Former EastEnders star Bleu Landau has revealed that he felt he had "lost his purpose" after leaving the BBC One soap, and has now launched a clothing brand called Playa Cala.
The actor, who is now 21, played Sharon Watts' (Letitia Dean) son Denny in the show. After portraying the character for five years, Bleu's final scenes aired when Denny was killed in 2020.
On a boat on the Thames, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) locked Dennis in a room to try to get revenge for trolling his son, Bobby (Clay Milner Russell). Disaster struck above deck when Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) got into a fight, which caused the boat to crash and start to sink. Ian tried to free Dennis from the locked room, but the youngster became trapped underwater. He then suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
Adjusting to Life After EastEnders
Adjusting to life after EastEnders was something Bleu found difficult. In a new Instagram post, the young actor recently reflected on living his dream, and how the Coronavirus pandemic impacted securing his next job.
"For a while, I felt like I'd lost my purpose," he wrote. "Growing up, I was lucky enough to live a dream! From a young age, acting was a huge part of my life. Being on EastEnders gave me experiences, opportunities and memories I'll forever be grateful for. But eventually, that chapter came to an end.
"After leaving EastEnders, Covid hit. Productions stopped, opportunities became limited, and an already competitive industry became even harder to navigate. For the first time, I wasn't really sure what was next.
Bleu added: "I still have an agent, I'm still pursuing opportunities, and I'm working towards landing that next role. But acting is an industry were so much is out of your control. And while waiting for that next opportunity, I started to feel I was missing something. A sense of direction. A purpose, something I could build towards every single day."
Launching a New Venture
The star went on to reveal that, six years on from leaving EastEnders, he is launching a clothing brand called 'Playa Cala'.
"I'm still chasing my dreams in acting. But separately, I've found a passion that's given me a renewed sense of purpose," he said.
Following Dennis' death in EastEnders, Sharon was taken aback when a young woman left a baby on her doorstep. The baby, called Alyssa, was eventually revealed to be Dennis' child. Alyssa's mum Jada arrived in Walford and revealed to Sharon that she was in a relationship with Dennis shortly before his death.
