Lewis Osbourne aka Trigger Interview

Lewis Osbourne AKA Trigger from Rock & Chips

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

We caught up with Lewis Osbourne AKA Trigger from Rock & Chips. Lewis tells us how he got into character for Rock and Chips, how he got the part of Trigger, and whether he would like to play Trigger if we see a series of Rock & Chips

OFAH. Have you been a fools and horses fan before hand?

Lewis Osbourne Interview

LEWIS. Absolutely. I think it’s hard not to be if you live in Britain. My parents and Grandparents have always been avid fans, so i was watching it religiously before I even understood the jokes. But it wasn’t until I’d got the part and watched every episode that I became a real fan. Also meeting John and some of the only fools cast was what made me see the show in a whole new light and appreciate how great it actually was. Now when I hear the theme tune i can’t help but smile.

OFAH. How did you feel when you heard you’d got the part of Trigger?

LEWIS. It felt amazing, especially because he was my favourite. I couldn’t stop grinning for a while because the script was so incredible and looked like it would be a lot of fun to be involved in. I was in Amsterdam when I got the call, so my friends and I went out to celebrate. Then I came home the next morning and was not allowed to tell anyone.

OFAH. How did you go about preparing for the part?

LEWIS. I re-watched all of the episodes as did most of the cast I think. I just studied triggers mannerisms and tried to work out what was going through his head. We were told frequently that they didn’t want impersonations of the characters, so we had to work out what they would have been like at our age. Then again Trigger didn’t really grow wiser as he got older, so he stayed the same. I have more in common with him then I thought I did.

Likely Lads with Lewis

OFAH. What was it like working on a prequel of the great sitcom – any pressure?

LEWIS. There was a lot of pressure. Mainly because ‘Rock n Chips’ was for the fans, so if we let them down we would have failed. But also we didn’t want to let down the only fools family. John Sullivan would be on set every day and some of the cast would pop in to see how we was doing which was incredible but quite daunting. I got to meet Paul Barber and of course David Jason. Our photo is now hanging on my bathroom wall.

OFAH. Would you like a series to come out of it?

LEWIS. I would love a series to come out of it, and I’m glad that you do to. I would just love to see what they would do with the series. Maybe we would see Joan on her deathbed? Or Boycie meet Marlene? Or Trigger take up his job as a road sweep? I think that would be hilarious.

OFAH. What other rolls have you played

LEWIS. Not many. When I went for the first audition I had literally just left school. I’d been studying theatre at The BRIT School for four years and had no idea what I was going to do next. But I played all sorts of weird roles at BRIT like an ASBO on a south London estate and an aristocrat from the restoration period. Trigger was probably the only character I’ve played that I’ve felt I could connect to.

OFAH. Out of all the actors – who was the joker?

LEWIS. Obviously James was always there with a joke at the ready, and he never failed to make me laugh with one of his witty one liners. But I thought Phil Daniels was the joker of the cast. I loved his dry humour and how you could never tell if he was taking the piss or not. He reminded me a lot of my grandad Albert, but he’s a lot older. Also Rodger Griffiths was very funny. There was definitely laughs everyday on set.

OFAH. Tell us about a behind the scenes gem that we may not of known from watching the show

LEWIS. On the bus scene we were driving through Catford. So when James was throwing the saveloys out the window, he was really hitting people. So they were genuine laughs. That was my favourite day of filming.

We are really greatful for Lewis giving us this insight into the character.  lets hope we see even more of him in the coming years.

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