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Alex Ferns (Trevor) wishes he'd never done Eastenders
robertaloud30
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlids5pwPZQ
saying it has meant he is typecast..but surely he hasn't done that badly from it??
saying it has meant he is typecast..but surely he hasn't done that badly from it??
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But that was Alex's point - he hasn't been offered any high profile roles since leaving EastEnders because he has been typecast and he took that risk. It was kind of different for Sam Womack, who he interviewed with, because she was already well-known before she was cast as Ronnie.
He was famous in South Africa before EastEnders. He had the first gay kiss on South African television.
But isn't that the case for most soap actors though? Only a few like Tamzin Outwaite and couple others managed to break the mould and get high-profiles roles on TV. Most soap actors just disappear into nowhere after leaving their respective soaps. I don't think you can blame any soap for that.
Additionally, what has typecasting got to do with not being offered enough high-profiles roles? Surely, that's more to do with producers not wanting to cast him in their movies/shows, because they prefer other actors. He was struggling as an actor before and after he signed onto EE. How does typecasting come into that? Ferns' argument confuses me.
Okay, I can see producers not casting him for stuff because they can only see him playing a psycho type character like Trevor, but as I said, he was struggling before EE. So I don't know if you can blame EE for his failure to secure varied high-profile roles. It's just the way it goes for soap actors unfortunately.
But I think it might be more to do with the type of character he plays - Alex Ferns was obviously very convincing as Trevor because he still scares me a bit today, he's just got one of those faces, but does he have one of those faces because I know him as Trevor? If he had come in as Garry Hobbs, would I see him a loveable loser? If you play a villain of that calibre, possibly 'Enders nastiest ever character, then surely you're never gonna shake that off? That's his point. He neglected to see how everything was changing because of the soap.
Yep, I totally understand what you're getting at. But wasn't he doing similar types of roles before EE (excluding his work in South Africa)? I guess that's what I was trying to say before in my original post. Additionally, isn't it hard to judge if an actor has been typecast if they only secure one or two or three roles a year to begin with? Typecasting only comes from when an actor is offered many roles of a similar nature and makes a career out of it as Hugh Grant and Jennifer Aniston will tell you. I don't think Ferns has been offered many roles at all (let alone typecasted roles) to begin with as I stated before.
Ferns and ex-soap actors in general should be more upbeat and not blame EE and soaps for the failure of their post-soap careers I think . I honestly would like to see ex-soap actors such as him, Rob Kazinksky, Nigel Harman and Lacey Turner succeed as actors, but I find them to be ungrateful when they attack the thing that gave them their first big break in the first place. Not that Kazinsky nor Turner nor Harman attacked EE about typecasting, just using them as fake examples.
But, since he is a very good actor, he would have became well known (but not as much) through another role, I am sure he would have gotten one at some point. True, he looks like the perfect bad guy, but they come in many forms.
EE made him so famous, that people might see him as Trevor. I have not seen him in anything else, but if I did, I would have trouble looking at him as (insert charaters name here), instead of wondering what Trevor was doing in another show. I can't be the only one to feel that way, can I?
So, in the end, I don't think EE has paved the road to more work for him, it just made him famous and you can't live from that, unless you are Kerry Katona.
Agreed!
I do think generally people that have done stuff before soaps have a better chance of finding high profile work afterwards, but soaps have such die hard fans (just look around this forum!) that you'll always see them as that character. I will probably always think of Alex Ferns as Trevor Morgan, or Cheryl Fergison as Heather Trott regardless of what they do, but as much as I think as Sam Womack as Ronnie, I also picture her as the woman from that naff 90's sitcom Game On, so you see what I mean?
I didn't see Alex Ferns' comments as ungrateful in anyway, but I do understand his point. I'm an actor myself, and I honestly think that if - early on in my career - I was offered a role in a soap opera, then I would have to seriously consider my next move because I think it can make or break your career. Of course, it depends which direction you want to go in. People judge this kind of thing on high profile roles, but what Alex Ferns is doing in a national tour of South Pacific, a classic musical, is probably just as good as any Hollywood film...
PS. Gotta say, love debate like this. It's when I genuinely love this forum, so thanks!
Although I never understood why they called his character 'Trevor'. In all my days I've never met a single Trevor in Scotland!
I think the accent added something more to the role because, without meaning any offence, the character sounded a lot angrier and scarier. It was a very strong accent and very powerful indeed, so it worked for me.
ded to rights there
Completely agree with this post
it is the voice whenever i hear it i just remember him as trevor but when i saw him before he spoke he didnt look the same lol
they are in the same theatre show together. pretty sure he could've had a theatre career without being in EE! Sam did say they worked together years ago - or was that after he was in EE?!
Oh you brute MelSingleton - you with your valid point to ruin our fun :P