J'AIME NOVEMBER 2018

like Paul Newman and
Steve McQueen were badasses
both on screen and
on the track, do you feel
like you need results to
prove that?
KF: Yeah, ultimately it’s the
results, the big races that
matter. I’ve never been involved
in any of the big races on the
scale of those guys of course.
The Silverstone 500 is my
biggest so far and gave me a
glimpse of what it could be
like. You’ve had a taste of
the big races like Le Mans,
so you probably know more
than me, but it’s all about results. It’s not until I
win the Silverstone 500, win a championship, win a
European race. That’s probably the aim and where I
want to be. It would be great to emulate and do what
those guys have done. I think I’m capable, it’s just the
process and I’ve just got to keep following the process
that I’ve applied for the last four years. That’s the
stage I want to get to, I want to be involved in those
big races.
MP: Acting is still very much your day job,
but if you had to choose between winning Le
Mans or winning an Oscar what would you
do?
KF: My day job is still as an actor, that’s still my
biggest passion. If someone was to say, “Would you
rather win the 24 hours of Le Mans or get cast in
a big film, win an Oscar or an Olivier Award” or
something like that, I would always pick acting.
Because that’s where my heart is, something I’ve
KELVIN FLETCHER
IN RACE MODE
SELFIES IN THE PADDOCK
done from a kid. Probably like racing is with you,
that’s what acting is to me. Then again, racing is the
only thing in my life that I have ever experienced that
comes a very, very close second. The feeling of doing
a really good scene and nailing a performance, of
doing it justice, you feel proud, you feel fulfilled. All
those feelings when you’re actively chasing a dream
and you’re fulfilling that dream. The only thing that
has ever come close is racing, to win a race.
MP: So what’s next for you what do you have
in the pipeline? Rumour has it that you’re
about to swap your carbon-fibre racing
helmet for a tin helmet in an upcoming role?
KF: My next role as an actor does always change;
at the beginning of the year I was playing a young
professional, who was dating a guy, living in
metropolitan Edinburgh, in suave suits, very well
groomed, in a new TV drama (Editors note: The
Shore is a yet-to-be-released TV drama described as
a cross between Glasgow-based soap River City and
political drama House of Cards) and then
the next thing I’m dressing up as the Tin
Man in a musical in London! That’s the
beauty of acting, I guess, that’s the reason
why I left Emmerdale because I wanted the
chance to explore and fulfil these different
characters and different platforms. So
yeah! I will very much be swapping my
carbon helmet for a tin hat in a Seladoor
production of The Royal Shakespeare
company’s highly-acclaimed adaptation
of The Wizard of Oz! Hopefully it’s a
sell-out! The show runs from December
7 to 30 at the famous Blackpool Winter
Gardens. Come check it out!
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