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About Adam
As gay teenager Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street, Bruno Langley certainly set a few hearts a-flutter. But Bruno switches Weatherfield for outer space this month, as he makes his Doctor Who debut as Adam Mitchell. Benjamin Cook met up with Bruno to find out what's written in the stars for him...
"Better not do it in there," warns Bruno Langley, nodding towards his trailer. "It stinks! I don't know what it is? It's sort of... musty."
He pauses - then blurts out guiltily, "Look, it's not me! It stunk like that when I arrived."
Of all the excuses! Instead, we settle down for an interview on the top deck of the bus. This is where, earlier today, the cast and crew had lunch. It's empty now, but still parked outside a warehouse in Cardiff. 1 spend half my life hanging around Welsh warehouses.
Inside this one: two key sets for Episode 7, The Long Game, written by Russell T Davies. Both sets, especially the bigger one, are too spoiler-ish to talk about now, so let's move on.
Bruno plays Adam Mitchell, the Doctor's brainy new companion, in this episode and the one before it (titled Dalek and written by Robert Shearman). It's his first television role since he quit Britain's best-loved soap, Coronation Street, last year. Indeed, he is still known to millions as gay teenager Todd Grimshaw - last seen waving a tearful goodbye to mum Eileen as he left Weatherfield for a new life in London, having found his ex-girlfriend in bed with his brainless brother the builder! It was a storyline that gripped the nation. Actually, Bruno had several such storylines. Some would argue that he was mad to quit, but he did so while he was ahead and he seems to have landed on his feet. After all, he's gone from one of ITVl's flagship shows to one of BBC One's flagship shows in one bound. Not bad, eh?
"I know, I know," he laughs, "I've sustained!"
Of course, soaps are so often career-killers, so how confident was Bruno really that his career wouldn't go the way of the Kemp?
"If you don't take chances, you're not going to get anything," he reasons. "It was a big show, so it was hard to leave, but I'm just thankful that people have given me the chance to do something else."
Did Bruno fear being typecast? Was that one reason for leaving the Street?
"Yeah, definitely. There have been a lot of scripts that I've been sent since," he says, "where maybe the character is gay or too close to Todd, and I think I'd be a fool to accept that. It's just too early. This character, Adam - he's selfish and geeky and stuff, which is a good contrast. It's great."
Bruno, who turned 22 in March, is five-foot-nine and softly-spoken. He has matinee-idol looks, with impish eyes and a fantastic set of eyebrows. He also has a spark - a certain something that makes you warm to him. What's more, he's keen to grant DWM an interview ("I was bored," he later admits), so let's do it.
"Ah, Adam... As far as I know," embarks Bruno, "he's in his twenties, he was originally going to be from outside Birmingham, but now he's from outside Manchester. Maybe it's something to do with my accent," he laughs.
"He's a genius," he continues. "I'm kind of figuring that he was a genius at schools. He probably got moved up years and went to special school. He was headhunted by this guy called Van Statten, whose agents scouted him and took him to America - to this big underground base. I don't know how long Adam's been down there in that workshop of his, but he kind of just stays down there and looks at alien artefacts and predicts very wrongly what they are! I think he thinks he's more clever than he is."
Is he a bit of a loner, then?
"He is, yeah. He's kind of geeky. I wanted him to have glasses, but it didn't work out. He's definitely been down there for... well, I know that when he meets Rose, it's kind of a breath of fresh air. At last, it's someone who he can relate to."
What is Adam's relationship with Rose and the Doctor?
"At first," says Bruno, "in the Dalek episode, he fancies Rose. But then, in the next one, it's like he's taken on this new adventure... cos he's into all this extraterrestrial stuff already, so he's kind of preoccupied all the way through with finding out information. So that when he goes back to Earth, he can, I don't know, be world-renowned for creating something, very selfishly. He doesn't think about Rose and the Doctor much, apart from, obviously, when they're pissed off with him and... well, then he's got to face the music."
Before landing the role, Bruno was "not that familiar with Doctor Who. The other day, I saw the TARDIS set -I walked right past it, but I had no idea what it was. I didn't know that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside! That went over my head. I didn't really watch it much as a kid, because it finished before I was old enough to get into it. Obviously, you've preconceptions, but I haven't got into it via the DVDs and stuff... not yet, anyway! I'm going to have to, well, you know..."
Become a Doctor Who fan?
"Oh! No!" he chuckles. "Actually, I do remember the Daleks. Even though they were probably unrealistic, they were scary. Hopefully, they're still going to be scary for kids today. I was always scared by things as a kid - you know, watching The Terminator and horror films and stuff. I can't remember why I kept watching! What time is it going to be on? Early evening? It's definitely going to scare kids. I think everyone's had dreams about something chasing them continuously - that's definitely one of my dreams, a bad one - so the Dalek in this must scare people! It scared me."
A scene where Bruno taunts the Dalek about not being able to climb stairs, only for it to surprise him by flying, was the most enthusiastically-received clip screened at March's press launch.
"I was so proud to get that line," Bruno gushes.
When he joined the series, Chris and Billie had already filmed five episodes together and established a rapport both on and off screen. How speedily did Bruno make himself a part of the team?
"On a show like Carrie, there are lots more people to get to know," he says, "but with Doctor Who, it's just Chris and Billie, and because there's only two of them - not a big family of actors -there's time to talk and communicate and have fun. They're great! And they're used to new people coming in every episode or so. I enjoyed working with them."
Bruno was born in Norfolk, where he lived until he was four. He grew up in Buxton, Derbyshire. His parents are both from Australia. His dad makes musical instruments, and the whole family is musical. So when did Bruno decide to pursue an acting career?
"It's weird," he says, "I was talking to Christine [Adams], who plays Cathica [in The Long Game], about this and she was saying that it's impossible to answer that question, because it's been forever, ever since you were young. I've wanted to act forever."
What did your parents make of you entering this most unreliable of professions?
"None of my brothers or sisters," he says, "went into professions that are stable - you know, they're all musicians and performers, which are all precarious professions, where you're never going to get a regular salary - so my parents are used to it. I could get work, I could not... but that's part of the fun!"
Bruno comes from a large family: he has five sisters and two brothers.
"It was great, because you always had someone to perform to. There was
always a piano, so it was, like, 'Come in, listen to my piece, listen to my singing, come and let's pretend together.' There was always someone there, so maybe that's how I first got the acting bug? I mean, you need an audience."
Bruno had a habit of making himself the centre of attention when he was
younger. He loved acting and performed in plays at school, including the musical Godspell, and with local drama groups, such as Buxton Youth Theatre. "We had to do work experience," he remembers. "I wasn't going to do it at first, but then my an teacher phoned around and found this drama school in Stockport and said, 'Why don't you go there for work experience?' I went, 'Yeah, okay, I'll do it for a laugh.' As it turned out, it was finally, like, 'These are my people!' They were all crazy and completely loud and brash - it was definitely where I wanted to be."
When he left school, Bruno joined North Cheshire Theatre School, but he dropped out after a year and a half. "I had to leave," he says, "because it was all about doing group stuff and I couldn't say, 'I'm not coming in today,' because that would have let down the whole group. I had to leave," he argues, "or I would have let people down."
Bruno's first professional job was, reportedly, a Sunny Delight advert... erm, except it wasn't. "You've done some research, haven't you?" says Bruno, a wry grin creeping across his face. "I went to an audition, but I never got it. I went for all sorts of auditions -Burger King, Sunny Delight..."
His first break was a recurring role on the first series of BBC One's romantic comedy Linda Green - as Fizz Green, Linda's brother. The initial episode also starred Christopher Eccleston, although he didn't share any scenes with Bruno. "I filmed Linda Green before I started on Carrie," says Bruno, "although it was transmitted afterwards. The casting director, Andy Pryor - he cast me in Linda Green, and now he's cast me in Doctor Who. I hadn't seen him in four or five years and I turned up at the BBC, a jobbing actor, having just left ITV, and I was, like, 'Andy, I'm gonna need something here!!' I needed to escape from that role of Todd. Thank God, Andy got me Adam in Doctor Who."
Todd was not Bruno's first role on the Street. He made his debut in August 2000, playing Candice's then-boyfriend, Darren Michaels. "I had one line," he beams, "which was an ad-lib - to get myself noticed!"
So what was the line? Bruno looks sheepish. Apparently, his ad-lib was...
"Hi ya!"
Er, was that it? One hell of an ad-lib!
"I know," he says, exploding with laugher. "Some friends were, like, 'Oh, he's such a hot-shot now,' and asked, 'So what was your line, Bruno?' And I went, 'Er - "Hi ya!"' They weren't impressed! But I think it's continued: Billie keeps laughing because I'm always adding extra lines to our Doctor Who episodes! She finds it very funny.
Later in 2000, when Bruno was asked back to the soap, this time to play Todd, Bruno had to meet his former self, so producers got around it by choosing a similar-looking actor to play Darren! Did Bruno appreciate what he was taking on?
"No," he says quickly and succinctly.
So when did it hit home?
"At a certain point," he says, "it gets weird. You have to think about what times places are going to be busy and stuff - you have to, it becomes part of your mindset - so that you don't get stuck in, I don't know, rush hour on a train where people are going to be giving you hassle. It's not worth it."
Can viewers distinguish between the character and the actor?
"Some people can," he stresses. "You can't label everyone, saying, 'Ooh, they can't distinguish,' but others... well, if they shout out my character's name, do I turn around or do I keep walking?!"
Bruno doesn't doggedly pursue a 'celebrity' status (last year he turned down the chance to appear on ITV1 reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, despite a hefty financial incentive), but the press and the public are, naturally, interested in him. What is the best thing about being famous? It must have its perks?
"God, yeah! What's the best thing? Hmm... I can only think of the worst things," he admits.
Luckily, my next question was going to be just that: what is the worst thing?
"I always thought fame was going to be brilliant," he replies, honestly, "but it's kind of...I guess it's a lot of work, because I like to go out with lots of people, I like to work hard and party hard, but it's difficult to be able to do that when you're in the public eye."
Bruno has quite a clean-cut image, though. He's the kind of lad that you wouldn't be worried about bringing home to meet your parents.
"Yeah, I guess I am," he declares, tongue half-in-cheek, "but I don't know how I've got away with it! I suppose I don't go to the places where you leave and you're completely out of your face and you fall on the ground and you're snapped by the paparazzi! I could do, yeah, but it's not really doing anything -well, all it's doing is putting you in papers and then people read about it. I'm not sure what that does for you as a person, unless you like that sort of image."
When Bruno and Ryan Thomas, who played his on-screen brother, Jason, first arrived on the Street, they were promoted as the soap's new heartthrobs - the dishy brothers who'd set pulses a racing. Bruno splutters when I ask him what he makes of it. "Hysterical!" he laughs in disbelief. "Yes, it was guff, but it was all staged, everyone knew that. You're kind of idolised, especially by younger people. But I got away with it, because I now go into HMV and there are these calendars - they're called 'Soap Babes' or 'Soap Hunks' - and I'm so glad that I left before those started. I did photo-shoots for magazines, like Sugar and Just 17, but not calendars! No, I'm glad that I left when I did."
Maybe there'll be a Doctor Who calendar out this year? 'Sci-Fi Hunks'? 'TARDIS Totty'?
"Show me the money!" Bruno teases.
Now, let's turn to more serious matters. Bruno was shocked when he was told that Todd was going to turn out to be gay - indeed, the Street's first gay character in its 44-year history -but his sensitive and emotional portrayal of a young man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality won him considerable critical acclaim.
"It was all exposure for me," says he, "and it wasn't exposure, like, falling out of nightclubs, it was exposure going, 'This boy can act!' I think we pulled it off in the end, I really do. I know that the producer, Tony [Wood], and everyone was really pleased."
A storyline like that, which included the Street's first gay kiss, must have been quite a weight on Bruno's shoulders. A lesser actor might have crumbled. "At the time," he says, "I tried not to think about it. No, you can't, because you've got to be focussed on your work. But then I started to get all these letters from viewers..." He stops and takes a deep breath. "I kind of get shivers just thinking about it now," he confesses, "the letters that I got, the variety of people - people who were sad and couldn't get out of a rut and could empathise with Todd, because they were in similar situations; people who had gone through it and could look back... That was just amazing."
Bruno’s decision to quit the show took the producers by surprise. His final appearance was broadcast last September. Any regrets, Bruno?
"I don't think so," he says, cautiously. "Obviously, when I decided to leave... well, I couldn't just leave. I had a contract to see out. I was looking at my options and leaving was my only option. I wanted to live my life a bit. I had to get out of that bubble..."
He trails off. "Of course, when you join a major show like that," he continues, "you don't know what's going to happen. It's going to be hard work and you might not be able to cut it. If you can't, then I think you should be man enough to say, 'Look, I can't handle this.' Fortunately, I managed to see it through for almost four years -that's a long haul - but then I just couldn't anymore."
Bruno must have been sad to leave, though. He had grown close to many of his fellow cast-members, hadn't he?
"God, yeah," he says, "sometimes so close it was uncomfortable."
During his stint on the Street, Bruno dated co-star Tina O'Brien - his onscreen girlfriend Sarah-Louise - but they split after two years and Tina began dating Ryan Thomas. The love triangle was mirrored in Bruno's final storyline - a case of art imitating life. Although he admits that it was awkward at the time, Bruno insists that he and Ryan are still friends. Has he watched them in the soap since leaving?
"I've been kind of busy," Bruno says, "not just with working, but catching up with old friends, and doing stuff around the house, and seeing my family... of course, if I get the chance, I'll watch it, because it'd be great to see my old friends again. Besides, it's a great show."
What does Bruno make of the Street's current gay member, Sean Tully, played by Anthony Cotton, one of the guests at March's Doctor Who press launch?
"I think he's hilarious," Bruno raves. "As one gay left, another arrived -'Right, get another one in!' In another way, it's a very different focus on sexuality - here's a character who's completely fine with it, completely over the top, and it’s got to be fun to watch."
Would Bruno consider treading the cobbles again some day?
"If there was a situation - say, a wedding - where Todd would definitely be there, then I'd definitely think about coming back for a bit."
So what is next for Bruno? He's soon to make his big screen debut: a cameo as a cub scout named Damon, who's preyed on by Herr Lipp, in The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, which will be released nationwide in June.
"It was one of the weirdest day's filming of my entire life," he reports. "They took me on top of this big hill, where they had a rain machine and a big fan. It's freezing. And they chuck all this rain at me! They switch on the fans and all this rain slaps me in the face! I had to say my lines, but I couldn't hear a word I was saying!"
Bruno is also playing the male lead in an open-air production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at Stafford Castle from 30 June to 16 July. "Theatre work is a priority," he tells me, "and film - they're my two main ambitions."
But he'd like to do some more Doctor Who, wouldn't he? Couldn't Adam return next series?
"Oh God, yeah," Bruno enthuses. "If Russell wants to bring me back - and I'm still alive! - then I'll do it, no question. That's a promise."
© Doctor Who Magazine, 28/4/05
<< back
"Better not do it in there," warns Bruno Langley, nodding towards his trailer. "It stinks! I don't know what it is? It's sort of... musty."
He pauses - then blurts out guiltily, "Look, it's not me! It stunk like that when I arrived."
Of all the excuses! Instead, we settle down for an interview on the top deck of the bus. This is where, earlier today, the cast and crew had lunch. It's empty now, but still parked outside a warehouse in Cardiff. 1 spend half my life hanging around Welsh warehouses.
Inside this one: two key sets for Episode 7, The Long Game, written by Russell T Davies. Both sets, especially the bigger one, are too spoiler-ish to talk about now, so let's move on.
Bruno plays Adam Mitchell, the Doctor's brainy new companion, in this episode and the one before it (titled Dalek and written by Robert Shearman). It's his first television role since he quit Britain's best-loved soap, Coronation Street, last year. Indeed, he is still known to millions as gay teenager Todd Grimshaw - last seen waving a tearful goodbye to mum Eileen as he left Weatherfield for a new life in London, having found his ex-girlfriend in bed with his brainless brother the builder! It was a storyline that gripped the nation. Actually, Bruno had several such storylines. Some would argue that he was mad to quit, but he did so while he was ahead and he seems to have landed on his feet. After all, he's gone from one of ITVl's flagship shows to one of BBC One's flagship shows in one bound. Not bad, eh?
"I know, I know," he laughs, "I've sustained!"
Of course, soaps are so often career-killers, so how confident was Bruno really that his career wouldn't go the way of the Kemp?
"If you don't take chances, you're not going to get anything," he reasons. "It was a big show, so it was hard to leave, but I'm just thankful that people have given me the chance to do something else."
Did Bruno fear being typecast? Was that one reason for leaving the Street?
"Yeah, definitely. There have been a lot of scripts that I've been sent since," he says, "where maybe the character is gay or too close to Todd, and I think I'd be a fool to accept that. It's just too early. This character, Adam - he's selfish and geeky and stuff, which is a good contrast. It's great."
Bruno, who turned 22 in March, is five-foot-nine and softly-spoken. He has matinee-idol looks, with impish eyes and a fantastic set of eyebrows. He also has a spark - a certain something that makes you warm to him. What's more, he's keen to grant DWM an interview ("I was bored," he later admits), so let's do it.
"Ah, Adam... As far as I know," embarks Bruno, "he's in his twenties, he was originally going to be from outside Birmingham, but now he's from outside Manchester. Maybe it's something to do with my accent," he laughs.
"He's a genius," he continues. "I'm kind of figuring that he was a genius at schools. He probably got moved up years and went to special school. He was headhunted by this guy called Van Statten, whose agents scouted him and took him to America - to this big underground base. I don't know how long Adam's been down there in that workshop of his, but he kind of just stays down there and looks at alien artefacts and predicts very wrongly what they are! I think he thinks he's more clever than he is."
Is he a bit of a loner, then?
"He is, yeah. He's kind of geeky. I wanted him to have glasses, but it didn't work out. He's definitely been down there for... well, I know that when he meets Rose, it's kind of a breath of fresh air. At last, it's someone who he can relate to."
What is Adam's relationship with Rose and the Doctor?
"At first," says Bruno, "in the Dalek episode, he fancies Rose. But then, in the next one, it's like he's taken on this new adventure... cos he's into all this extraterrestrial stuff already, so he's kind of preoccupied all the way through with finding out information. So that when he goes back to Earth, he can, I don't know, be world-renowned for creating something, very selfishly. He doesn't think about Rose and the Doctor much, apart from, obviously, when they're pissed off with him and... well, then he's got to face the music."
Before landing the role, Bruno was "not that familiar with Doctor Who. The other day, I saw the TARDIS set -I walked right past it, but I had no idea what it was. I didn't know that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside! That went over my head. I didn't really watch it much as a kid, because it finished before I was old enough to get into it. Obviously, you've preconceptions, but I haven't got into it via the DVDs and stuff... not yet, anyway! I'm going to have to, well, you know..."
Become a Doctor Who fan?
"Oh! No!" he chuckles. "Actually, I do remember the Daleks. Even though they were probably unrealistic, they were scary. Hopefully, they're still going to be scary for kids today. I was always scared by things as a kid - you know, watching The Terminator and horror films and stuff. I can't remember why I kept watching! What time is it going to be on? Early evening? It's definitely going to scare kids. I think everyone's had dreams about something chasing them continuously - that's definitely one of my dreams, a bad one - so the Dalek in this must scare people! It scared me."
A scene where Bruno taunts the Dalek about not being able to climb stairs, only for it to surprise him by flying, was the most enthusiastically-received clip screened at March's press launch.
"I was so proud to get that line," Bruno gushes.
When he joined the series, Chris and Billie had already filmed five episodes together and established a rapport both on and off screen. How speedily did Bruno make himself a part of the team?
"On a show like Carrie, there are lots more people to get to know," he says, "but with Doctor Who, it's just Chris and Billie, and because there's only two of them - not a big family of actors -there's time to talk and communicate and have fun. They're great! And they're used to new people coming in every episode or so. I enjoyed working with them."
Bruno was born in Norfolk, where he lived until he was four. He grew up in Buxton, Derbyshire. His parents are both from Australia. His dad makes musical instruments, and the whole family is musical. So when did Bruno decide to pursue an acting career?
"It's weird," he says, "I was talking to Christine [Adams], who plays Cathica [in The Long Game], about this and she was saying that it's impossible to answer that question, because it's been forever, ever since you were young. I've wanted to act forever."
What did your parents make of you entering this most unreliable of professions?
"None of my brothers or sisters," he says, "went into professions that are stable - you know, they're all musicians and performers, which are all precarious professions, where you're never going to get a regular salary - so my parents are used to it. I could get work, I could not... but that's part of the fun!"
Bruno comes from a large family: he has five sisters and two brothers.
"It was great, because you always had someone to perform to. There was
always a piano, so it was, like, 'Come in, listen to my piece, listen to my singing, come and let's pretend together.' There was always someone there, so maybe that's how I first got the acting bug? I mean, you need an audience."
Bruno had a habit of making himself the centre of attention when he was
younger. He loved acting and performed in plays at school, including the musical Godspell, and with local drama groups, such as Buxton Youth Theatre. "We had to do work experience," he remembers. "I wasn't going to do it at first, but then my an teacher phoned around and found this drama school in Stockport and said, 'Why don't you go there for work experience?' I went, 'Yeah, okay, I'll do it for a laugh.' As it turned out, it was finally, like, 'These are my people!' They were all crazy and completely loud and brash - it was definitely where I wanted to be."
When he left school, Bruno joined North Cheshire Theatre School, but he dropped out after a year and a half. "I had to leave," he says, "because it was all about doing group stuff and I couldn't say, 'I'm not coming in today,' because that would have let down the whole group. I had to leave," he argues, "or I would have let people down."
Bruno's first professional job was, reportedly, a Sunny Delight advert... erm, except it wasn't. "You've done some research, haven't you?" says Bruno, a wry grin creeping across his face. "I went to an audition, but I never got it. I went for all sorts of auditions -Burger King, Sunny Delight..."
His first break was a recurring role on the first series of BBC One's romantic comedy Linda Green - as Fizz Green, Linda's brother. The initial episode also starred Christopher Eccleston, although he didn't share any scenes with Bruno. "I filmed Linda Green before I started on Carrie," says Bruno, "although it was transmitted afterwards. The casting director, Andy Pryor - he cast me in Linda Green, and now he's cast me in Doctor Who. I hadn't seen him in four or five years and I turned up at the BBC, a jobbing actor, having just left ITV, and I was, like, 'Andy, I'm gonna need something here!!' I needed to escape from that role of Todd. Thank God, Andy got me Adam in Doctor Who."
Todd was not Bruno's first role on the Street. He made his debut in August 2000, playing Candice's then-boyfriend, Darren Michaels. "I had one line," he beams, "which was an ad-lib - to get myself noticed!"
So what was the line? Bruno looks sheepish. Apparently, his ad-lib was...
"Hi ya!"
Er, was that it? One hell of an ad-lib!
"I know," he says, exploding with laugher. "Some friends were, like, 'Oh, he's such a hot-shot now,' and asked, 'So what was your line, Bruno?' And I went, 'Er - "Hi ya!"' They weren't impressed! But I think it's continued: Billie keeps laughing because I'm always adding extra lines to our Doctor Who episodes! She finds it very funny.
Later in 2000, when Bruno was asked back to the soap, this time to play Todd, Bruno had to meet his former self, so producers got around it by choosing a similar-looking actor to play Darren! Did Bruno appreciate what he was taking on?
"No," he says quickly and succinctly.
So when did it hit home?
"At a certain point," he says, "it gets weird. You have to think about what times places are going to be busy and stuff - you have to, it becomes part of your mindset - so that you don't get stuck in, I don't know, rush hour on a train where people are going to be giving you hassle. It's not worth it."
Can viewers distinguish between the character and the actor?
"Some people can," he stresses. "You can't label everyone, saying, 'Ooh, they can't distinguish,' but others... well, if they shout out my character's name, do I turn around or do I keep walking?!"
Bruno doesn't doggedly pursue a 'celebrity' status (last year he turned down the chance to appear on ITV1 reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, despite a hefty financial incentive), but the press and the public are, naturally, interested in him. What is the best thing about being famous? It must have its perks?
"God, yeah! What's the best thing? Hmm... I can only think of the worst things," he admits.
Luckily, my next question was going to be just that: what is the worst thing?
"I always thought fame was going to be brilliant," he replies, honestly, "but it's kind of...I guess it's a lot of work, because I like to go out with lots of people, I like to work hard and party hard, but it's difficult to be able to do that when you're in the public eye."
Bruno has quite a clean-cut image, though. He's the kind of lad that you wouldn't be worried about bringing home to meet your parents.
"Yeah, I guess I am," he declares, tongue half-in-cheek, "but I don't know how I've got away with it! I suppose I don't go to the places where you leave and you're completely out of your face and you fall on the ground and you're snapped by the paparazzi! I could do, yeah, but it's not really doing anything -well, all it's doing is putting you in papers and then people read about it. I'm not sure what that does for you as a person, unless you like that sort of image."
When Bruno and Ryan Thomas, who played his on-screen brother, Jason, first arrived on the Street, they were promoted as the soap's new heartthrobs - the dishy brothers who'd set pulses a racing. Bruno splutters when I ask him what he makes of it. "Hysterical!" he laughs in disbelief. "Yes, it was guff, but it was all staged, everyone knew that. You're kind of idolised, especially by younger people. But I got away with it, because I now go into HMV and there are these calendars - they're called 'Soap Babes' or 'Soap Hunks' - and I'm so glad that I left before those started. I did photo-shoots for magazines, like Sugar and Just 17, but not calendars! No, I'm glad that I left when I did."
Maybe there'll be a Doctor Who calendar out this year? 'Sci-Fi Hunks'? 'TARDIS Totty'?
"Show me the money!" Bruno teases.
Now, let's turn to more serious matters. Bruno was shocked when he was told that Todd was going to turn out to be gay - indeed, the Street's first gay character in its 44-year history -but his sensitive and emotional portrayal of a young man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality won him considerable critical acclaim.
"It was all exposure for me," says he, "and it wasn't exposure, like, falling out of nightclubs, it was exposure going, 'This boy can act!' I think we pulled it off in the end, I really do. I know that the producer, Tony [Wood], and everyone was really pleased."
A storyline like that, which included the Street's first gay kiss, must have been quite a weight on Bruno's shoulders. A lesser actor might have crumbled. "At the time," he says, "I tried not to think about it. No, you can't, because you've got to be focussed on your work. But then I started to get all these letters from viewers..." He stops and takes a deep breath. "I kind of get shivers just thinking about it now," he confesses, "the letters that I got, the variety of people - people who were sad and couldn't get out of a rut and could empathise with Todd, because they were in similar situations; people who had gone through it and could look back... That was just amazing."
Bruno’s decision to quit the show took the producers by surprise. His final appearance was broadcast last September. Any regrets, Bruno?
"I don't think so," he says, cautiously. "Obviously, when I decided to leave... well, I couldn't just leave. I had a contract to see out. I was looking at my options and leaving was my only option. I wanted to live my life a bit. I had to get out of that bubble..."
He trails off. "Of course, when you join a major show like that," he continues, "you don't know what's going to happen. It's going to be hard work and you might not be able to cut it. If you can't, then I think you should be man enough to say, 'Look, I can't handle this.' Fortunately, I managed to see it through for almost four years -that's a long haul - but then I just couldn't anymore."
Bruno must have been sad to leave, though. He had grown close to many of his fellow cast-members, hadn't he?
"God, yeah," he says, "sometimes so close it was uncomfortable."
During his stint on the Street, Bruno dated co-star Tina O'Brien - his onscreen girlfriend Sarah-Louise - but they split after two years and Tina began dating Ryan Thomas. The love triangle was mirrored in Bruno's final storyline - a case of art imitating life. Although he admits that it was awkward at the time, Bruno insists that he and Ryan are still friends. Has he watched them in the soap since leaving?
"I've been kind of busy," Bruno says, "not just with working, but catching up with old friends, and doing stuff around the house, and seeing my family... of course, if I get the chance, I'll watch it, because it'd be great to see my old friends again. Besides, it's a great show."
What does Bruno make of the Street's current gay member, Sean Tully, played by Anthony Cotton, one of the guests at March's Doctor Who press launch?
"I think he's hilarious," Bruno raves. "As one gay left, another arrived -'Right, get another one in!' In another way, it's a very different focus on sexuality - here's a character who's completely fine with it, completely over the top, and it’s got to be fun to watch."
Would Bruno consider treading the cobbles again some day?
"If there was a situation - say, a wedding - where Todd would definitely be there, then I'd definitely think about coming back for a bit."
So what is next for Bruno? He's soon to make his big screen debut: a cameo as a cub scout named Damon, who's preyed on by Herr Lipp, in The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, which will be released nationwide in June.
"It was one of the weirdest day's filming of my entire life," he reports. "They took me on top of this big hill, where they had a rain machine and a big fan. It's freezing. And they chuck all this rain at me! They switch on the fans and all this rain slaps me in the face! I had to say my lines, but I couldn't hear a word I was saying!"
Bruno is also playing the male lead in an open-air production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at Stafford Castle from 30 June to 16 July. "Theatre work is a priority," he tells me, "and film - they're my two main ambitions."
But he'd like to do some more Doctor Who, wouldn't he? Couldn't Adam return next series?
"Oh God, yeah," Bruno enthuses. "If Russell wants to bring me back - and I'm still alive! - then I'll do it, no question. That's a promise."
© Doctor Who Magazine, 28/4/05
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Current Projects
Calendar Girls
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Lawrence the photographer
Status: Bruno will be joining the tour from July to October in venues throughout Wales, Scotland and Liverpool
Aladdin
Genre: Pantomime
Status: Bruno will be performing in Buxton's annual pantomime of Aladdin throughout the Christmas period this year. Click here to book tickets.
Bruno is also currently working on musical projects. Click here to visit his official MySpace Music page and listen to some of his music! You can also find out more about Bruno and his band by clicking here.
Recent Projects
Intimate Strangers
Genre: Play
Status: Bruno participated in an industry reading of Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence's new play, directed by Greta Scacchi and produced by Andrew Jenkins.
gallery | info | website
Flashdance The Musical
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Jimmy Kaminsky
Status: Toured throughout the UK from July 2008 to May 2009.
gallery | info | website
Genre: Play
Status: Bruno participated in an industry reading of Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence's new play, directed by Greta Scacchi and produced by Andrew Jenkins.
Flashdance The Musical
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Jimmy Kaminsky
Status: Toured throughout the UK from July 2008 to May 2009.
gallery | info | website
Coronation Street
Genre: TV
Character: Todd Grimshaw
Status: Bruno reprised his role as Todd in October and November 2007
gallery | info | website