Ralf Little could have been a doctor - or a professional footballer. Instead he risked it all to be an actor. But, as he prepared to bring his latest role to Milton Keynes, Katy Lewis found out that he's glad he did!

He left medical school and turned down a permanent role in a top soap ON THE SAME DAY. They were the two biggest decisions of his life so far and both were made in the interests of forging a long and successful career as an actor.

Ralf Little as Billy Liar

It seems like it's all been worth it too. He received an Olivier Award nomination for his role in Notes on Falling Leaves with Pam Ferris at the Royal Court which was his first appearance in a professional play.

And if this doesn't mean he's talented - the Manchester United fan (boo!) is also a semi-professional footballer and quite handy in defence for Staines FC!

But at the moment, he's delighting audiences as Billy Fisher in Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall's play Billy Liar which is touring the country ahead of its arrival in the West End.

I caught up with him as he grabbed a pre-show snack (hence the munching on the audio version!) before hitting the stage in the second week of the tour.

Is the tour going well so far?

Ralf: Yes, people seem to be enjoying it, reviews have been good and they're pleased with ticket sales so hopefully, fingers crossed, you'll see my face on little posters on the tube soon!

It's not your first West End appearance though is it? You were at the Royal Court before where you got an Olivier award nomination for your first professional play.

Ralf:Yeah, but the Royal Court is more sort of cutting edge. It's a really prestigious theatre and also it's not really West End - it's a bit further out in Sloane Square. But this will be an actual proper West End Theatre so it's quite a big deal.

Make no mistake, for me personally this is quite a career-defining job. If it goes well, then who knows where it might lead, and if it goes badly I'll always be remembered as that kid who was cr*p in Billy Liar. So - there's quite a bit riding on it!

So what's your character Billy like?

Ralf: Well, today we live in a very 'can do' world. A lot of people go to university and people don't think twice about going travelling. People do stuff. But in 1959, when the play is set, you finished school, did an apprenticeship, started a job and that was it. That was what you were doing for the next 50 years.

Ralf Little and Paul Copley in Billy Liar Photo: Robert Day

But Billy has ideas. He has a creative spirit and feels that there's something more than that, that there's a bigger world out there and there are things that he wants to do. He feels almost claustrophobic by this world that's around him.

So the only way that he can escape from that is to create his own world and he just keeps on telling lies.

The more he is squashed down and repressed by his parents, the more his ideal just pops out in these crazy lies that he makes up for apparently no reason. His parents aren't bad people though, they just don't understand him and can't communicate with him.

It sounds that there's a lot more to it than the comedy it is described as?

Ralf: Yes, it's an interesting play - it's a classic. You could do the play as just a straight comedy with lots of capering about going 'Oh look at me, I'm lying - how silly' - and you might do alright on a certain level. But for us, what was most interesting was that we had to really figure out who this boy was and why he did what he did.

You can't just say he does it because he's creative. If he's that creative why doesn't he just go out and do his own thing in life?

What we've worked out is that he's a scared little boy because he has these ideas about what the world might hold for him but he's too afraid to go out and try them for himself. That basically is his character flaw that brings about his own downfall.

So - he's got a fatal flaw. So it's probably more of a tragedy?!

Ralf: Well done - there you go - classics! On the first day the director said if there's one fault with this play it's that on the front cover they wrote 'Billy Liar - A Comedy' and they sold themselves far short.

Because this isn't a comedy, it's a tragedy in the very classic sense that's just very funny. But it's funny because a lot of the time it's bitter sweet. Some of the stuff that he says is hilarious but you just want to say 'don't do it'!

Ralf Little and Joanna Page in Billy Liar Photo: Robert Day

You desperately want him to break out of this world that he feels trapped in but he can't do it. That's the definition of a tragic hero - one whose own character flaw brings about his own downfall.

And also comedy can often be more tragic than tragedy?

Ralf: Absolutely. Look at David Brent. He's a tragedy in himself and that's why it's so brilliant.

Do you think Billy Liar has lost relevance because it's not 1959 anymore?

Ralf: Maybe some views have changed but I still know people up north who have never been to London or abroad and that's not disparaging them, it's just not what they consider to be a part of their life. Certainly a big thing today is communication within a family, or lack of it.

When I look at it there's quite a bit of similarity between Billy Liar and The Royle Family. If there'd been somebody in that family who'd had all these aspirations, the others would have reacted in the same way. They wouldn't have loved them any less, they just wouldn't have known how to handle them.

This play has been done in the theatre, on film and on TV. You're following quite a long line of very famous actors. Is that a hindrance?

Ralf: On the first day the director said to everybody (the director had a lot to say on the first day didn't she!) please don't watch the film. There are a number of reasons for that.

Firstly, it was a book, then it was a play, then it was adapted from the play into the film. So, if you were to do the play and take any influences from the film then effectively you're watering down the original text. You are doing an interpretation of somebody else's interpretation. It's like getting a photocopy of a photocopy!

Secondly, I don't want to try and do an impression of Tom Courtenay [Billy in the film]. I've just got to try and be me and do the character as best as I can.

Sarah Churm and Ralf Little in Billy Liar

Also, the first Billy was Albert Finney and I've heard a rumour that he was quite a good actor in his day!

You do think about it but you've got to do the job in front of you and my job is to go out there and do the best I can. You can't afford to dwell on stuff like that.

Well - as an actor you can't afford to think like that really can you, as nobody would ever play Hamlet again?!

Ralf: Correct - and look at Ben Whishaw now doing it at the Old Vic - UNBELIEVABLE! Just stunning - I'm furious and jealous but he was wonderful. And he's a year younger than me as well.

Is that a part you'd like to play then?

Ralf: Yes - and no. A couple of years back the director of the Royal Court Ian Rickson said in passing that we should talk about doing Hamlet. I think that was his way of giving some lovely praise because it's every actor's dream to do that. He said that nobody had done it when as young as me but the character is written young and that I could do it.

So there was still this vague idea that sometime in my 20s I might have got the opportunity to do it and I would have been the youngest Hamlet ever!

Then - Ben Whishaw - at the Old Vic, in front of Kevin Spacey with Trevor Nunn - a year younger than me and not only all that - but he's AMAZING! I'm FURIOUS! But I say it with a smile on my face because you've got to take your hat off to him! What a talent. He blew me away.

So - yes I would like to play Hamlet but - truthfully - I'm not sure I could do it better. And I've never said that about anyone before so maybe I'll have to give it a couple of years before I even think about it.

But you're successful in your own right though aren't you? You're obviously well known on the telly but it seems that doing theatre is very important to you as well?

Ralf Little as Billy Liar

Ralf: Yeah - diversity is the key to a long career. You can look at it from both a pragmatic and an artistic point of view.

Pragmatically, I felt like I was being defined as a person in the public eye by how many times I was in Heat magazine, which women I was being linked to and which parties I was coming out of and I didn't want to be defined that way.

Artistically, at the risk of sounding like a theatrical knobhead, I do want to do different stuff, I do want to do films and I do want to get one of those scripts that Samuel L. Jackson got from Quentin Tarantino when nobody knew who he was! But you don't get those scripts unless people respect you and you don't get that respect if you keep messing around being defined by what parties you walk out of.

And you don't want to be put in that TV sitcom box?

Ralf: Exactly. It was a very careful decision to do 'Two Pints' [of Lager and a Packet of Crisps] in the first place. What really sold it to me was that it was completely different from The Royle Family. Whether it was going to be fantastic or rubbish - at least it was different.

There are no hiding places in the theatre. Fewer people see you do it but if you do it well it's a bigger deal. On the other hand if you do it badly it's also a bigger deal!

So do you see theatre as more important than TV then?

Ralf: It's just different. A lot of actors will say it's 'the craft' [laughs] it's acting in its purest and most basic form. You - a stage and an audience.

Ralf Little as Anthony in The Royle Family

You can feel some audiences sitting there saying 'Come on then - what have you got?' So you go out there going 'Alright then - THIS is what I've got! Here it is - here's me being somebody else. Do you believe it?' It's a great feeling - it's a huge adrenaline rush.

We were talking about Billy Fisher not having the guts to break away from what was expected of him. I understand that this is very different from your life. Is it true that you gave up medical school to act?

Ralf: Yes it is! My parents are both accountants and I developed a healthy cynicism for the world beyond school. You find yourself leaning towards the 'duller' option in life as much as possible because that's what they've instilled in you. The safest option. That's not to say I didn't want to be a doctor - I absolutely did. I'd never even considered this [acting] as a profession because quite frankly I never had the balls to say 'OK - I want to do this'. A bit like Billy I guess.

More from Ralf Little >>
Find out what excuses he used at university to go to auditions, why he turned down a top soap, if he could have been a professional footballer and why he thinks Manchester United AREN'T rubbish!

Pamela Mooman-Outz, San Antonio, Texas, America	Tuesday, 29-Jun-2004 14:03:40 BST
Thanks for this story. It's good to read about someone like Ralph Little who has the courage to go for what he really wants. Bravo, Ralph!!

Grantham gets hooked!