Kent actor Christian McKay has been in Hollywood hits from The Theory of Everything to Rush and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. Now he's starring in ChickLit with John Hurt, and will stage a special evening at the Kino cinema in Hawkhurst.

He has acted with some of Hollywood’s greats in his career, but don’t call Christian McKay a Hollywood actor.

After the success of Me and Orson Welles, back in 2008, when he played one of his heroes, Orson Welles, Christian, who lives in Horsmonden with his wife and two children, has carved out a phenomenal career as a character actor, which just happens to be alongside Hollywood actors.

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His recent acting has included working with the likes of Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, and he admits: “It’s more a clang of name-dropping, I realise.

“I have so much respect for them and I want to hear all their stories, and the best bit is they all turned out to be everything I hoped they would be.”

A classically trained pianist, Christian trained at Chethams Music School before changing direction and studying acting at RADA.

“I used to imitate my teachers, that’s where it all came from. The thing is, you cannot fake it as a musician but you can as an actor.”

In his most recent film, ChickLit, which will be screened in his local cinema, Kino at Hawkhurst, he acts alongside yet more huge names, including John Hurt.

“I didn’t know who any of the other actors would be when I agreed to do it,” he said. “ I loved the script, it is very much in the Ealing tradition.

“It was a snowball effect. John said he’d do it. Then Eileen said if John was doing it, she’d do it.

“But the truth is, some of the time I stopped acting – I was just having fun and acting with my friends. There are times you watch it where you can see we are on the verge of corpsing.

“I am incredibly lucky. I thought I’d be in the theatre all my life, but I was the one who went into films and now I’ve made 30 and work consistently.”

Although determined not to be labelled a Hollywood actor, he may be prepared to make one small concession to the movie- making machine.

“I do have a Bond baddie in me, although I’m a bit young yet. I’d have to be a baddie in Hollywood anyway – I’m English after all.”

Despite the names in the production, it is only being released in small, independent cinemas. However, Christian is determined it should reach a wider audience.

“I was in a film called Northern Soul. Lisa Stansfield was my wife in it. I always have fantastic wives – both professionally and personally! With Northern Soul, social media made it a hit. The word spread and it was a sensation.

“This film can do the same. It’s so good, I do think there should be a sequel. And I don’t say that lightly.”

Christian on.... Chris Hemsworth: “He is interested in being a great actor. Everybody adored him. But I used to say to him ‘Would you mind going and standing over there? You’re giving me a complex’.”

On Hugh Grant: “I’m a huge admirer of Hugh Grant. It would be hard not to like him, he is a lovely man. He is very dedicated to his craft and he is totally under-rated. He is a star in the traditional sense of the word.”

On Meryl Streep: “I think she is the greatest actor, either male or female. I actually left the ground when she started talking to me.”

THE FILM

ChickLit tells the tale of four friends who play dominoes in their local pub every week and decide to write an erotic novel to save the pub from closure.

Made by independent film company Capriol Films, it stars John Hurt, Eileen Atkins, Niamh Cusack, Cathy Tyson and Dakota Blue Richards.

The comedy will be screened at selected cinemas, including Kino Digital cinemas in Hawkhurst, on Thursday, September 8, and Rye on Friday, September 9, both at 8pm.
Christian is a regular with his children at the kids’ club at Hawkhurst and mentioned his latest film to the manager, who snapped it up.

The screening will include a Q&A session afterwards with Christian. For details, visit kinodigital.co.uk

THE CAREER

Christian’s big break came in 2008 when he played one of his heroes, Orson Welles, in Me and Orson Welles, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. Since then, his career as a character actor has taken off.

In 2011 he was in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with Gary Oldman playing George Smiley and a cast list that reads like a Who’s Who of the best British acting talent working today, including Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Toby Jones.

In 2013 he starred in Rush, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth. The following year he was in The Theory of Everything, about Stephen Hawkings’ life and this year was in Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.