Actor Ed Larkin played Henry Fraser in the musical The Little Big Things. He’s the first wheelchair-using actor to lead a West End show...
What made you want to be an actor?
When I was seven or eight, my parents wanted me to have a hobby, they found a drama club and I fell in love with it from there. I went on to study drama for GCSES and A-Levels, then at university.
You’re the first wheelchair-user to lead in a West End show, how does it feel?
I felt very honoured and blessed, because I never saw myself in musical theatre. I auditioned for musical theatre at a couple of universities, and I got in, but I turned them down because I didn’t see anyone like me in musicals, so I thought, “what’s the point in specialising in musical theatre?” The fact I have ended up leading a musical in the West End is something I never envisioned. It was a real honour to be the first, but there's also a sense of why has it taken this long?
What have been some other career highlights?
Doing a voiceover for The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin. It's a documentary about a young lad called Mats who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He passed away at 25 and his family didn‘t believe he had a social life - he spent hours gaming, and after he died they received loads of emails and discovered that he had an alternate life inside World of Warcraft. He had this secret community that rallied around him, and he lived a full life digitally. The film has family footage and manuscripts of his conversations with friends, which were turned into animations. It's amazing to tell such a disability-focused story.
What’s the best piece of advice that you have received?
‘Be nice.’ You can be the most talented person in the room, but if you seem difficult or a diva, nobody wants to work with you. Work hard, and be the best version of yourself. What is your biggest source of motivation? My family. They’ve poured love and support into my dream, so showing them I can keep doing this is a big driver.
What's your favourite thing to do when not working?
I play wheelchair rugby for the West Country Hawks. For a few years, I was attached to the GB talent squad, and in line to represent Team GB at the Paralympics, but I didn't take that further because work was busy. I’ve always been sporty – growing up I tried wheelchair tennis, table tennis, and fencing briefly.
What would you do if not acting?
I really don't know. It's always been the main thing I enjoyed and was OK at, so I only ever saw myself doing this.
What do you do to cheer yourself up after a bad day?
Play sport. Taking up wheelchair rugby and being surrounded by the disabled community was important as a young person to see people in wheelchairs can do stuff. I also love to watch films or listen to music, and I'm a big reader. I'm currently reading 1984 by George Orwell.
Describe yourself in three words...
Chatty, kind and curious.
What’s the best part of your job?
Getting to tell real-life stories, like Little Big Things, or live in an adventure fantasy world like The Creakers [a musical adaptation of the adventure book by Tom Fletcher]. You get to transport yourself to amazing places and do amazing things. A lot of people do this as a hobby, but I get to ‘play’ for a living, which feels very lucky.
Do you have a secret talent people may not know about?
I’m not highly skilled, but I can play drums a little bit, and I can play guitar.
