Matt Willis went back to drama school to improve chances of being cast in acting roles: ‘I needed to be better’

Matt will be taking to the stage as Dr. Pomatter in the UK tour of Waitress (Picture: Can Nguyen/Rex/Shutterstock)

Actor and Busted band member Matt Willis, 38, on singing doctors, being inspired by Lacey Turner and becoming a Mamil (a Middle-Aged Man In Lycra).

Where are you today?

I am in my spare room in the top of my house, which is boiling but I’ve got a fan on so I’m feeling all right and it’s lovely outside.

What’s that photo on the wall behind you?

Oh God, I forget that’s there! That’s my eldest daughter, Isabelle, in my wife Emma’s [Willis] womb.

That’s so weird. I’ve just realised it’s really spooky. It doesn’t look anything like her. That’s so strange.

So how did you get involved with the musical Waitress?

I went to see the show about three years ago in the West End and it was Lucie Jones’s first performance in the role.

We then worked together last Christmas in A Christmas Carol. She’s so f***ing brilliant. She told me they were taking Waitress on tour and what was I doing?

To be honest, I was doing nothing. I’d had a really quiet year-and-a-half
so I did my audition with Lucie.

Matt will be joining Lucie Jones in the UK tour of Waitress (Picture: Keith Mayhew/Sopa Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

It’s based on a 2007 indie film and has music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. It’s not your typical musical is it?

There is something about this show that feels different. Is it Sara Bareilles’ music because she’s a really amazing pop writer? It’s a different energy.

It was only when I read about the show that I saw it was the first all-female creative team [for a musical]. You feel that energy.

And you play a singing gynaecologist…

Yes, Lucie’s character, Jenna, works as a baker and makes these incredible pies, she becomes pregnant by her man and is not happy in her relationship. She goes to see her doctor, Dr Jim Pomatter – me – and they fall in love.

My character is also married, which when you say out loud makes him sound like a terrible person.

He’s married, he’s having an affair with a pregnant woman and he’s her doctor but for some reason you like him.

Your wife talked on your podcast with Matt Richardson about your poor attention span when driving. Has it improved?

Actually, I don’t know if I am much better! I’m always slightly in my own world. When it’s just music playing and I’m driving, I’m one of those guys tapping on the steering wheel. I’m such a d***head in the car.

I can’t experience music any other way than to be involved in it. Music and driving is a problem for me but if I stick on a podcast or an audiobook that works. I’m much more observant with that.

Wife Emma Willis exposed Matt’s short attention span while chatting on his podcast (Picture: Ian West/PA)

How different is a theatre tour to a music tour? Are actors better behaved than musicians?

I am. My band is a bit like a travelling stag do. That’s how it feels at times. Touring with Busted is a party and I’m a little bit out of the party.

You know when you go on a stag do and the groom has brought the father-in-law along? I feel like I’m that father-in-law.

Whereas on a theatre tour?

Being in theatre is very different. It’s very structured. I have a task-list diary, which
I follow. I tick things off.

I love a list. My wife did that to me really and now I love getting stuff done. If I don’t do that, things spiral out of control for me. I’m so bloody ADHD that if
I don’t have something written down, it never happens.

Where do you feel you are in your acting career now?

I went to theatre school and I always wanted to be an actor and then Busted kind of took me by surprise. I didn’t ever intend to be in a band. It was a real happy accident.

Then when I went back to theatre after Busted I felt I was on the back foot. I hadn’t trained for ten years. I was winging it a little bit.

My first role was in Flashdance and I felt very inadequate. I wasn’t good enough. That really affected me.

Joining Busted was a ‘happy accident’, says Matt (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Didn’t you recently go back to drama school?

Yes for two years to study the Meisner technique because although I love theatre, I wanted to do more onscreen work. I was getting recalls but I wasn’t getting cast.

I needed to be better. It was a really intense therapeutic experience that brought up loads of stuff I didn’t expect but it was incredible.

Did you learn a lot working with Lacey Turner when you played Stacey’s boyfriend Luke in EastEnders in 2014?

A lot. I was blown away with her ability to be completely truthful in a situation that there was no build-up to. She would just be able to walk on and ‘boom’ she’d be in it. I need to work for an hour before I walk on set sometimes to get that.

You’ve said that everything that’s fun in life can kill you. What’s the most daredevil thing you would consider doing?

I’ve just bought a road bike. I love motorbikes so much but I stopped riding them about five years ago. Now I am going to be one of those cycling guys.

You mean a Mamil?

Middle-Aged Man In Lycra, yeah, that’s me. I’ve refused to buy any of that stuff yet. I’m not fully committed. I’ve got the shorts but I won’t wear the zip-up top.

Waitress The Musical tours from Sep 4.

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