Emmanuel Ighodaro
Emmanuel Ighodaro joined the cast of Shameless for the start of series 8 as part of the Powell family.
- You've landed a major role in the new series of Shameless. Were you already a fan of the series?
I started watching it when it first came out, I got as far as halfway through the second series, and then I moved away to Bristol, to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and I didn't watch much TV after that for a while.
Only having got the part did I go back and catch up - I thought it was excellent. So I've been back and done my homework.
- Coming into something where you're familiar with the characters and the concept of the show, does that make it easier or harder for you to come in?
I was very nervous coming in. Something long-running like this, you've got established characters that people know and love. I think my fear was coming in and taking a while to warm up, which would have been deadly from the get go.
With a show like this, which is so in your face, it's pitched at a certain level that the characters need to come in and get right in at the deep end. The show is so fast paced. The Powells come in with a bang, they get stuck right into the action.
- You play Jackson Powell. What's he like?
He's a trainee teacher, and initially Jackson's quite reluctant to get involved with other characters on the estate.
He's got this sort of snooty thing going on, and it's Avril [Jackson's wife] that forces him to get involved with some of the events that happen on the estate. That's when we get to see the other side of Jackson.
- A trainee teacher doesn't sound like natural Chatsworth material.
He's not. When I first looked at the character I thought "Trainee teacher, mild mannered - is he going to be a bit boring?" But that's a really watered down description of Jackson Powell - there are so many different sides to him.
That suits me, it means the character is a bit unpredictable and interesting to play. I like giving him quite a few layers. We see him get in so many scrapes throughout the series. He's not afraid of a challenge, even if that means getting into deep trouble.
- What are the Powells like as a family?
Avril and Jackson are very naughty together. They've got a real fun side. They've been together for quite a while, so they're used to each other.
Letitia's a mummy's girl. Without going into too much detail, there's a lot of fun and frolicks between Avril and Jackson. There's quite a lot of sex, basically.
It's something that Karen [Karen Bryson, who plays Avril] and I talked about - in the last five or ten years, I can't say that I've seen black couples having sex on screen. Especially the way we do it, in a truly Shameless, in your face style.
- What's it like filming the sex scenes?
In all the time I've been acting, I've never had to do anything like it before. It was completely new to me, and I was bricking it before I got the job.
I knew, from the scripts that I'd read, there was so much of it. They don't like to hold back in this show. But it really helped having someone like Karen, because we just understand each other.
We made a sort of connection in the audition (where we had to do a sex scene) because we had to find a way to get really comfortable and familiar with the other person.
For some reason it just clicked. If I didn't get on with Karen as well as I do, it would have been extremely difficult, because we've ended up sliding off each other as sweaty as you like, doing take after take, in not very dignified positions, with hundreds of people staring at us. Thank God, we get on like a house on fire.
- When you knew you were going to be doing all these sex scenes, were you down at the gym for ages beforehand trying to buff up?
I think to myself "Good ion you for starting when you did." I'd been talking about going to the gym for years - I'm one of those people who will go to the gym, and then you won't see me again for six months. It was just so difficult for me to get started on.
And then I found myself on the dole - I always swore I wouldn't - so I thought I'd at least make a start on the gym thing. And I took it really seriously, doing the six-meals-a-day thing.
You constantly feel full and end up forcing yourself to eat. It's a really weird feeling. But now I'm looking a bit buffer.
So it didn't mean rushing down starting from scratch when this came along, I just kept up my routine. Now I don't feel as paranoid about taking my top off as I would have done.
- You're originally from Manchester. What's it like being back there filming?
I absolutely love it. It's only the second job I've had here, everything else has been down south, so for me it's a complete thrill.
It's my hometown, my family still live here, so it's great. Manchester's a wonderful city and I love it, and I'm very glad to be part of a show that's so popular here.
- Growing up in Manchester, did you know estates like the Chatsworth?
My estate was kind of similar to it. It's all been knocked down now, I couldn't believe it. That's where I grew up. It was a predominantly white estate - I would say we were one of three or four black families. My best mate was from one of those other families, and he's a scriptwriter now, and we've been lifelong friends.
But it was very similar, there was all sorts going on, the usual scallies about the place. There wasn't a big racial divide or anything like that, if you were from the estate, pretty much like the Chatsworth, you're part of the community.
There was a certain loyalty to each other on the estate, people looked after each other, it was quite close-knit. I always wanted to be an actor, so I was really focused on that, but growing up on the estate, there wasn't much to do. You'd get 11-year-olds driving cars.
- Seriously? 11-year-olds?
I'm telling the truth! I don't want to say his name, but most of the time he'd be chased by the police in whatever car he'd nicked, and we'd be watching that as youngsters thinking "Flippin' heck, he's only 11 years old.
He's absolutely amazing behind the wheel. How the hell did he get that skill?" It wasn't really our style. We'd occasionally get involved in a little scrape, but that certainly wasn't my chosen route.
So a lot of stuff that goes on in the show I had seen growing up on our estate.
- You mentioned having had a period on the dole not so long ago. What dos a role like this mean to you?
I count my lucky stars that I got involved in the show. It's right up my street, it's gritty, not afraid to shock, and the characters are rich and wild and funny.
That's definitely a good starting point to me. And it's not exciting being on the dole. I've tried for a while to find a role that might establish me enough, and I think this role might do that. There's a lot of good storylines they've written for Jackson. For me it's a dream job.
Shameless Season 8 is out on DVD now.
Emmanuel Ighodaro joined the cast of Shameless for the start of series 8 as part of the Powell family.
- You've landed a major role in the new series of Shameless. Were you already a fan of the series?
I started watching it when it first came out, I got as far as halfway through the second series, and then I moved away to Bristol, to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and I didn't watch much TV after that for a while.
Only having got the part did I go back and catch up - I thought it was excellent. So I've been back and done my homework.
- Coming into something where you're familiar with the characters and the concept of the show, does that make it easier or harder for you to come in?
I was very nervous coming in. Something long-running like this, you've got established characters that people know and love. I think my fear was coming in and taking a while to warm up, which would have been deadly from the get go.
With a show like this, which is so in your face, it's pitched at a certain level that the characters need to come in and get right in at the deep end. The show is so fast paced. The Powells come in with a bang, they get stuck right into the action.
- You play Jackson Powell. What's he like?
He's a trainee teacher, and initially Jackson's quite reluctant to get involved with other characters on the estate.
He's got this sort of snooty thing going on, and it's Avril [Jackson's wife] that forces him to get involved with some of the events that happen on the estate. That's when we get to see the other side of Jackson.
- A trainee teacher doesn't sound like natural Chatsworth material.
He's not. When I first looked at the character I thought "Trainee teacher, mild mannered - is he going to be a bit boring?" But that's a really watered down description of Jackson Powell - there are so many different sides to him.
That suits me, it means the character is a bit unpredictable and interesting to play. I like giving him quite a few layers. We see him get in so many scrapes throughout the series. He's not afraid of a challenge, even if that means getting into deep trouble.
- What are the Powells like as a family?
Avril and Jackson are very naughty together. They've got a real fun side. They've been together for quite a while, so they're used to each other.
Letitia's a mummy's girl. Without going into too much detail, there's a lot of fun and frolicks between Avril and Jackson. There's quite a lot of sex, basically.
It's something that Karen [Karen Bryson, who plays Avril] and I talked about - in the last five or ten years, I can't say that I've seen black couples having sex on screen. Especially the way we do it, in a truly Shameless, in your face style.
- What's it like filming the sex scenes?
In all the time I've been acting, I've never had to do anything like it before. It was completely new to me, and I was bricking it before I got the job.
I knew, from the scripts that I'd read, there was so much of it. They don't like to hold back in this show. But it really helped having someone like Karen, because we just understand each other.
We made a sort of connection in the audition (where we had to do a sex scene) because we had to find a way to get really comfortable and familiar with the other person.
For some reason it just clicked. If I didn't get on with Karen as well as I do, it would have been extremely difficult, because we've ended up sliding off each other as sweaty as you like, doing take after take, in not very dignified positions, with hundreds of people staring at us. Thank God, we get on like a house on fire.
- When you knew you were going to be doing all these sex scenes, were you down at the gym for ages beforehand trying to buff up?