As he returns to the West End stage in One Man, Two Guvnors, Owain Arthur has told how his career path was very close to taking an entirely different turn.
The Welsh actor, 30, was training to be a London cabbie to help pay the bills before he caught his big break.
Given the tough task of replacing James Corden as hapless Francis Henshall in the National Theatre production last year, he stunned critics and earned rave reviews.
And last night, after touring the world with the play, he returned to the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, joining a new cast including Angela Griffin, who was making her West End debut.
Speaking about his training to become a cabbie, he said: “I did the first 80 runs of the Knowledge and completed the first map test, and was kind of on a roll, thinking, ‘Brilliant, I’ll be a cabbie as a part-time job.’
“Then I got a job up in Manchester and another in Wales, which put me out of London a bit, and with the Knowledge you have to go out there every day, learning it over and over, and I just lost touch with it really.
“So I might reapply — you never know! As a result, I know London very well. Whenever I jump into a taxi or a minicab now I’m always keeping an eye on where we’re going.”
A host of celebrities were at the Theatre Royal to see his return, including Nicholas Parsons, Simon Le Bon, Myleene Klass, Nigel Harman and Steve Pemberton.
Arthur added: “The role completely changed my life. When the reviews came out I was on cloud nine — I was absolutely over the moon. It’s great to be back, it feels like coming home.”
Read More
MORE ABOUT