Actor Steffan Rhodri talks to the Chronicle about his new role in Great Expectations and his future with Harry Potter.

Feb 13 2009 by Francesca Elliott, Flintshire Chronicle

Steffan Rhodri has taken time out of his busy schedule filming BBC hit Gavin and Stacey, to chat about his latest play, Great Expectations.

The adaptation, based on Charles Dickens’ classic novel, which has been given a new musical score, debuts at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, this week before going on tour.

This will be the 41-year-old’s 25th production for Clwyd Theatr Cymru, a venue he credits with jump- starting his career.

“When I was 30 I came here to perform and it changed my career. It opened lots of doors and really made me more confident as an actor,” he said.

Although he says theatre will always be his passion, he has recently turned his attention to television work, appearing as Dave Coaches in comedy Gavin and Stacey, and as the conniving landlord in S4C’s family saga Teulu.

His biggest role, however, could be in the final Harry Potter film, where he will play Reg Cattermoul.

“I’ll be filming in London during the autumn,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it, it’s the biggest film I’ve been involved with.”

For now, however, Steffan is concentrating on perfecting his Kent accent and warming up his singing voice to play gentle blacksmith Joe Gargery in Great Expectations.

“Luckily I don’t have to get my muscles out in the show as I definitely don’t have the upper body of a blacksmith!” he said.

“ But my best friend Dyfan Jones is the composer and I kept in contact with him while he was writing , so he knew I was interested.

“Joe is a joy to play as it’s so rare to come across a character who is so genuinely nice, he never has an agenda.

“Dickens has created a lot of opportunity for comedy with Joe, as he’s quite awkward and lacks social graces.”

One of the things that keeps drawing Steffan back to Mold is the camaraderie between actors.

“Working in a small town means that you get to know each other a lot more, friendships are made for life,” he said.

“Gavin and Stacey is like that as well, I’ve known co-writer Ruth Jones since we were 18 and she wrote a small part in the first series just for me, luckily that’s expanded into three series!”

Great Expectations will be at Clwyd Theatr Cymru until Saturday, March 7. For tickets, contact the box office on 0845 330 3565.