Eighties heartthrob Maxwell Caulfield was on the large and small screen in a big way, but has gone on to carve out a critically-acclaimed career on stage too.

We spoke to him as he prepared to star in Guys and Dolls at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury this week.

How much fun are you having on the Guys and Dolls tour?

It is such a great show and we are such a happy company. We started rehearsing together in February and we are together every week, moving around the country. It is such a feel-good show you’d have to be pretty chirlish to arrive at the theatre without a smile on your face. We are just having the best time. We’re working with gold really.

Do you sing much as Nathan in the show?

We are trying to entertain people but I only sing one song. I leave the real songs
and singing to Richard (Fleeshman) and Louise (Dearman) who is a classically trained soprano, you know.

The show is set in New York. What’s your experience of New York?

I lived in this country until I was 18 and then I moved to New York. Really New York was like it is in the show until the mayor Rudy Giuliani cleaned it up. It was like that when I arrived there in the late 70s. It was an exciting time but you had to be able to stand your ground. I have spent my entire adult life in America, apart from the tours I have done over here and of course my time on Casualty and Emmerdale.

You have been married since 1980 to Juliet Mills - how much do you see her if you’re on a tour?

I don’t worry about touring and I literally move from town to town but my wife has been with me for the last month which has been amazing. She is great at finding me short term lets and places to stay as I don’t like to do the whole hotel thing. I married into the Mills family (Hayley is her sister and Sir John was his father-in-law). It’s always nice to surprise people.

You make the odd political comment on Twitter. Are you political?

As actors we are entertainers and dress up, but everyone is entitled to a voice. Once in a while I will speak up. But celebrity is something you cannot abuse. We have just got to be grateful for the fact that you have a forum as it were. But we are bound to amuse and put a smile on people’s faces and warm their hearts.

You were in The Colbys and Grease 2 in the 80s – what do people know you for most now?

There are women now who watched The Colbys with their mums in the late 80s, but more recently my TV work has been restricted to TV work. I’d like to do a costume drama some time – you are more respected if you’ve worn the tights and the wig and performed The Bard! Casualty had got a rather soapy quality when I was in that, although
it’s toughened up a bit now. I had a good run on that. I generally get killed off which isn’t always the most fun thing. I got shot in the back by my wife in Emmerdale. It means you can’t come back later!

You have been on the stage a lot – how do you see your career now?

Even though I have been in the profession a long time it can still be hard to stay gainfully employed. I have been fortunate over the years. It’s a craft and the longer you are in it the more you realise you don’t have to try so hard. Actors like Michael Caine show you don’t have to be elaborate. It is nice with a show like Guys and Dolls when you work with a group of actors over a period of time.

THE SHOW

Gamblers, hustlers and nightclub singers come to Canterbury in Prohibition-era New York.

The production is based on the stories by American journalist Damon Runyon, and features numbers including Luck Be A Lady and Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat.
The show stars Coronation Street’s Richard Fleeshman, Maxwell Caulfield and Louise Dearman as Adelaide. It tells the story of Nathan Detroit who needs money for an illegal dice game. Enter notorious gambler Sky Masterson, and straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown, a doll with a heart of ice. Nathan’s wager is that Sky has to romance Sarah by taking her to Havana for dinner and in return he’ll provide a dozen “sinners” for Sarah’s mission. Surely it’s a bet he can’t lose..?

ACTING CAREER

Maxwell Cauflield made his off-Broadway debut in 1981, but he hit the big time in 1982 when he starred alongside Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2.
Then think big hair and shoulder pads: he starred in the 80s big American soap Dynasty, followed by The Colbys.
Fast forward a few decades and he was starring on British TV in Emmerdale and Casualty.
Maxwell has had a varied career, and has even toured with his wife, part of the Mills acting dynasty.
But it’s to the stage he has looked to in the UK recently, with Singin’ In The Rain and The Rocky Horror Show, as well as starring as Billy Flynn in the West End production of Chicago. He stars alongside Richard Fleeshman, best known on screen as Craig Harris in Coronation Street. A singer, he also secured a record deal with Universal Records after leaving Coronation Street.
Louise Dearman, who plays Sarah Brown, has theatre credits including Kiss Me Kate, Evita and Grease.
The show is choreographed by Cuban dancer and former Royal Ballet star Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright, and directed by Gordon Greenberg.

THE DETAILS

Guys And Dolls is at the Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday, June 28 to Saturday, July 2.
Tickets cost from £28. To book call 01227 787787 or visit marlowetheatre.com.