Russell Floyd
"Michael Rose"
Interviewed by Larry Jaffee and Paul Field
There's more to Michael Rose (the Bridge Street market inspector character on "EastEnders" the past several years) than his CLIPBOARD, assures his alter-ego, the extremely affable Russell Floyd, who came over to New York for a few-day jaunt in early March to lend a hand with WLIW/Channel 21's pledge drive.
"I've tried to ditch that clipboard. That's become the bane of my existence," Floyd joshes. In a wide-ranging interview with Paul Field and myself, the classically trained actor shed light on what life is like inside the closed set known as Albert Square and shared some thoughts about American and British history and politics.
Most importantly, Floyd was instrumental in helping the station meet its marathon goal of 400 memberships. It also serves as a lesson to other stations that if they make an effort in bringing over a real EastEnder, the viewing audience will respond with t heir credit cards and checkbooks.
In any case, it's been several years since Michael has replaced "Tricky Dicky," a fairly unsavory character. He's had his share of minor storylines, such as intervening in a market squabble between Mark Fowler, the fruit and veg grocer, and a new stall ow ner who tried dirty tricks (ultimately unsuccessfully) to drive Mark out. He's also been seen moping around the Square looking for love in all of the wrong places, such as Carol's sister who was on the rebound after being jilted at the altar, and Carol he rself.
"Michael's in love with Carol," confides Floyd, who had no problem with that storyline since the actor was already friends with Lindsay Coulson, who plays Carol. When he began on "EastEnders," Floyd and Coulson had the same agent, and she showed him the r opes around Walford. "She showed me the ropes the first few months. We became mates, and it was great to work with her."
In contrast to his predecessor ("Tricky Dicky"), "Michael's a nice guy." Floyd explains that there was a conscious effort by the creative team to make the character different from Tricky Dicky.
Although most of his acting work since graduating from the U.K.'s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts has been in the theatre - performing in everything from big West End productions of Romeo & Juliet to regional shows - Floyd was ready for prime-time telly. " "EastEnders" had been on for 10 years. Like any actor and being a Londoner, you wonder: "Why haven't I been seen for this show?'"
Floyd received some encouragement from Susan Tully (Michelle Fowler), with whom he appeared in a play in a Northern England theatre group. "She was great and gave a lot of advice."
He arrived for the first time at the BBC's Elstree studio with a beard, which he grew for a play that he was in at the time. "The hard thing is to get your face in the door. It doesn't make a difference how good you are, like any job I suppose. The first time I was seen I was offered the job. I asked them, "How Cockney would you like me to be?'"
What was especially refreshing for Floyd was that he was getting a chance to use his native South London accent, compared with the upscale standard English dialect used in most costume drama.
Having grown up in South London, Floyd was familiar with street markets. He then did some research on how markets operate in contemporary London. "The producers and directors] didn't require me to do that. They hand you the part," he says, noting that may be he had "too much information" for the part. But generally the market scenes are pretty realistic.
Floyd dismisses the notion that Michael appears a bit more upscale than the rest of the people working in the market, bellowing "Have you seen those clothes?! They're sad old corduroys, multicoloured shirts and those ties that will give you hay fever!" an d sounding like he was describing Nigel's wardrobe more than Michael's.
I ask "Well, what about Bianca's silver jacket? That's not exactly high fashion, now is it?" Russell responds, "That's style compared to what I'm wearing."
Getting serious, he adds that "I'm sure the costume is absolutely right for the type of character and kind of income he has. He's banged around. He's divorced and he has a child."
Americans will see, as Michael's character develops in the near future, people come into his life from his past. Without giving away any plots, Floyd admits that Michael "gets more unlucky in love."
Paul asks whether Russell encounters the public confusing him with the character. "It's not been a problem. It's part of the job. The only time it's a problem is when the people are rude. They just butt in. But I'd rather have that problem than not. It's not like I'm famous for being Russell Floyd the actor, the same way that Mel Gibson is. People see me in their living rooms three, four times a week. People believe you are that person. Most people don't know the names of the actors. If somebody says, "He llo Michael!' You turn around and say 'Hi! Fine!' There's no point in getting worked up about it and saying, "I'm Russell Floyd!'"
He notes that some of the younger members of the "EastEnders" cast have a bit of a problem coping with being recognized in public.
As far as working with the production team, Floyd notes that sometimes the actors can object to a storyline or particular line, but there's "usually no time to discuss anything. We're handed a script." He remembers once doing a scene with Sid Owen ("Ricky ") in the Queen Vic wherein Michael is telling him a story that "some bully comes along. I thought, "this is a guy in his thirties. He's an East End market inspector. He wouldn't say that. So I changed it, and came out like "Some bloke.'"
Despite the hectic shooting schedule, the castmembers and crew engage in fun from time to time. He tells of a heavy scene involving Grant sitting in a church when somebody set off a fart machine that has occasionally interrupted the proceedings followed b y much laughter.
The one thing about Floyd that's immediately apparent is that he enjoys his work, and puts his everything into it. He also has a quite separate personal life, happily married and recently a father. As a result, he turned down a touring stage show to be wi th his wife and newborn son.
An actor who stays with a soap long can be unfairly stigmatized, leaving the impression that he or she can't do much else. "It's a kind of artistic snobbery. I don't think it's the actors' fault; it's the people who cast films and television shows." Besid es "EastEnders," Floyd has appeared in popular British series "The Bill" and "London's Burning."
Well read in history and political science, Russell moves the conversation to his affinity for things American. In fact, he and his brother grew up fans of American football, particularly the New York Giants, when NFL games were broadcast in Britain.
This is the second time Floyd has made it to the colonies. A few years ago, he and his spent a few days in New York and a week up in New England, where he spent time visiting Revolutionary War sites. "What amazes me about American history is that it's not an objective view; it's propaganda. We replaced one set of middle class rich people with another set of middle class rich people." On the other hand, he says that he doesn't fault the colonist for breaking away from the crown considering the circumstances, and he recently read a biography about the American patriot Thomas Pai ne.
While in New York that first time, Floyd experienced a Bill Clinton encounter. "There was this motorcade. And then all of the sudden all of the cars pulled away, and there was one left behind. The window was rolled down. I could see him as clearly as I se e you. There was no security around. I yelled 'BILL!' He waved back with a big grin. This woman came up to me and asked (Russell turns on his female American voice) 'Is that Bill Clinton? Is he a dish?'"
He notes that the British Parliament has its share of sex scandals, providing the tabloid press plenty to write about. Floyd takes a libertarian view of such transgressions and thinks politicians should be prosecuted or driven from office only for corrupt ion.
Like Ross Kemp (Grant), Floyd is a supporter of the Labour Party and occasionally his extra-curricular political activities make it to Albert Square. "I once found myself explaining taxation to Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson).
Floyd is very content with the work he's done on "EastEnders" and expects it to continue. "They (the creative team) look at you on the screen. They can see what you can do. and they start writing for you. So in a way, the character becomes the actor."
Back to Latest Issue