Hollyoaks’ fans are in for a treat to celebrate Hollyoaks’ new transmission pattern, and their biggest long- running stories climax in spectacular fashion, across their first week of three episodes, there are revelations, confessions and twists aplenty…all served up with an almighty dose of chases, crashes and explosions. With the help of ‘avengers’ Grace, Freddie, Donny and Ste, fugitive Warren is on a mission to finally unmask the notorious ‘Blue’ and run off into the sunset with his beloved Mercedes. It’s showdown time for Warren and Dave but who makes it away alive? ALT A caught up with Louis Emerick aka Donny Clark in the Hollyoaks’ studios in Liverpool to talk about starting his acting career with a love for movies and make-believe, the exciting new storylines which his character Donny is a part of. Emerick also talked about being part of iconic British soaps like Brookside and Casualty.
In Hollyoaks, his character Donny Emerick tells us is motivated by the discovery of his daughter and the desire to be with his son. As an actor, Emerick is attracted to roles that are interesting and have layers, appreciating portraying everyday characters that people can relate to. Emerick discusses the importance of diversity on and off the screen, noting the positive increase in black directors, first AD’s and people with influence, in particular on the Hollyoaks set. From September 9th Hollyoaks can watch three nights weekly Mon-Weds, streaming on C4 and TX’ing on E4 (7pm) on the same day.
ALT A:
Wonderful. So Louis, thank you in advance for talking to ALT A REVIEW. So let’s just kind of start at the beginning. So was this the dream acting, who was the 9-year-old Louis who haS this success today?
LE:
Well, I mean the 9-year-old Louis was interested in just watching big movies, just either going to the cinema, which was a big thing to go, the Sunday afternoon movie, black and white movies, and listen to my mom and dad or my brothers. Tell me about, because I was the youngest in the family and they’d tell me about the certain stars and cowboy movies. So I had no sort of, apart from the wonderment that you have at that age and watching the movies had no sort of ambitions to be an actor, but just the make believe that you always, did you see cowboys? Did you go outside with a piece of stick and do pow pow pow all that usual stuff? Yeah.
ALT A:
From casualty, Brookside, Benidorm, to Doctors, what have you liked most about being in such iconic British soaps?
LE:
Well, first of all, it’s an honor to be in them, I am glad that you’ve mentioned it. I was in Brookside for 12 years, and then Casualty. I was kind of recurring character with my old mate, Suzanne Packer, who played Josie in Brookside and played Tess in Casualty. And it’s an honor to be part of those and also as an actor, it’s nice to be working. And I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been in some stuff that people like and still apart from Holby still around today, Brookside, of course.
ALT A:
Wonderful. And let’s talk about Donny and your character in Hollyoaks’. What motivates him?
LE:
Well, I think what’s motivated him is first of all when he found out that through his son Andre, that he had a daughter. So obviously that was then the motivation that he told his wife who was Andre’s mother about it. That marriage was rocky anyway, but I think the news that he had a daughter somewhere, even though it was before her and me, it might’ve been about the same time, I don’t know. But that was the story that broke the camel’s back. And then I think Donny then just was intrigued, curious to then discover his daughter and as well also to be with his son as well because his son had moved to Hollyoaks’. So it was kind of a dual mission, if you like.
And seeing his daughter he thinks, great, we’re at the process. We’re trying to get through the little hurdles that you would after 18 years. She quite rightly says to me, where were you all off our life, and I’ll still try and lay the father card down, but i can’t, because she’ll say, well, what rights have I to do that? So it’s all those things, but it’s a great role to play. And Anya who plays Vicky is just tremendous. So I have a lot to thank her for because if she ever had not been good in the first place as an actress and Hollyoaks’ didn’t decide that they liked her, then they wouldn’t have then wrapped more family around her. So, fact is she is why Donny’s here.
ALT A:
Let’s just talk about some of the really explosive storylines really meaty storylines. Can you talk on where your character sits within some of this action?
LE:
Well, certainly we saw with Blue that goes back to when Donnie was in the police force then, and when he comes across crashed cars. He’s got his son in the back of the car, taking him out. The old police instinct, the curiosity kicks in when a bullet shot flies out and then it hits my son in the arm and there was a blue casing. And so, from then Donny’s been on the trail of this mysterious Blue. He didn’t know who he was, just knew that it was his Blue, he had to try. And I think it kind of obsessed him while he was in the police force and he was unsuccessful. And then lo and behold, when Warren (Jamie lomas) got shot and Donny finds a blue case and it sets all the old spider sensors and he thinks, well, Blue must be here.
Even though he doesn’t know where, he knows he’s around. So he then starts on this mission to try and complete what he tried to do years ago. And it is great because we had a lovely scene. Where Donny thinks he has him. And that completely throws him, frustrates Donny because he thought he had him. It is wonderful to be all part of that. I enjoyed doing scenes with Jamie as Warren which was fantastic. So yeah, it’s been great as an actor, again, I’ve come at a good time with Hannah as producer, Hannah, very graciously wanted to bring me in and I’ve come at a great time with these fantastic stories. And I then this new gear change for Hollyoaks’ and moving forward.
ALT A: Talking about meeting storylines, what attracts you to a role as an actor? And secondary question, if you could do any role, who would you play? James Bond?
LE: (LAUGHS) I would. Why not? Why not? It’s up for grabs? Colin Salmon has turned it down and I kind of look good in a tux. (laughs)
ALT A:
Do you know what I mean? Hope for it.
LE:
But I think in any role it is just something that you find interesting because when you get a character, I mean, for instance, when I joined Brookie as Mick, I was there for one episode and then they decided to put some layers on. And the thing about Mick he was an everyday ordinary guy. We then found out he was estranged from his wife. He got control of the kids. The wife came in and up, she was a bit flighty and he just dealt with stuff like. Can he get somebody to pick the kids up from school while he does another shift on the taxi? Can somebody babysit Wally? And the amounts of single guys that used to come up to me at that point, because they’re, they’re not stories that you think I’ve got to sit in and watch.
But they were so important in terms of it was the everyday aspect of it that single guys, single fathers would come and say, you know what? We’re so pleased that it’s kind of showing that because we don’t see it, first of all, we know it’s mostly single mothers, but there’s a guy just trying to do the thing, can’t always work it out, but trying his best. And I loved that as much as being involved. Then when Mick was involved in the mercy killing of his mother-in-law, very dramatic and also stuff that was getting touched on there in the news, but just doing the ordinary stuff was just as interesting because it gave the character layers and dimensions that people could relate to. You know what I mean?
And I think as long as you can get that. like Donny now, I had a meeting with the writers when I first came in and they just put in an amendment in the scene and it was just where I met. Vicky for the first time. I kind of gate crashed her 18th, then she chased me out the pub and then I was putting the stuff in my car and she happened to be passing. And they put this line in where she has a go at me, they put this line in and she’s going off, and the line I had was “don’t think by all your shouts and screams would chase me away. I’m your father. I’m going to work hard to win you back”.
And you know that one line I love because so many times Black fathers get labeled either absent that they’re not there and that one line, he’s a good father. And I could build on that then. You know what I mean? I thought, yeah, he’s a good father no matter what. He’s going to fight for his daughter. And just that one line helped me then I knew where my guy was going. You know what I mean?
ALT A:
Now obviously you just touched on something in terms of diversity on and off the screen. So what are you positive about right now in terms of how the tide is turning?
LE:
I think what I’m positive about, don’t get me wrong, if I’ve got a self-tape or a breakdown of a part or whatever, and they put the little thing in about, oh we foster diversity, we will look at everybody. You kind of know that that’s not going to come to me. But they’ve ticked the box by putting that paragraph in. You know what I mean? So it’s like, okay I don’t have a problem with it because sometimes it will come back to me. And there’s been a few occasions when that’s happened, when a director of producers has asked for me by name and that’s fine. But I mean, in the past I’ve gone up for two, I can think of. And when I saw the characters, one was a middle-aged white guy and the other one was a #Glaswegian. Now who was getting that part it wasn’t me, but on the positive side.
And I’ve noticed more so since I have been at Hollyoaks, the number of Black directors, first AD’s, people with an influence, writers more so, as I was saying my first meeting here, there was half a dozen Black writers male and female. It’s not that Black writers needs to write for Black characters but there is an understanding that they can bring to the party that maybe someone else can’t. And that is a good positive thing. I did a show called The Respondent and the producer on that was Black and that was fantastic, it shows we are moving forward at a rate.
And you know me talking to you now. I remember 20, 30 years ago I remember we had a story in #Brookside, and it was Mick, Marianne and Ellis (the Johnsons), my brother was marrying Marianne, but she fancied Mick. And they wanted to put it on the front cover of a TV mag and the sub-editor, a Black woman she had to fight for that to go on the front cover because the story came back her, it was like if you put three Black people on the front cover it would not sell, that was 1992/93. She fought for it and said otherwise I will resign. But when they put it on the front cover we outsold every mag that week, now it is a norm back then it was a thing.
ALT A: What advice would you give to your 19-year-old self who wants to become an actor?
LE: I would say never give up I did not go to drama school. I did amateur dramatics that lit the flame. Then I thought what I can do to pursue that and fan the flame even more and for me nothing was impossible, and I was doing it at a time when we had to be in Equity and all that. It is easier now but there are still lots of obstacles, I say kick the obstacles down. I say to young people you have talent, and you go to drama school and you do the three years your tutors know you are talented, but they don’t know what kind of resilience you have. Can you handle it when you get the first and then the 20th rejection and that’s when it starts to dwindle down. That’s when you know who is serious, I always say if you have a dream pursue it don’t put barriers in the way if a door closes kick it down, and if you want to achieve something you will.
ALT A: I know you are enjoying the ride on Hollyoaks, but if not James Bond (let’s keep that conversation going, LAUGH) what would you like to do?
LE: (LAUGH) I would love to be a voice on an animated movie, I would love to be a character in a Pixar movie and be one of the voices, yes that is high on my list.
ALT A: Thank you so much for talking to ALT A REVIEW.
LE: Thank you, my pleasure
Viewers can tune in to HOLLYOAKS special episodes 9th – 11th SEPTEMBER
Hollyoaks airs a new episode online every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7am and the episodes air on E4 at 7pm. Episodes can also be viewed on YouTube.
