for the sum of". It says nothing about what I should do outside the stage door, or when I'm having dinner in a restaurant and somebody interrupts me.

Stage or screen?

Both have their attractions. With screen, you're able to create something instantly real. But on stage, you get the chance to make a Chippendale desk: you work minutely, engraving and polishing your performance, from the first night to the last.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Playing Elvis Presley in 1985 (3). I was on my knees with exhaustion.

Is there anything about your career you regret?

The Professionals didn't do me much good. All the work I'd done before – at the National with Laurence Olivier – seemed to vanish. But I don't really regret it. Lewis (4) and I had good times together, and we had bad times together, as we all do in life. I'm so sorry he passed away at such a young age.

What's the worst thing anyone ever said about you?

About 30 years ago, I was in Clifford Odets's play The Big Knife (5). One reviewer said: "Martin Shaw couldn't play a Hollywood heavy if his trouser turn-ups were filled with lead." But I'm lucky: I think that's the only bad review I've ever had.

In short

Born: Birmingham, 1945.

Career: Best known for TV series The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently; has also performed at the Royal Court, the National and in London's West End.

Low point: "None. I've been very lucky."

High point: "Lots: working with Laurence Olivier and Roman Polanski, and playing Cecil Rhodes in South Africa."

Footnotes

(1) John Osborne's play premiered at the London theatre in 1956; Shaw appeared alongside Jane Asher in the revival. Back to article

(2) The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Shaw remembers it as "a very progressive drama school – probably the best in the world". Back to article

(3) Alan Bleasdale's play Are You Lonesome Tonight? was about Presley's final hours. Back to article

(4) Lewis Collins, his co-star, who died last week. Back to article

(5) A critic once summed up this play about Hollywood as "a group of sordid people jawing at one another violently". Back to article