Gavin & Stacey star Mathew Horne has opened up about his "unpleasant" character in new film Bolan's Shoes.
The film sees Horne play Jez, a minor character who appears for one scene to mercilessly tease Jimmy (Timothy Spall) about devastating car accident which happened during his childhood.
Speaking to the Radio Times about the role, the actor revealed that despite only playing a small role, he has found his part in the film difficult to watch back due to the viciousness of Jez.
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"I've seen it two or three times now, and even I find it quite unpleasant to watch, to be honest. My wife can't even watch it, she finds it so unpleasant!" he said.
However, Horne added that he was grateful for the opportunity to play a role that is the opposite of the character's he is known for as he's keen to avoid being typecast.
"It was great to be offered such a horrible, horrible role," he said. "Ian [Puleston-Davies, director] really, really wanted me to go as far as possible in terms of how unpleasant this person was. So I really embraced it."
Starring Spall, Leanne Best and Mark Lewis Jones, Bolan's Shoes explores the lasting impact of childhood trauma as well as the "life-affirming" power of music.
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Switching between the present day and 1970s Liverpool, the film tells the story of a group of kids from a local children's home caught up in tragedy after their coach crashes on the way to a T. Rex concert.
Years later, one of the survivors, Penny (Best) makes her way to London to pay her respects to the late T. Rex singer Marc Bolan when she bumps into fellow survivor Jimmy, who has been struggling to come to terms with the accident years before.
Bolan's Shoes is out now.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career.
Brenna previously produced lifestyle content for Checklists.co.uk and has a specific interest in music, reviewing live acts and interviewing bands such as Confidence Man and Amyl and the Sniffers.
