James Nelson-Joyce, star of BBC drama This City Is Ours, appeared on Morning Live on Friday, 23 October to discuss the show's return and revealed the surprising reaction he gets from fans.
Speaking with hosts Louise Minchin and OJ Borg, the actor laughed as they showed a clip of his character Michael in the new series. "I'm nothing like that, it's weird," he said. "People come up to me and go 'my mum's too scared to come over to you' or whatever. What are you scared of me for?!"
A Sensory Approach to Acting
James explained that he picks a fresh aftershave for each role to help him get into character. "I choose a specific aftershave for each character I play. Acting's a sensory thing so anything that can help... it's about feeling what's going on in the day," he said.
When OJ asked how he entered acting, the 37-year-old Liverpudlian's answer left the presenters shocked. After pausing with a grin, he replied: "Ok, so I fancied my English teacher." A taken-aback OJ responded: "Right, ok! Well there must be more to that."
From Classroom to Crime Drama
James went on: "I used to put accents on in class to get her attention. I wanted to be a footballer but I wasn't any good. She started saying 'do accents'. When the school said they didn't want me back she said 'what are you going to do' and I said 'I don't know I'll go on the building site with my dad'. And she just said 'go to this community college I think you should be an actor' and it just kind of spiralled from there."
The drama attracted 8.3 million viewers for its opening episode when it launched on the BBC last year and earned Bafta TV nominations. It follows Liverpudlian crime boss Ronnie Phelan, whose ambition to step away from his criminal past after one final significant drugs transaction sparks a power battle between his loyal lieutenant Michael Kavanagh, played by James, and Phelan's reckless son Jamie.
What to Expect in Series Two
Following eight episodes that concluded with a tense confrontation and abductions, the second series begins as Michael and Diana are pulled back from Spain to face questioning regarding Ricardo's death. Endeavour star Shaun Evans joins the ensemble for the new series.
This City Is Ours returns on BBC One on Sunday, October 25 at 9pm and is available on BBC iPlayer.
