Reflecting on Life and Future Island

Hello, I'm Lauren Verne and this is the Desert Island Discks podcast from BBC Radio four. Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury that they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island. For rights reasons, the music's shorter than on the original broadcast, but you can find a version with longer music tracks on BBC sounds. Listeners will also get access to episodes twenty eight days earlier than everyone else. I hope you enjoy listening The castaway this week is the actor David Morrisy. For over forty years he's been a welcome presence on our screens, playing everything from a ruthless survivor of the zombie apocalypse in The Walking Dead, to former Prime Mister Gordon Brown in the deal He starred in stories set everywhere from Britannia's Roman Empire to James Grahams Sherwood If there is a common thread in his work, it may be an examination of masculinity. His characters are often men struggling to maintain the facade they present to the world as they wrestle with inner turmoil whether it's a buttoned up headmaster in recent murder Mystery Gone, or hapless grandfather to be Malcolm in the BBC comedy Daddy Issues. was born in Liverpool, a city that he says took the arts seriously H famous Everyman Theat' Youth program embraced him during a tumultuous time in his teenage years And from then on he declared his intention to become an actor to anyone who would listen He says I did what you're not supposed to do and put all my eggs in one basket But I looked after that basket. David Morry, welcome to Desa Island Discks. Thank you very much. It's a real pleasure to be. Delighted to have you, David. So despite your focus on acting from such an early age, you say that you're not a perfectionist No, I'm very mistrustful of perfectionism. I mean, I think sometimes it means that you don't get started But you know, I take my work seriously and I want people to bring everything to it and work hard be researched and all that I find that the real creativity is in the sort of in the mess, really And the more you try to control that mess, the less sort of magical it can be, you know I used to get really hung up on an audience's reaction B both good and bad. you know, if I got a laugh one night, I'd chase that laugh the next night until it sort of died really. But it really freed me up not to care too much about where it lands It's what do I want to do? Where's the story going? What do I want to do with this character You're known for your meticulous preparation. You can go quite deep down a rabbit hole, I think. I can. What's the deepest you've ever gone Well don't know is. But when I did Gordon Brown, I was surprised that sort of people from MI five were arresting me outside his house in Scotland and stuff. I did do a lot of research into him. I never met him But I met a lot of people who knew him. And it was very obvious for me from early on that there was two people. There was the public person who was very accessible. I could find him private person He kept very guarded. So how do you get into something? I really know is he really? So I'll pick up a phone, I'll talk to people that might be peripheral to the characters or in that job And usually people want to talk. You know, when you meet people, if they're teachers or policemen, they want to tell you their story. you know, what helps me when I'm doing the job. is when I've looked in the eyes of a policeman who's been through some of the circumstances that my characters are in or a teacher or whatever And then I hold that responsibility all the way through the job. And music's a part of the process for you too, I think Well music is a part of it for many reasons, while I always do a playlist for the character I actually do two playlists so I do a playlist for the music that I think that character would listen to. Okay. So saf for Gordon Brown, what's that? Well, Gordonown was a lot of Scottish folk stuff really and sort of traditional sort of Scottish music. Whether he listens to that or not, there was something very traditional about him, I felt. There was something steeped in that sort of country. It was about the sort of the shipyards and the countryside and all that, you know, he was a union man from that place and then Edinburgh University had all that stuff. So it was very much about Scotland in that playlist. And then the other playlist I do is a mood playlist because when I'm on a film set, Everyone's got to go to work. You know, you've got to have the electricians've got to do the work, props, people everyone But I've got to be on set and know I can't shut them up all the time because they're working. So I put my earPods in and I'll listen to mood music for the particular scene. Sometimes it can be a banger because I need to have a lot of energy. sometometimes it can be something that pulls on the heart strings a bit more. And it keeps me in a moment whilst everybody else is working. So yeah, I tend to just lock out with music as Well, that's Andy, perfect for today. What does that mean about putting your discs together? Music's obviously important to you. Has it been difficult? Oh, it's been Laura, it's been awful. It's been absolutely awful. It's been Trturous. I mean, I had a playlist of four and a half hours long At one point, I thought, I wonder if they'll go with that and I'm still very nervous about what's coming at you. Well, I think on that note, we should get started. Let's just get into it. Disc number one, please. Dk number one is the one tune that's always been on my list. Even before you know you invited me on the show, I always thought I wonder what would be on my desert Island discs. This track has always been on it It'll come as no surprise to people Growing up in Liverpool and also being a Liverpool supporter. I've sang this song all over Europe. I've sang it standing next to my brother and next to my son And next to, you know eighty thousand other people. If you don't get football, you don't get it. but for me it's a really, really important part of my life And when I stand up in the Amfield singing this song Or anywhere across Europe, it really means a lot to me So this is Jerry in the Pacemakers with You'll never walk alone.k. I Jerry and the Pacemakers and you will never walk alone. So David Morrisy, let's go back to the beginning. In Liverpool, you were born there in nineteen sixty four, the youngest of four children to Joe and Joan. What are your memories of early family life I was born in the house that like my grandmother had been married in I have a photograph on the wall of her wedding day, which is taken in the yard And it was a classic sort of back to back sort of house really with an outside toilet and a tin bath and And there was seven of us in there. It was my So who's the seven? So the seven was my mum and dad, my grandmother and the four kids. Okay We were all on top of each other really. My mum and dad had the front room, where the tellally was, my grand then had the next room, and then there was the kitchen that we all you know did everything in, really. And then upstairs there was three bedrooms And I shared with my mum and dad for a bit before I went in with my brothers. But my sister shared with my grandmother for a long time, you know. But those houses were condemned even when I was sort of born, really. So we were waiting for them to be knocked down. Our street, which was Seldon Street was one of the last to go. so there was just this waste ground of rubble. I mean, those clearances were very common all over the country in that period. I saw a photo of you Five years old, I think five or six, about to meet your first holy commommunion in your suit and everything with your mum outside the house. What comes to mind for you when you see that picture I have mixed feelings about it really, but in retrospect My brothers were much older than me and my sister was six years older than me. They were off doing their stuff really The church was a big thing, you know, my first Holy commommunion was a big thing. I went to a Catholic school We left when I was eight And we went to a new estate in Nottyash. It was like a new housing stestraight. Did it feel like luxury didid it first but What happened was my dad got ill veryer quickly when we were there, I think it might have been our first Christmas there. and I was sitting on the sofa and he was on the chair watching TV. and then he suddenly got up and went into the hallway, and I heard this horrible noise And I went out and his ulcer had burst. So he was lying on the whole floor and just like blood coming out of him And My mom rushed down and she had hold of him and she was had to hold him and on the phone to the ambulance. And I just froze really and watched it. and it was really, you know, I can still see it now My dad survived, He was in hospital. We went to visit him in hospital, but that started a series then of him being ill and fragile and slightly distant. I was really close to my mom and I never really from then on. I was frightened of that. I was frightened of what I saw really and that it could happen again. And then he was very ill then until he died when I was fifteen. So you said you were very close to your mum. Tell me a little bit more about her. I want to come to your dad book But start with your mum Joan first. what kind of person was she? she was really sociable. P would light up when they saw her. She was an Avon Lady. Which was like really important. She worked in Littlewood's catalogue. That was one of her jobs, but her other job was being an Avon lady. She was brilliant at because she was sociable and she would have these Avon parties. She' have people aroundound people aroundound put and everything. doing all that with the little catalogues, makeup, you know, makeup. We had moonwind t and soap on her rope and all that in the house. It was just gray Smellt amazing And then these big boxes of makeup and products would arrive and she'd have to divy them up for different customers. And I'd help her with that And that was one of my favorite things was these big boxes arriving. and then putting them in piles for different people. And I saw the world through her really. You know, one of the things that she did, my mom was she would parent in her absence through catastropizing stuff. So she was very much about the bogey man and stuff like that. She was very much about telling me stories she'd read and in Liverpool echo about some boy who got killed crossing the road. so you know She wanted you to be careful. So she wanted me to be careful and she and she instilled that into me so much that I was quite anxious about the world My fight. But that's how she did it, really And also the evidence in front of me with my dad as well was that the world was quite unsafe. Not a safe place. But yeah, I mean, I adored her and she was very, you know, unlike my dad, she saw my success really shared in that and I was very proud that she got to see my wife David, let's have some music. I think it's time for your second choice today. What's it going be? So this is all about my mom. The first conversation I remember having, which was Other than, you know, what's for tea? and have you seen this thing on the telly was about this song It was on the radio and It's a story and it's sort of it's a complicated story. It's a multi character story. And I remember saying to my mom Gh, that's really sad, isn't it? And we had this discussion, the first time we had this empathetic discussion about other people. and other people's lives and what it's like being a child, what's it like being a parent And I knew when I was having this conversation, something different was happening Connection was happening, another world was opening up to me a sense of just what the story brings but also talking about story itself and how story can move us and open up things to us And it was a really powerful moment to me So it's the Beatles, she's living home. She We gave her most of our lives M leving sacrifed most of our lives thever. She's leving home after li many The Beatles and she's leaving home. So David Morrisy, tell me a bit more about your dad, Joe. I mean, before he got ill, what was life like for him? What did he do for work So he was a cobbler really. he worked in it was a heel bar. so it was like he madeaint do shoes, but he would do engraving and he'd do key cutting I've always been slightly embarrassed by my hands because his hands were work' hands. ingrained with leather and glue and stuff. and him and my mum met in Timpson's. She was on the shop floor and he was down below doing all the pairing and stuff. and yeah they caught it and got it together. and my earlily memories of him in the house was that, you know, he worked hard. He was someone. he had his own shop He worked for a company called Mr Minutes, but it was his shop and him and his mates ran it and It was just around the corner from where the cvern was and around there in Liverpool I mean he was just a really great guy. I think. He had a lot of friends and stuff and But when he got ill, I sort of I feel like I lost him a bit He was so fragile from then on. and I mean it sounds like it was traumatic for him to go through that experience and to not know what was happening to him have been terrifying. Exactly. And and the insecurity then of, you know your health and what that means to you but then financially, what does it mean to you as a family? how are you going to carry on And my mom and dad, they didn't talk about the things to me. People just didn't. You know, when my dad died the funeral happened So you were fifteen? Yeah. and After that, you know, my brother I remember my brother coming home the day my dad died and gave me a hug and stuff Quickly afterwards we were all supposed to go back to sort of life as normal. I remember seeing my mom through through the front window coming towards the house with these shopping bags. And I thought, who was that old woman? you know? And it was my mom and she looked drained of everything, of any vitality. I suddenly realized that that's what it meant that she was carrying this real grief and sorrow. but as soon as came through the door, I didn't mention you know, I didn't say you're all right, you know or anything like that. We just carried on, know, whereere's me tea sort of stuff. And I really regret that. I was able to speak to her later in life But, you know, Dad was veryid she say when you did speak to her? You know, she was very Stoic about it. The day my dad died, I went that night I went to the Eman for a drama session. I donon't think I told anybody in the session. I just got on with it. and at the day of his funeral I went to the drama session because that was sort of It rescued me. Going to the Everymone You Theatre, I suddenly found my tribe I found people who were vibrant, they were experimental, they lacked embarrassment. They lacked all that stuff. donon't talk about it. The stuff that was going on at home and at school where people were very private and held and sort of caged. they had none of that And I suddenly went, o I want this. The first thing I ever did, I did two shows. I did a nativity play when I was about sp Pably about eight And it was a different s ofnativity play where I played an old man coming down the aisle of the church and my m saw me And afterwards, I remember her saying, Cor, I didn't know you were so great. You know I thought it was an old man and that look in her face, I thought, I want that. And then I did the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oars And I remember getting on stage and the audience laughed and I thought, o, I want this You know, I wasn't a footballer, I wasn't academic. When I heard that audience react to something I'd done, I thought, yes, please, I'll have that. And then I went searching for that. and I got it at the Everym. And the main theatater was full of actors like Tracy Hman, Jim Broadben, people like that And Anton Lesser, who I remember going up to and badgering him and saying I don't want to be lax. I want to be an laxor. Can you help me? And he did. he took me seriously. People like Pe Pothersway, they took me serious. None of the actors in the main company E told me to go away They all sat down and said, well, what are you doing about it? Do you know about drama schools? Do you know about the stage newspaper, whver. They all took me seriously and wanted me to succeed, wanted to help me. You know, they passed on what they knew. David, I think this is a good moment to go to the music What's your third disk? This is Leonard Bernstein with the soundtrack to on the waterfront And why are you taking that to the island? So this is all about my dad as well. is so you know, it was quite an odd relationship with my dad. There wasn't a lot of chat He had his chair, he sat in his chair, as I said, he was quite often quite frail and I'd sit on the sofa And one night we must have been watching something quite late And the announcer came on and said and next is this movie My dad oh, this is a great movie this this is great. And he got up off his chair, and he came and sat next to me. And I was amazed. I was like, G, great, we're going to watch a movie And the music started and my mum came into the front room and she said, What's this? And my dad told her. She said, Oh he's too young to watch that. So I had to go to bed and this music was playing as what of And I was really upset for many reasons. But years later I saw the film, she was probably right to be honest When I saw the film, I thought, God, I wish I'd shirt at this moment part of Bernstein's symphonic suite and the soundtrack two onn the Waterfront, performed by the New York Pharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein David Morrsey, your dad's illness cast a long shadow over your childhood. You talked about how it affected him, obviously and your mum. What about you? Was there a sense that you had to be careful that you you know had to you were walking on eggshells around your dad a bit? Yeah, V very much in the house that did feel to For me, you know, you'd come out home from school and mom would get shush me sometimes because, you know, dad was having as sleep or whatever I've always had a fear of the key the door, not so much hearing it from inside the house, but actually getting it out of my own pocket and putting it in the lock of thinking What's behind that door What am I going find when I go in, will everything be okay? or has something happened? What's the atmosphere like? And I had that for years actually, but it it stemmed from that time. It's interesting that when you say that key in the door thing so in that case, you have to kind of find your refuge outside the home then You know, you've talked about very fondly about the Everyman Theatre, but also about Liverpool. You know, as a place, you said growing up in Liverpool, you felt you were at the center of the universe. So where did you go when you needed to feel happy to feel free? The Everyman had a bar underneath it called the Bistrobe being there and sort of, you know, Echo and the bunnymen would be sitting in the corner or you know, teardrop explodes would walk in or Pete Wiley had come in and stuff. and then you'd see them on top of the pops on a Thursday night, you know. And then you know, just down the road was Manchester and that scene was happening So you did feel that you were at the center of the universe. The Beatles at that time were slightly uncool Knowing that they'd walk down the very streets that you were walking down and they'd achieved world fame, it did give this kudos to the city and you as a member of the city And then the football on top of that. David, you know, listening to you talk like despite everything that you were dealing with at home, you sound like such a motivated, engaged young man. You know, you're interested in everything working really hard. You're on the board of this theatre. It's making me wonder how you got on at school. You know, was that potential and that engagement embraced there and spot No, not at all. I got good friends at school. I was head boy in my school, which was weird But it was a secondary modn. They didn't do any drama, so I had to go and find the drama myself It was very much like the school in Kes. It was chaotic You were not encouraged as a young lad in my school to put your hand up and answer a question in the class. That would guarantee you get your head kicked in in the school yard after. It was quite oppressive. I made good friends there. I really did and have them today, but I did feel cheated out of that. And for you, do you remember when you started telling people I want to be an actor. I'm going to be an actor because I think you were quite intentional about it, I was. I was very intred. There was two things. there was CS was a big film for me, but I also saw an episode of Coldits with Michael Bryant where he pretends to go mad in order to escape And that troubled me. It really upset me I identified with him, his character his situation. And that sort of thing that bubbled up inside me, I wanted to find out how how to control that or understand it. and therefore I went looking for acting, I went looking for a way out And when I walked into the door of the every man, I found it. I found these people who were having fun but experimenting and it was about emotion. it was unashamedly, about feelings. And I've spoken to a couple of actors of my generation about that episode and they all remember. touchone. They all remember it And he was, you know, he was someone who pretended to go mad so that the Germans would have to let him go he succeeds in that. and then just at the end the British commander comes in and reads this letter from his wife, saying, We're sorry he's in an institution now, but thanks for looking after him when he. And he' driven himself mad by trying to go mad to escape. and that broke my heart. I mean it was just wild So Yeah, emotional just remembering it David let's take a minute and go to the music, shall we? Yeah. So those men who were important to my life, there was another guy called Albert Byron. And he taught me about film and books and music as well, different types of music. And he would take me to the corner house to see Tarkovsky's mirror and all that stuff. And it was a real education I owe him so much I remember going around to his house once played me this and it was like a revelation and I bought the album and then I've taken it with me everywhere. And it's Keith Jarret's clone concert Keith Jarrett, the beginning of the Cologne concert from nineteen seventy five David Morrisy, you left school and you left home at sixteen and got a job, I think, with the Zip Theatre Company based in Wolverhampton. What did your role entail? At that time, Thatcher brought in this thing called Youth opppportunity Pgrams, Yops And they were basically to take people off the doll You're paid twenty three pound fifty, I think. But if you left your hometown, you're paid twenty eight quitss And a couple of my mates had found this it was called volunteers in another city or something like that. and they a couple of my mates just decided to apply for it And I applied for it and it was this theatre company zip And we got there and they were great. It was four drama students from Birmingham who got together, formed their own company We did a little bit of acting, but really what we did was we made the sets, we made the costumes, we tour with them, they toured all these Midlands sort of venues. What kind of shows Well, the Panto was the big thing. Oh yeah. yeah, we did Mother Goose The main actor in it was the guy ran the company called John Lyn Godlane and he was like Mother Goose And he wasn't going to let you get anywhere near a gag. And he was brilliant And we would do children's sort of party in the morning mayaybe like a school in the afternoon, but in the evening we do these working men's clubs And the show you can imagine changed during the day. Rather more blue. by the was It was like yeah, it was a revelation to see it. but was he was amazing. And I was there for six months. I was away from home That was difficult. I found that very difficult. That must have been tough for your mom as well because that's what a year after your dad died. Yeah was I just knew I wanted to get out. I had to Be on my own Part of the thing for me with my dad's illness and all that stuff was that I was left in no doubt that it was up to me Whatever's going to happen It wasn't going to happen for my parents or anything like that. I had to make it work. And I knew that academically I was never going to be able to go to university or anything. That was never going to happen to me. So I had to make it happen somewhere else. It was hard for my momum, but I knew I had to cut the strings. and find independence. You know, they say that that hyperindependence is a trauma response I do tend to cut off sometimes And you know, I've I am a recovering alcoholic. I was someone who has been sober out for twenty one years And that was all part of that being in trauma and not knowing how to stop being sort of in a depressive state and sort of just You know, needeing me on my own, drinking first was about anxiety. It was about I've had this terrible social anxiety and that helped me get through it. And does that go back to your teens then? Yeah, it really does And Liverpool is a party city. know You would have been abnormal not to drink, you know, But then I got later on in my life, in my adult life, I couldn't stop. and I wasn't drinking to be convivial and I wasn't drinking to sort of get through the anxiety. I was just I was on my own in the pub, you know, And that was really hard and very hard for my ex wife and people around me I worked with a guy on a job. He gave me his number on the job and I knew he was in AA. And then two years later I was in a terrible, terrible state and I phoned him quite late, like early in the morning time and he came aroundound to my house and just sat with me. and that was I've not drunank since that day really. So it's been tough. I The other thing for me is when I stopped drinking, I didn't stop being an alcoholic. my behaviour was still very self destructive for many years When you look back at yourself now as that young lad leaving home, leaving school and moving to a new town at sixteen, it's interesting because you know you describe the sense you're anxious, you know about the world and also socially anxious and isolating yourself But really brave. How brave to do that? How do you feel looking back at you when you were age. Now I feel I was in crisis a little bit But the thing that rescued me was work And so that's why I've always had this weird thing with work is that's where I feel safe And There's a great Barry Humphriess quote where he's sort of on tour as Dave Medner, he's doing all these different functions and stuff. And then at the end of his busy day, he walks out on stage as Day Med they're in front of you know, five thousand people. And his immediate thought is alone at last. And I can relate to that. like when I'm in work I feel safe. I feel I know not necessarily in control But I feel it's where I should be In my life, I'm less less confident around that. and I do I'm always looking for an exit strategy. in what in every situation. Yeah, even now. Even nows behind you. Yeah. It's that type of thing. I do anyway No. I'm much better nowadays But for a long time I was really telling myself I wasn't enough and all that stuff. and that added to the sort of the alcoholism really. and the inability to stop So as a teenager work wise, things took off for you pretty quickly. You were only eighteen when you got your first big break. You were cast in the channel four drama one summer. It was much talked about, very well reviewed and I think gave you your first taste of fame really. How did it feel to be recognised? It felt great at first and then got very strange I was actually seventeen because I had my eighteenth birthday on it And I you know, youd do it and then I had a bit of money in my pocket. So I went traveling, I went to Africa stuff and then I was sitting in Nairobi in this hotel having a coffee or something And there was a guy in front of me with a newspaper and he turned it aroundound. it was the Times and there was a picture of me on the paper So I went over and asked him if I could borrow it. it was a review for the first episode. It come out. I didn't know. So I thought, well I better go home so I got home I got to Houston. People were looking at me and I was like, this is very weird. this is odd. And then I got on the train and people were always looking still looking at me. And then I got a cab to my mum's and the cab driver was like all over the place. He was like, Oh my go, they have me watching you and all that. Instead of takeaking me home, he took me to his house first to introduce me T show you up? Yeah too introduce me to his brother, I think it was. And I was like, Hello, you know, can I get home now? And then I got home and my momum was like, The phone' not stop ringing, David My God David let's have some more music, I think. What's dis number five? I realize that there's unfinished business with me and my dad, you know, and that it will never be finished really. You know, there's a search for me about that relationship And I know that because every now and again it hijacks me. it catches me off. What kind of moments? Well, sometimes when I'm watching TV or reading a book or like this, when I hear this song Even now with my own son and my grandson, you know, I can see it that what it's like to be a father and have a connection and stuff like that And I do you know, I do miss the fact that I never had an adult relationship with him But this song is about This man's relationship with his father and he's a real hero of mine, Ronnie Lane, Debie. leftif you on a dereat. Get the Sunday morning marking He was looking to the alternes. He was looking for a bargin otsts Ronnie Lane and Deborie. David, after the success of one summer, you got your equity card and you moved to London where you went to Rada. How did you get on there? Did you feel like you fited in? the first person came up to me Radder and sort of said they'd seen one summer and they were really friendly. It was rate fes And you know, I'd never met anyone like Rpe Fines. I didn' you know, that was only seeing people like that on the tey. you know, he spoke very posh and it was And he was such a I he such a lovely man and was very friendly. And then I saw then amongst my fellow students that it was a real mixture of people. you know there was people like me, but there was people who had been to public school and Oxford and Cambridge and all that. They were all meeting in the same place and it was a meritocracy. It was very much about what you did. Nobody was asking me what my A levels were. And that was a real freedom for me. So you found your feet a Rada and were successful in your course. your first play after you left was called It was called WCPC. Yes. And it was back at the Liverpool playlayhouse. nineteen eighty six. And so I had to I think you're laughing because your aunt and your mom came to see it So I had to in this place, it was about policemen cottaging in toilets. And I was this young recruit And there was a bit where some one policeman sort of assault me in a toilet and then the next bit was I had to sort of Dress up as lies Manelli from Cabaret and do a little song And then at the end they had to strip off and dance around with the other actors singing YMCA And yeah, my mum and my Auntie Pat came to see it and I was dreading So I met my momum afterwards and the first thing she said to me was she said Have you been eaten properly? I thanked you so much for that because it was like really embarrassing. Sometimes it's just as well not to talk about things as It was. But the other favorite thing was when I stripped off The head of the police force had to say to me, I still have my underpants on and he had to say Andy on the pants, they police issue. And then I take him off of my hands in a certain place. But then one night he was just about to say it and three guys in the audience said it. Andy under the pants. their place is shoe and that was it from then on people used to shout out to the audience, so that was quite weird. But yeah, it was going back to Liverpool and doing that play at the playhouse, which was You know, the Ph Theatre as far as I was concerned, that was really great and I had a great time doing that And then I was off and running really. you know it was not long after that I went to the RSC and had a wonderful time You've worked very consistently since the beginning, but I think never really felt secure. L you've never been able to relax into thinking, o, I'm you know This is me, I'm fine now. You once said there's something I must love about the insecurity I profess to hate. whichich sound you sound like you know yourself pretty well. Have you figured out what it is Well, there's something about Yeah, that it could all stop tomorrow, which it's those eggs in the basket thing that you treat it seriously. I don't take it for granted. you know, there's great actors I've worked with and it has suddenly stopped for them, you know, or something has changed and they don't get the work they want anymore. So I try to I try to keep my head where my feet are and sort of enjoy the day, enjoy it right now It's quite interesting to learn because being asked to be on this show It was the first time in my life where I thought, Ohh, maybe I've done something. Maybe I've done something work. It was like that leg of suddenly going you never guess what does it Island disks. That's amazing. Whereas everybody else has going to couriers? Iood on already. There was some sort of like, you know nighthood going on there, but was I must like the insecurity. and the other thing about that is then taking ownership of it that actually you're playing it, it's not playing you. And that's what's really important for me is that I have to start point of view where I go I chose this. And it's fun and it's buzzy and it's risky, you know, there's no Do the thing like came to learn is that I Please when I'm nervous becausecause I care You know, if if there's nothing at risk, why why do it? You know, I have to be something needs to be at stake you know, you can chase that. That can be addictive in a way that you're trying to sort of get this feeling of This free son of excitement. that you could, you know, you could fall flat on your face David, let's make some time for the music. It's your sixth choice today. What are we gonna to hear next My brothers and sister, they would have big record collections, you know. and This record. I'd see in my brother's room, I'd see in my sister's room, I'd see in my cousins with play One of my cousins is a musician and he would play stuff off this album I bought it in cassette, I bought it in album, I bought it on CD, I've downloaded it, all those things. Its stayed with me all my life The album is Blue by Johnny Mitchell and this track is River Why have you gone for River specifically? It's just something that breaks my heart. I love it. I love the sentiment of it The way she sort of the lyricism of it is just likeike all of his stuff But it's the one that sticks in my mind M Cood skate away on so long. T Jonni Mitchell and River David Morrisy, you've always been committed to whatever part you've played. I read that when you were cast as a policeman in Clubland, you actually insisted on returning to work after being operated on for a burst appendix. When you look back on that now, do you ever think you were a bit too all in and that you could have looked after your health a bit more? I went to the hospital, I was in ANA for hours And the nurse said to me it's wind. justust go home. Okaykay, went home and then I was in agony and I phed an ambulance. and they took me in and it was an emergency operation appendix And I woke up and the writer was sitting at the bedside and he said, It's okay, we've cast someone else. And someone else I knew it was a friend of mine. So I got in touch with him. He came to see me, and I said, No, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. Don't worry. And I literally, I have to sit down in the first two scenes. It's just an interview scene. I'll be fine, I'll be fine. And I went and I did it with my stitches in. and I wasn't going to lose that job So things like that, I have pushed myself, but There's two things there, isn't there? There's pushing yourself And then there's the consequences of the people around you with you pushing yourself. I have done jobs that's taken me away from home that have meant that I'm absent rather than be where arguably I should have been. And so that's been a trade off That sometimes I regret You have also said that you things have changed in recent years for you because you've started finding the authenticity that you were looking for in roles in different places. And in comedy, you know being able to do something like Daddy issues for the BBC, which has been a big success for you. It's really interesting that because talking about Michael' Bryan before and stuff, I wanted to be an actor and the thing I wanted to be was I wanted to be authentic And for me, what that was was authenticity was always in the bad stuff It was always in the gutter. It was always in pain who was always in stress and broken hearts and stuff like that. It could never be en joy or love. It couldn't be frivolous. That was not authentic for me. And so I spent years pursuing this authenticness which was banging my head against the brick wall and being miserable basically I felt that that's where it was. You know, someone like De Niro banging his head against the cell wall, that was acting. And then I suddenly through sobriety and stuff, I suddenly realized that You can be authentic and have fun You can have joy, you can have love, you can have connection. That's just as authentic as anything else. And I got confused in that. And so when daddy issues came along I was able to have fun, stillort go to work to not work any less. you know, it was still hard work to do and actually have joy in doing the job itself, making people laugh You know, I see it now when the edit sometimes I can see that they've had to cut away from me and Amy Lewood just before we crack up you know because we crack up all the time. So comedy has been part of my life, but for such a long time as a young actor I felt that you could only get truth. True misery and pain Let's have some more music, David. It's your penultimate disc today. What are we gonna to hear So one of the things I really need to do on the island obviously is dance. I mean, I love dancing. I love dad dancing, obviously, but granddad dancing now. You know all those bands we were talking about before in Liverpool with the echo and the Bunny Man and teeardrop explodes, I was thinking of those things. But there was another band around that I was just I couldn't believe were from Liverpool when someone told me. I saw them on top of the bopps and I thought they were from Philadelphia or something. They were just greatay And then I saw the Mar and stuff. And this is the real thing. you to me are everything stars out of the sky for you. Stop the rains from falling if you ask me to. I do anything for you Y wish is my command. I could move themount You C not express how much you mean to me There must be some other way to make you see s The real thing and you to me are everything. So I think Chris Smer who is the lead singer of the real thing, He holds the record is the only person to have a number one hit and win coughs that is a strong, strong trophy cabinet right there. That's it. Do you know what breed he was? Yeah It was an Afghan hound, I think He might have w have twice. An Afghan hound looks like the real thing, sound. Perfect. Perfect. So David Morrisy, it is almost time to cast your wayake on the desert island. I read that you travel so much that you actually keep a bag packed at home ready to go. I have a set of drawers actually which have my sort of travel stuff in ye. so if I need to go there manag to go quickly, I have that stuff there. Okay. so I think you'll adapt quite quickly into life as a castaway. How do you feel about? How do you think you'll get on Isolation' never been a problem for me. I'm sort of excited about it. I do think, o, yes, that would be great to have a bit of time, but I know that I will miss and I'll miss life. It'll have to be, I'll certainly miss work But I'll miss people as well So I don't think I'll get on that well. I'm not Okay, you know, I'm not DIY and mirr stranger. You know, I'm not able to do things like that So that's going to be tough. But I think I'll love it for a bit And then I think I might just have a little crash. What kind of island are you hoping for? What you? Oh sun and sand Yeah, sun and sand with a freshwater sort of lake which has loads of fish in it And then, you know, all that stuff, just sort fr fruit around the place, maybe some veg already growing there, that type of stuff and a saing breeze, you know, things like that. It sounds like you've thought about it already. It sounds like you've started your research. I have been thinking about it. Yeah, yeah, definitely sun and sand. Yeah, that's what I want Allright, well you're about to find out. We'll let you have one more disc before we send you away, David. Whats it going to be So this is an artist who I knew his music and loved it And then I saw a documentary about him whichich really I found very, very moving. He's someone who's struggled with, you know he's no longer with this, but struggled with mental health crisis in his life The documentary shows his family dealing with that, particularly his mum and dad, who are so amazing with him. But his work, both his songwriting and his artwork. he's a quite an interesting artist as well. I really am drawn to. But there's a simplicity about his work which obviously isn't simple. it's just the way that he capulates a mood and a feeling It feels rudimentary, but actually there's something so raw and honest about him The film is called The Devil and Daniel Johnston, which is amazing. And this is his track which I think is such a track of hope, but also of action. You have to be active for this to happen and it is trrue loveo will find you in the end True love will find you in the end. You'll find out just too with your friend Don't be sad, I know you will. But don't give up until. Daniel Johnston and trrue loveove will find you in the end. So David Morrisy, I'm going to cast you away to your desert island. I'll give you the books. Of course, you can have the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare And one other book, What's that going to be? Well, yeah,'s such a hard one, this. I mean, the book I come back to a lot is The Power and the Glory by Graham Green But I think just for the size of time I have the amount of time I have, I think I will take the complete works of Charles Dickens Okay, and what is it that you love about Dickens? I like the fact that he's funny. I mean, I do like that you know his humour is amazing, but I also like his humanity And I also like the fact that his stories you just fall into them And there's a lot I haven't read so I'll be looking forward to You can also have a luxury item. What would you like? So I don't know whether you're going to give me this? let's find out. So what I'd really like is it's a bit of a combination, but it's phhotograph album A massive photograph with pictures of people who've meant things in my life, my family You know, my momum and dad, all that and friends and colleagues. But I'd also like a lot of blank pages at the end and a never ending pen because one of the things I do all the time is journal. I've been journaling since I was about fourteen And I find that process of doing that is really therapeutic for me and wonderful. I get it all out and I do it all the time. I've got no pads everywhere. So I'd like to do that. Well, I think that would be a lovely luxury. Of course. It's yours And finally, which track of the eight that we've heard today? wouldould you save from the waves first if you had to? It would be the Beatles, it would be she's leaving home for me and my de mom David Morrsey, thank you very much for letting us hear your Dert Island disc. It's been a pleasure Hello. It was lovely chatting to David and I hope he's very happy on the island with his photo album and blank pages There are more than two thousand programs in our archive that you can listen to. We've cast many other actors away over the years, including Stephen Graham and Michael Sheen. You'll also find Monica Dolan and Leslie Manville, David's fellow actors in the TV series Sherwood, along with its creator, writer James Graham, who's in the archive too. You can hear their programs if you search through BBC Sounds or on our own Desert Island Discs website. The studio manager for today's programe was Sarah Hockley, the executive production coordinator was Susie Royllands, the assistant producer was Christine Pavlovsky, and the producer was Sarah Taylor. Join me next time when my guest will be the North America cororrespondent for BBC News Gary ODonagghue I'm Nel Tiththerich and for BBC Radio four from Shadow World. This is impulsive when someone's personality changes It was completely out of count N never done it before, never done it since. And it's because of a prescription drug I asked myself, whyy would you do such a thing? What were you thinking I've been uncovering the shocking side effects linked to medications called dopamine agonists For BBC radio four from S shhadow World This is impulsive. Subscribe to Shadow World. Imulsive now BC sounds