Ahead of his latest role as Mr Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Matthew Kelly tells Jane McGowan why he swapped prime time for the boards
A lot of people still find it hard to comprehend Matthew Kelly’s transformation from ‘Mr Saturday Night’ to serious thespian. A quick look at the 66-year-old’s CV, however, shows just how successful that transformation has been.
Manchester-born Kelly became a household name during the 80s as a presenter of new-style entertainment show Game for A Laugh, regularly pulling in weekly audiences of
15 million. He went on to host a string of big-hitters before taking the helm of ITV smash Stars in Their Eyes. But after 11 years, Kelly stepped out of the light entertainment spotlight in a bid to re-establish himself as an actor.
“I studied speech and drama at college and I had worked in theatre for a year before that,” he explains. “But when Game for a Laugh came along, I knew it would make me famous. So I did it – even though friends told me I would never work as an actor again.”
Kelly has definitely proved his friends wrong, with dramatic roles ranging from a psychotic serial killer in TV thriller Cold Blood to Pozzo in Waiting for Godot, alongside Sir Ian McKellen. In 2004 he won an Olivier Award for his role as Lennie in Of Mice and Men, sealing his place as a bona fide actor.
“I’ve played 35 different parts in the last 10 years,” he says proudly. “The trick is to be cheap and available, and I am.”
Currently, Kelly is busy rehearsing for the role of Mr Bennet – the lovable yet apathetic father-of-five in the forthcoming national tour of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Johan Persson
Benjamin Dilloway and Tafline Steen as Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet
“My character is fantastic,” he enthuses. “He’s found a great way of dealing with life and his family.”
“I’m ashamed to say I had never read the book. I think I assumed, like a lot of men, that it was a chick book, but when I read it I realised that it’s not like that at all. It’s witty and strangely relevant, as it contains the first hints of women’s lib.”
The role of women is indeed at the heart of the novel and Kelly is keen to point out that women play a big part in this production, not only on stage but behind the scenes as well.
“There were 14 of us at rehearsal the other day and I was the only man. Sadly, that’s still unusual. Plays are mostly written and directed by men, and they usually have more men in them. So this is extraordinary; a real delight.”
But while he may be paterfamilias for the next few months, he’ll soon be swapping breeches for bloomers again in panto, this year at Wimbledon. After 40 years in the business, Matthew Kelly is still game for a laugh.
“Oh, I never miss panto,” he assures me. “It’s half a year’s pay for five weeks’ work!”
Pride and Prejudice comes to Woking Theatre October 25-29 and Richmond November 15-19 to book tickets visit prideandprejudiceplay.com
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