David Morrissey returns to his roots to celebrate 60th anniversary of Liverpool Everyman Theatre
David Morrissey sat down with Granada Reports correspondent Victoria Grimes at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool.
As part of celebrations for its 60th anniversary, Liverpool Everyman Theatre has welcomed a host of stars who all began their careers at the iconic venue.
One of those is The Walking Dead star David Morrissey, who started his acting career with Everyman Youth Theatre at the age of 14.
The actor was born and raised in the Kensington area of the city and last appeared on the Everyman stage in 2011, playing the title role in Macbeth.
He recalls fond memories of his time with the Youth Theatre: "It's really where I started to fall in love with live theatre.
"We used to come and watch the 'grown up' shows all the time and I met actors like Pete Postlethwaite, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Nighy and Anton Lesser.
"As I've grown up I've got to work with them over the years and I've been able to thank them because none of them told me where to go when I said I wanted to be an actor.
"They took me seriously and used to talk to me about drama school, agents and The Stage newspaper.
"They were all very open and inclusive which was great.
"At that time, you felt that here you were at the centre of the universe, creatively.
"I've always been so grateful to grow up in a city that takes the arts so seriously, so when I said I wanted to act, nobody looked at me like I was weird.
"I worked downstairs in the bistro for about a year. It was great fun and everyone came through the door. People like Craig Charles and bands like Lawnmower and Wah and Echo and The Bunnymen. It was the place to be."
Morrissey often returns to Liverpool where his family still live. He says he's grateful to the Everyman Youth Theatre for putting him on the path to his future career.
"It gave me a real taste of the hard work that you need to put in, but the joy you can get out of it as well," he said.
"It all started here in this building. As a group, we were always made to feel part of things and for that I will always be grateful."
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the theatre is launching a new campaign called Everyone Starts Somewhere.
It aims to raise £60,000 towards talent development, supporting the award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse and bringing new diverse voices to the stages.
The campaign is being supported by alumni like Alison Steadman, Cathy Tyson and Julie Walters.
Morrissey says he admires the work the theatre does with young people: "It means everything. One of my major bugbears is how the arts are not really supported in our state schools education. And that breaks my heart.
"For the Everyman to support the arts, as it should for young people, means everything."
Described by the British Film Institute as one of the most versatile English actors of our generation, Morrissey has starred in a huge array of film, TV and theatre productions, including Zombie Apocalypse thriller The Walking Dead, in which he played The Governor.
Morrissey is currently working on a film for Netflix called The Woman in Cabin 10 and stars alongside Keira Knightley and Australian actor Guy Pearce. It's due to be released next year.
He said: "We've been filming on a yacht for the last three weeks. It sounds really glam, doesn't it? But we were actually in the English Channel in October! It was still nice, but a bit bobby!
"All I ever wanted to be was a working actor. That's all I wanted to do. I wanted to make my living through acting, that's all. And it's still all I want to do."