Michael Socha

“An accent like mine and a face like mine, I think a lot of the time it's easy for casting directors to just stick me in as a bad boy, but 'Being Human' took a risk on me - bless 'em - and I'm not that bad boy no more.”

“When I first started acting, I never thought I'd be on TV or film. I always wanted to be on stage.”

“I was never on the side of the teachers at school. Even though I put all the work into getting the main role in the end-of-year musical when I was 11, they didn't give it me, even though they knew I should have had it. That sort of drove me into am dram and getting the main part in another production. And I did.”

“Sometimes I like to go out; sometimes I like to chill and do nothing.”

“I started in theatre; the first bit of drama I did was amateur dramatics, up until I was 19. Then the TV and film opportunities came along, but now I was just ready to come back.”

“'Wonderland' was incredible, but 'Once Upon A Time,' I found it quite soul-destroying.”

“Your character - you own it. That's something you have to grab hold of on 'This Is England'. Your character is your character.”

“Sometimes I'm on a TV set, and I can't feel what I'm supposed to feel as that character because I've not worked my way up to that point. I think there's a bit more insecurity on a set - you've got to blag it, or you've got to do what you've been paid a lot of money to do in a very short space of time.”

“You feel that your character is special. It's not your normal nine-to-five. You're not someone who goes home and lives a normal life.”

“I should have lived through the '80s, not been born in it. My style is a mix of hip-hop and '80s casual.”

“The only things I could do were English, drama and history. I loved them subjects, but I hated everything else.”

“It's fun finding your way to the performance instead of coming in and hoping to God you're impressing the director - and hoping you're delivering the lines right with no treatment beforehand.”

“I don't want to be doing a job where I'm not doing a job, just sitting around in my flat just bored.”

“If I wanted to do something on stage, I wanted it to be something I could really get into and feel.”

“To act for a living is a gift, and understanding you're a lucky bloke keeps your feet on the ground.”

“I love watching people, guessing what they are going to do next. I'm no Derren Brown, but I love that people stuff. Maybe that's why I'm an actor.”

“There's not many jobs that I would put my body on the line for.”

“Generally, nowadays, I'm using my own accent because casting directors want it; they like that.”

“What I say about 'This Is England' is they're like my best friends back home. Normal, working-class, beautiful people who I'm creative with.”

“I find the fans really interesting and nice, and I'll go over and say hello.”