My Favourite Movies: Fisherman's Friends star Daniel Mays

One of the best character actors working in Britain today, Daniel Mays feels like one of England’s best kept secrets. A star of the small screen and in cinema too, he was recently promoting Fisherman’s Friends, and when doing so, we took the chance to sit down and have a chat with him all about his very favourite movies…

Daniel Mays in feel-good British musical Fisherman’s Friends

What’s the first film you ever fell in love with? Oh man. I loved Rocky 4. I remember going to the cinema to see that, I was obsessed with it. I remember getting a Rocky 4 magazine and cutting different characters out and making a montage of it. That’s a bit mental isn’t it? I mean, I loved all the Rocky films, they were something I always just connected with. It’s an underdog thing.

Great image from arguably the best of the Rocky franchise

What’s the one film you never get tired of watching? I could watch Raging Bull until the cows come home, but it is quite heavy though, ain’t it? I never get tired of watching The Big Lebowski. It’s just so funny, and Jeff Bridges, and all of the actors in it, are just so knock-out. I think it has to be a film which is funny, because then you’d never tire of it. I mean, you can’t keep watching The Godfather over and over again. But my 13 year old is getting into film and I’m educating him, so we’ve been watching The Sixth Sense, but he couldn’t get the twist, he didn’t know what was going on. Field of Dreams as well, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and he absolutely loved that one. He loved it, he couldn’t stop laughing.

What’s your favourite ever soundtrack? A film I love is Heat, the Michael Mann film. The musical score in Heat is exceptional, and I remembering buying the CD for that, I love the score in that.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Oh I dunno, Police Academy or something like that. That counts. Fatal Attraction is a great film. That’s a guilty pleasure! It shouldn’t be a film that you enjoy but you really do. An amazing film.

What’s the one scene you always cry at? Well… Okay. The end of Philadelphia. The Neil Young song with the video, it totally ruins me. The end of Field of Dreams ruins me. They’re two that really, really stand out.