He may have been a household name since he made it big in the 1979 Quadrophenia film, but actor Phil Daniels is facing a nervous time as he embarks on the first tour of his career.

The actor will star in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, which comes to the Orchard Theatre in Dartford next week.

Phil, who was also in EastEnders and films including the Hatton Garden Job, said: “The fear never goes away. I still have that dream where I’m doing a play and I don’t know what the words are. But I think nerves are good because they mean you care about what you’re doing.

“The Jekyll and Hyde story is just one of those stories that’s always caught people’s imaginations. Hopefully I can make Jekyll and Hyde resonate today. It’s quite a leap for me because I’m playing Jekyll as a posh Edinburgh doctor and Hyde as a Glaswegian. I’m burying
myself in all that, but it’s enjoyable getting deep into characters. You have to put the work in. Although I don’t get deep enough to go around murdering people, of course.”

Quadrophenia now has a cult following, so how does Phil feel about fame? “I do get recognised. It depends on which supermarket you go to - it happens more in Lidl than Marks and Spencer’s!”

A twisted tale of nerve-jangling horror, it is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic gothic thriller As Hyde brings mayhem and terror to foggy, Victorian London, can Jekyll find a way to suppress his monstrous alter-ego?

DETAILS

Jekyll & Hyde is at the Orchard Theatre from Tuesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 17. For tickets and times visit orchardtheatre.co.uk or call 01322 220000.