20 Questions with...Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Tikaram, The King and I
MOST recently known for his role as the menacing Qadim Shah in BBC’s EastEnders, actor Ramon Tikaram will be taking on a very different challenge in Northampton next month when he stars in the much-loved musical The King and I.
Ramon will co-star with Josefina Gabrielle in this musical which tells the story of a British governess who is brought to the court of Siam to tutor the King’s children.
Ramon, who will play the King, is also known for many TV roles, particularly that of Ferdy in This Life.
The King and I show will run at the Royal & Derngate from February 7 until 11.
To book tickets, log onto www.royaland derngate.co.uk or ring Northampton 624811.
1) What made you decide to take up acting?
I really couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Acting chooses you – you don’t decide to act.
2) You dealt with a pretty controversial subject matter when you played Qadim Shah in EastEnders, was it a challenge?
Qadim comes from a place of imitable values, and yet he is a gangster – a nasty piece of work. The challenge was to find chunks of humanity in the man. The story isn’t over yet, so the challenge continues.
3) A lot of people will remember you for playing Ferdy in This Life. Why do you think the show had such popular appeal?
At the time it employed novel ways of shooting and tackling young people’s culture in a fresh and compelling way. The writing and directing changed hands every three episodes and so the dramatic arc was in a constant stage of flux. The characters were very well defined and they drove the story, not the other way round.
4) Is there a lot of pressure taking on such an iconic role in the King and I?
I take each character as I find it. The fact that there have been precedents set has no bearing on how I play him. The only pressure is finding a truth in the character that the audience believes.
5) Do you prefer working on stage or screen?
Every couple of years I try to take on a stage project to keep my eye in. The screen requires different skills and can make you lazy. Screen is a comfort zone but theatre makes me work hard.
6) If you had not decided to be an actor what career would you follow?
I would probably have become an English lecturer.
7) If you were stranded on a desert island, but could take three things with you, what would they be?
The Complete Works of Isaac Asimov (every inch a philosopher as Mr Shakespeare), Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef (greatest jazz album ever) and a guitar.
8) What does your perfect day involve?
A full English breakfast, a philosophical debate with my daughter, watching some football with my sons and an amorous excursion with my partner, all punctuated by good food.
9) What book did you last read?
I have just finished reading His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. Truly brilliant.
10) What meal do you most like to cook at home?
Proper fajitas, prawns and noodles, or a full English.
11) What is your worst habit?
Overthinking.
12) What are your pet hates?
People listening to personal headphones on public transport. The A303 (in Wiltshire). People who don’t listen.
13) If you could choose any acting role, which character would you most like to play and why?
Caliban in The Tempest. He is such a wonderful collection of contradictions - noble and base. Poetic and guttural. Powerful but delicate.
14) What music do you like to listen to?
I’m an absolute jazz freak. Currently listening to Claude Bolling.
15) What is your most treasured possession?
My passport.
16) What has been a career highlight for you?
Standing ovations for The Great Game Cycle, a series of plays at The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, North West London, all about Afghanistan. The audience would turn up at 10.30 in the morning and stay until 10.30 at night, exhausted but screaming for more.
17) What makes you laugh?
Anything written by David Sedaris (an American humourist).
18) Who has most inspired you in your life?
My mother. Also meeting Peter O’Toole was pretty special.
19) What ambition would you most like to fulfil?
Writing a best-selling novel.
20) What would it be about?
Probably a spoof on the whole canon of conspiracy theories.
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