Sometimes people get lucky. Plucked from obscurity at a college audition, Mike Bailey landed the role of hapless, lovable Sid and has enjoyed considerable acclaim since cutting edge teen drama Skins hit screens last year. Refreshingly though, the young actor keeps his feet on the ground.
Were you expecting Skins to be such a success?
No. I must admit it’s kind of a weird thing, seeing as it was my first thing as well, you don’t know what it’s going to be like when it comes out. It did really well for itself and I’m very happy.
Has the series had a big impact on your life?
It’s definitely made my life a bit different; you know walking down the street is kind of a different thing nowadays. But it’s been nice to have people come up to you and say “I really like the show” and everything. You get the occasional t**t coming up to you, but yeah…
What’s it like to work with the guest actors?
Wicked. Obviously everyone has their own special friendship with the actors that play their parents. It’s a really good laugh. I really wanted to meet Bill Bailey but I didn’t get a chance to.
What’s the atmosphere like on set?
We all get along really well. We all see each other outside of filming and we all talk to each other since it’s finished. Even though it is a job, it doesn’t feel like one, we have too much of a laugh.
There are claims that some of the cast won’t be returning for series 3.
Yeah. Funny isn’t it? I read that in The Daily Star that we’d all been fired by Channel 4. I did laugh. It’s one of those things, you know. Our contracts haven’t been renewed because we haven’t been commissioned yet.
It’s also been reported that you’re embarking on a singing career.
Yeah I read that in The Sun as well. No. No. Hell no.
Was it you singing ‘Wild World’ in the final episode?
It was. It was 100% me. Jo Whiley played it on Radio 1 and said it wasn’t me and I was very unhappy with her.
So there’s always a back up plan…
Well, I hate my voice. I couldn’t watch that bit so I don’t think I’ll jump onto the singing bandwagon anytime soon.
What’s next for you? Have you got anything else in the pipeline?
No, I don’t. I’m doing this and then I’m unemployed. But that’s the whole thing with acting. I’ll audition and see what happens. I had a few offers at the end of series one but I wanted to finish off college. If it doesn’t happen I’ll be signing on at the job centre.
SOURCE
Thanks to Nanoush of Skinsis.com
