Rafe Spall says actors should avoid speaking on politics: ‘I find it... inelegant’

Rafe Spall has suggested that actors should stay in their lane when it comes to talking about politics in public.

The Trying star, 42, is set to star as the British prime minister in Number 10, an upcoming political comedy-drama created by former Sherlock and Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.

In a new interview, the son of Timothy Spall admitted that, while he was personally drawn towards the “theatrical” nature of politics, he felt it wasn’t his job as an actor to pontificate on the subject.

“I have a keen interest in politics… but I’m wary of actors who spout off their political opinions just because they’re on TV,” he told The Daily Telegraph, adding: “I find it... inelegant.

“They get carried away, because in this line of work, people are really nice to you. Somebody comes and drives you to work in the morning and you get to do the job you always wanted to do, and you’re given a cup of tea when you need it and driven home again at the end of the day.”

Spall continued: “In my view, you take the work seriously, but you should never take yourself seriously. Actors breathe a rarified air, so it’s important to keep your feet on the ground.”

Best known for performances in Shaun of the Dead, Life of Pi and The Big Short, Spall has largely kept away from politics in his work.

His most notable departure from this came in the state-of-the-nation drama Death of England, which ran at the National Theatre in 2020 just before the pandemic hit. Spall starred as Michael Fletcher, a white working-class man delivering a monologue from a stage shaped like a St George’s cross about modern England.

At the time, Spall – who infamously attended a state school despite his father’s success as an actor – said that he empathised with his character’s rants about his sister’s “patronising, liberal, leftie uni mates”.

“I can understand people’s anger at feeling like they’re being lectured to by people who’ve had the privilege of a university education then become an op-ed writer or whatever,” he told The Standard.

“Talking about seizing the means of production to people who are getting by day-to-day and simply want to give their children a better life.” Spall can next be seen in Under Salt Marsh, a crime series airing on Sky.