Danny Dyer struggled to ditch ‘hardman' persona before sitcom Mr Bigstuff

Yahoo

5 days ago

Danny Dyer is often described as a 'hardman' thanks to his roles in The Football Factory, EastEnders, and The Business, but it meant he wasn't able to show his versatility onscreen. However, that perception is now changing.
Dyer recently was the standout of Disney+'s Rivals, the adaptation of Jilly Cooper's bonkbuster, and won a BAFTA for his part in Mr. BigStuff. Now, the Sky comedy is returning for a second season, and Dyer tells Yahoo UK how he is grateful for the opportunity to show the world his acting range.
'It was about getting the opportunities, really,' he explains. 'I was very lucky to get Rivals and Mr. Bigstuff back to back.
'I don't suppose I've had an opportunity to show that versatility, in a sense of, I'm still cockney and working class, but I'm managing just different physicality, [my characters] Freddie and Lee are very different.'
Mr. BigStuff tells the story of carpet salesman Glen — played by writer and creator Ryan Sampson — whose life is flipped upside down after his larger-than-life brother, Lee, comes barrelling back into the picture. Dyer's part was written specifically with the actor in mind.
'It's the brilliance of Ryan, being a selfless man and writing this thing for me, giving me an opportunity,' Dyer adds. '[He said] 'Here's a vehicle, go and crack on.' I've been around a long time, and it's just about being lucky enough to get the right jobs we can show off.'
For the second season, Sampson leaned into Dyer's mannerisms, bringing them into the new series. 'There are a lot of quirks there,' says the writer. 'I write it, and then Danny does the Dyer-isms pass [of the script], and then spins lines in his own voice, and it's always so much better. It's really good, it's impressive.'
One of Dyer's most recent — and perhaps surprising — quirks has been his love of miniatures, having built a model library in recent years. The actor jokes that it is the kind of hobby that matches his new role as a grandfather, following daughter Dani Dyer welcoming three children since 2021.
'I've been so busy, I haven't had time,' he said. 'But it's good for mindfulness.
"I built a little Victorian library, but tried to put the roof on, the roof was a dome, then I broke the whole thing. I was fuming. I had to put it down for a bit, because I was very, very wound up over this dome, but I do love it.
'I've got magnified glasses, the little flippy-uppy ones. I'm a granddad now. That's what grandfathers do. I'm fitting into the role perfectly.'