Kris Marshall, best known for playing Detective Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise, has revealed he was once fired from a job at Iceland. The actor shared the anecdote while discussing his unlikely path to stardom, which included a series of odd jobs before he broke into acting.
From abattoir laundry to acting
After being expelled from school, Marshall faced a choice: resit his exams or pursue acting. He chose the latter, but the road was not easy. In an interview with the Guardian last year, he recalled working in a toothpaste factory and in the laundry of an abattoir to make ends meet. He said: "That one was pretty grim - the smell will never leave me."
He also revealed: "I was once fired from Iceland for wearing blue sunglasses on the till, and for a while, I knocked on the doors of people who hadn't paid their TV licences."
Big break and rise to fame
His big break came while working in a pub, where a chance encounter with someone from the entertainment industry set him on a new path. He began touring with stage productions before landing his first film role. He said: "I went from hiding under my bed from the landlord because I couldn't pay my rent, to flying over to the Toronto film festival to promote my first lead role in a film 18 months later."
His role as Nick Harper in the BBC sitcom My Family, from 2000 to 2011, made him a household name. His appearance in the 2003 film Love Actually, playing Colin Frissell, further boosted his profile. He said: "I would get recognised daily. Since then, it hasn't stopped, but I don't mind - it's a small price to pay for what is a wonderful job."
Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise
In 2014, Marshall joined Death in Paradise as DI Humphrey Goodman, taking over from Ben Miller. He left in 2017, leading to the spin-off Beyond Paradise, set in the fictional town of Shipton Abbott, where Humphrey lives with his fiancée Martha Lloyd, played by Sally Bretton.
The series has been a hit since launching in 2023, and Marshall has confirmed filming is underway on a new series in the West Country. All episodes of Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise are available on BBC iPlayer.
