I grew up doing plays - I went to a stage school after school - and it's always something that I've wanted to do, but, in a weird way, if you do television and film and you didn't go to drama school and don't have a theatrical background, it's hard to get your foot in the door. In the same way that it is for theater actors to get into television and film. There's a weird prejudice that goes both ways.

Christian Cooke

Categorized in : School Drama Prejudice

I learnt a blend of different martial arts - not in great depth, obviously - but various moves such as kicks, blocks and punches. It was all quite fun.

Christian Cooke

block fun art

My brother is an agent, so he is in the business. Is he my agent? No, no, no. That would never work.

Christian Cooke

agents my-brother brother

I turn 30 next month, and in my 20s, I've been in this limbo of being too old to play the young lead, and too young to play the 30, 35 - year - old. I've always had an older head on my shoulders because I've hung out with older people. I was in television shows with older actors, and when I was 15, 16, 17, I sat up in hotel lobby bars with older actors until the early hours of the morning hearing them tell stories. I've always been drawn to older characters and I've always struggled to get into the younger roles. It feels good to be finally getting to an age where I'm playing my age.

Christian Cooke

morning character people

So many directors these days direct by design and shoehorn you into things - direction or blocking - that they had in mind previously. They're short on time and they want to get that over with so they can get onto the finer details of a play.

Christian Cooke

design block mind

But the thing is if you've got an hour to sit down in front of a television, then the likelihood is that you've probably got two hours. So why wouldn't you, if you're enjoying it not want to watch the other one? And so, this is the future. Ten episodes at once is what everyone wants, and then it's up to you how you spread those out

Christian Cooke

up-to-you watches two

Ultimately, if the character is interesting and you said that before: It doesn't matter if it's likable. That's really what it is. If they interest you. If the context in which the characters are set interests you then I think then you're pulled in by it.

Christian Cooke

character interesting thinking

I much prefer following a lead character that is doing morally questionable things. How much do you get on board? Do like that? Do you hate it? Does it matter?

Christian Cooke

does-it-matter hate character

This medium that we're working in - film and television - for an audience, it's like you live through these characters because it's things you can't do in real life. Places you're not prepared to go in real life as a decent human being, anyway. Because if you're a conscientious person, so you live kind of vicariously through these people.

Christian Cooke

real character people

I don't think you have to like a character, but if you can understand why they do what they do, or the position they're in or why they make certain choices, then you can get behind them.

Christian Cooke

choices character thinking

Obviously, it's not cable, it's streaming, but it's the same format. It's the same 10 episodes. It feels like cable as opposed to network.

Christian Cooke

streaming episodes feels

It almost feels like a movie or a- I know it's been said many times - that cable television is the new novel kind of thing - but it does feel like that.

Christian Cooke

kind doe television

I don't even own a bike.

Christian Cooke

even own bike

It sounds stupid, but there's nothing like walking down the street and seeing a building that's older than 100 years old. I think London - not to sound pretentious - like New York, it's a big melting pot for all things and it's just got this energy that you can't find anywhere else.

Christian Cooke

street you stupid walking

So I'm still in my romantic stage with London, I love it as a place.

Christian Cooke

place stage love romantic

With Shakespeare, because you invest so much time in working on material, it always sort of stays with you to some degree.

Christian Cooke

some you always time

My girlfriend's dad runs the Prostate Centre on Wimpole St. in London, and he's chairman of Prostate U.K., which I think is the second-largest prostate cancer charity in Britain.

Christian Cooke

think charity dad girlfriend

I live with four of my best friends - with my brother and three of my best friends - and we have a lot of fun; there's a really tight bunch of us in London.

Christian Cooke

best friends brother fun

Going to parties by myself? Yeah, I don't know if it's super cool or super uncool. I haven't decided yet.

Christian Cooke

going myself cool know

I did 'Echo Beach,' a surfing drama that meant I was often topless. Next came 'Demons,' and the opening sequence had me in my boxer shorts; and then there was a scene in 'Trinity' with me walking around in boxer shorts. It was only one scene in each series.

Christian Cooke

demons me walking beach

Every Friday, my dad would rent three videos. Me and my brother would ask for something with guns or fighting, but my dad would say, 'Come on, think about it.' He'd choose more involving films like 'Pulp Fiction,' and at the end of the night, we'd agree that they were great.

Christian Cooke

great me brother night