A Write up of Reece’s Pieces
Hosted by Actor Reece Dinsdale

So, I take a look to see what Reece Dinsdale is tweeting about from time to time. He seems to come with a good reputation for being a nice guy. He recently decided to do some online chats on Thursdays around 3:30pm via Twitter. So, I thought I would write up some of his chats from the past couple of events. They are really interesting. You will seen an insight into Reece’s acting and directing, as well as moments he was starstruck, what he is doing now and a little more.

Who is Reece Alan Dinsdale and Where You May Have Seen Him Before?

I attended an online chat that was with successful actor and director Reece Dinsdale. He is from Yorkshire, moved to London and now is back in Yorkshire. 

Some may more notably know him from playing opposite John Thaw in Home to Roost, others may remember him from Coronation Street and is currently in Emmerdale. He has a fruitful career that seems to be ever changing with having opportunities he has grasped from theatre, films, dramas, soaps and directing. 

He has directed a couple of episodes of Emmerdale, which he currently stars in. He is, it turns out talented and and most notably for very successfully directing the Moving On series (currently can be seen on the BBC Iplayer) as it won Best Day Time Drama. I must say, it is an excellent series with great storylines and casts. I catch it on the Iplayer. Each story is complete within each episode and all are under the theme, Moving On. He’s also played guest leads in Life on Mars, Spooks, Silent Witness and more… It sounds like an amazing career, that still continues to this day.

Stage

He loves stage work and has done loads in the last decade. He sounds so enthused by it. He’s not a fan of the audition process though. When he is directing he tries hard to look after his actors.

Opportunities into Acting and Directing

Reece was press ganged at 12 into a school play. He realised he was good at it and acting was going to be his thing. He sounded like he had determination and had parents who backed him to the hilt. They were not in the business themselves. He got into drama school and was very driven. It wasn’t something people did in his town at the time (around 1977).

When and how he became a tv director. He didn’t aspire to, but got an opportunity on Moving On to do this. He started off acting in one and the producer reckoned he should direct some episodes. He was nervous during the first one and created story-boards and he got great advice from someone in the business himself. He then kept getting asked back.

The 3 key things he looks for in an actor is they have to fit the image for the role. He takes a script somewhere quiet and reads them with a blank mind and pictures his version of the story. The writing is everything, but it is a blueprint that becomes the director’s film and he starts to think of actors and how to bring the characters to life. He works by instinct. If the actor isn’t free who is his first choice, he can be flexible. He looks for someone who can really lift the words off the page and makes the characters feel fresh and alive. He looks for a certain nouse.

Home to Roost

He played in Home to Roost – a sitcom in the 1970s. They were looking for someone who was 17 to match John Thaw. At the time, Reece Dinsdale was in a play called Red Saturday that was funny and poignant and basically he was noticed. Reece Dinsdale almost didn’t do it, but it was a two-hander with John Thaw, who he did a screen test with and hit it off together. He was 25 when he started rehearsals and John Thaw was 43 playing a bit older. By 29 Reece was still playing a teenager. He talked of working with John Thaw, being an education and a joy working with him. This, I thought was amazing and great that there was only ever 1 cross word in 4 and half years of working with each other and it sounds like it got resolved pretty quickly. Reece thinks he was a shy/private man and you had to get his trust, but he was his own man. They didn’t stay in contact much after, but did a little while.
He would love to return to Home to Roost as being the dad and perhaps with a daughter, but isn’t a big enough tv hitter anymore to turn the heads of executives. He is however in Emmerdale, so his profile is heightening.

The Soaps/Continuing Drama

Reece Dinsdale, as mentioned previously, can be seen in Emmerdale. If I remember correctly, he did a bit of directing and is now acting in it. The episodes were of course filmed before Covid 19 struck. He sounds like he has been enjoying it. Prior to this, he had been in Coronation Street.

Coronation Street is something he watched religiously from a kid. He bumped into the exec producer of the time. It used to be that “serious actors” didn’t do soaps, but then trends started to change and he relented. He did at least 18 months. He says it’s different from doing a play because you know the arc of the story, start to finish, but in a soap you don’t know this. He found that and the speed of the work strange at that time. He still enjoys the show, but watches it less and he was fine about leaving as the timing felt right. He played Joe, one of Gail’s husbands who was killed off. He interestingly talked about his last scenes. In minus 4 temperatures, in the dead of night, he had to go into water to swim to a yacht. It sounded quite a precarious situation. He said it was a glorious time though.

Building a Character

He was in ID and says building a character is interesting. He had to do the most method acting for the role in this. It was about one man’s journey and psychological journey. He wrote a booklet on his character and picked a house where he may live at and worked with Phil Davis to get the character together and build him up. He had to really immerse himself in the character, so had to stay in character, including accent, wherever he went. He writes everything that’s said in a character, what the opinion is that comes from the text. He almost didn’t get the role however as big names were asked and Reece was seen as a “lightweight actor”. He hadn’t got a name for making hardhitting roles. Finally he got a chance to show people what he had got.

Starstruck

He has been starstruck with Kenneth Brannagh when he was in Hamlet. Everybody was in it and he was starstruck as there were great stalwarts like Richard Briers, Charleton Heston and suddenly he is talking to them. He was in a film with David Bowie too and you may be pleased to know that it seemed like he was a good guy.

Life After CoronaVirus

He is looking forward to meeting up with his friends for a pint and perhaps a pub quiz.

Reece Dinsdale is thankful for all the keyworkers.

He loves Florence and Venice. Just like everyone else, he has had to change his plans.

If he could change anything, he would give everybody an empathy pill if he could change anything at all.

He is hoping one day to return to the theatre.

“Always come from different places, keep coming from different corners”
is what John Thaw says that Reece Dinsdale stands by. I personally think this is a great quote and great advice.