Freddie Fox: ‘Top ticket prices are too high. As an actor, you feel a lot of pressure’

What production made you fall in love with theatre?

There are two. The first was a production of The Snow Queen at London’s Unicorn Theatre that I saw when I was about five, and the second was Richard Eyre’s production of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. I bought the audio cassette and learned all the songs by heart.

What are you finding inspiring?

Like every other actor, I’m finding Succession inspiring. It’s Shakespearean – a composite of King Lear and Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors. Which character do I most relate to? That’s tough. I’ll have to say Roman, but I’ve never sent a dick pic to my dad like he has.

What do you wish you could change about the performing arts industry?

Ticket prices. From a commercial point of view, I understand the unbelievable costs of putting on a big show, but sometimes the top price of tickets is too high. As an actor, you feel a lot of pressure to live up to that. You feel like you must have a £200 show every night. Sometimes I feel like I’ve had a £2 show.

What role do you really want to play?

David Bowie is my hero. I was going to play him in a movie, but it didn’t come to pass. Maybe it will still happen, but maybe, as Uncle Monty says about Hamlet in Withnail and I – I will wake up one morning and say: “I will never play Bowie.” There are some Shakespearean roles I’d love to have a go at, too, like Iago and Henry V. I’d also like to do some Joe Orton.

What is the worst thing that has happened to you on stage?

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has told this story on The Graham Norton Show. We were in Hay Fever in 2012. There was a scene where I opened a door and she would always be hidden behind it doing something stupid to put me off, visible to me but invisible to the audience. One night, she lifted up her skirt, dropped her pants, and showed me her arsehole. I don’t know if you can print that in The Stage.

What projects are you currently involved in?

I’m about to play Hamlet with Guildford Shakespeare Company. As an actor, you are supposed to aspire to play Hamlet because it’s this technically and emotionally complex role. You feel like you have to do it, but maybe you don’t want to, but maybe you should, but maybe you’re not up to it.

My dad, of course, has played Hamlet three times. I’ve listened to him quote Hamlet over every meal about every topic. Now I’m a little older, more relaxed and less worried about being perfect, I’m ready to have fun with it. It’s challenging and frustrating, but I am having fun.

There is some other acting in the pipeline, too, including another play that might happen at the end of the year, but I can’t talk about any of that for fear of a slapped wrist. And, I’ve got a couple of feature-length film directing projects in development. I wrote and directed a short film called Hero, starring Charles Dance and James Norton, a few years ago. It was a retelling of the time I met Burt Reynolds as a young boy. I want to do more of that.

Hamlet runs at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford until February 19. For more: guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk