Sam Tutty loved getting the chance to star in 'Hollyoaks' because he is "very conscious" of money.
Sam Tutty joined the cast of Hollyoaks after finding West End stardom
The 26-year-old actor had made a name for himself in West End theatre by playing the title role in 'Dear Evan Hansen' but was out of work when the COVID-19 lockdowns came in and he "learned a lot" by taking on the role of Timmy Simons in the Channel 4 soap opera, even though he was given some "questionable" material.
Speaking on the 'Call to Stage' podcast, he told former 'Love Island' star Amber Davies: "It was great. I loved working on 'Hollyoaks'. Some of the stuff was questionable, what they wanted me to say in terms of pure quality because they just have to get it out, get it out, seven episodes a week.
"So I was a bad guy and I stalked a girl who had a girlfriend. I think I pretended to set up carbon monoxide detectors and then in that had hidden cameras in bathrooms and showers and stuff. And then I got killed off!
"I was pleased in a way because by my last few episodes I had learned a lot.
"It was a crash course in acting in front of a camera. I met some of the most hilarious people on that show and it paid during a time when I wasn't getting paid. I wasn't on furlough, self-employed. My tax was coming in. I'm very conscious of money.
"I realised that I can learn lines impossibly quick now because of that. Really, really good skill."
Sam - who has since starred in 'Two Strangers Carry A Cake Across New York - won an Olivier Award for his star turn in 'Dear Evan Hansen' but recalled having to seek employment benefits afterwards because his "ego got in the way" of him accepting certain kinds of work.
He said: "I got the Olivier, I was very happy. My life didn't change at all. Jobs didn't come in, more jobs didn't come in. If anything, jobs that I really didn't want came in more and jobs that I wanted more came in less. Nothing changed. My life didn't get better, it didn't get worse. I finished 'Evan', a year after that I walked into the Job Centre because I had no money. So I wanna put that out there.
"A lot of that was my own decisions. I was lazy. I didn't find a normal job, or a resting job. I could've done anything but my ego got in the way of it. I turned down jobs that I really didn't want to do because I would rather not work but then that came to me having to go into a Job Centre."