Ross Kemp calls acting “lonely”, compared with the comradeship he enjoys when he’s filming his hard-hitting documentary series ‘Ross Kemp Extreme World’.
“Acting is a lonely profession,” he tells HuffPostUK. “I prefer working as a team.
“When people are shooting at you, you form very strong bonds. Some crews stay colleagues, but the 'Extreme World' crew became my friends.”
WATCH: 'No One's Going To F****** Kill Me!' Ross Kemp Faces Down Guerrillas In Papua New Guinea
Despite this, Ross is convinced his experience as an actor, most famously in 'EastEnders', stands him in good stead, whether he’s in Goa or Glasgow.
“To be a good actor, you’ve got to like human beings and be interested in them, and to listen when you’re being acted to,” he ponders. “I’ve found listening’s come in pretty handy on some of my trips.”
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Ross Kemp goes in search of drug gangs in Rio
In the 10 years since he started making documentaries – “I just fell into making these shows, really, because I like to work and the parts weren’t always coming up” – Ross has been embedded with soldiers in Afghanistan, negotiated his way between Hutu and Tutsi tribesmen in central Africa, and talked his way out of a gunpoint threat in Papua New Guinea, an incident which will be shown in full in the new series.
Despite this mixed catalogue of good and bad, it's the generous gestures that bring Ross to his knees. He describes watching a doctor at work in the less than basic surroundings of a Congo hospital. “I have to admit I’m feeling inadequate in that situation, and that connects with the audience. I can’t pretend," he says.
This time around includes trips to the Ukraine, as well as travelling to Northern Ireland, looking at the area's development in the 15 years since the Good Friday agreement.
He's also staying closer to home, inspecting the state of some of Britain’s most famous coastal towns. As he reflects, “We’ve been looking under the carpet of other countries, so it seems only fair we look under our own.”
And what’s he found under there? Well, as he explains it, the prospect of many of the nation’s formerly glamorous holiday spots is pretty grim. Ross has just returned from Blackpool, from where he reels off depressing statistics about the male mortality rate, the number of children in care, the problems experienced in these towns with trying to find an economy, post the advent of the package holiday.
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Ross Kemp faces gunpoint in Papua New Guinea, something he says only experience can teach you how to react
The series has taken the best part of a year, which means, contrary to fans’ wishes, Ross is clear there’ll be no return to Albert Square to share in the show’s 30th anniversary celebrations. He’s at pains, though, to point out he would never say he’s completely done with acting.
“I wouldn’t train for three years and work for 10 in the trade if I hated it,” he chuckles. “And I’ve done some growing up in the past decade. But the truth is, no one’s asked me.”
However, after a decade spent witnessing both harsh and humbling sights – “nothing yet that makes me want to stop” - Ross feels, understandably, that he’s earned his stripes when it comes to documentary-making and that, after 10 years on the road, he deserves to be called a journalist, not a celeb.
“I didn’t know the world when I started,” he admits. “But I have a wider understanding of what’s going on now.
“And if anybody ever doubted my credentials after all that,” he says calmly, “I’d probably just point out to them, ‘I didn’t see you in Afghanistan.’”
'Ross Kemp Extreme World' Series 4 begins on Thursday 22 January at 9pm on Sky1, available on Virgin Media, which provides access to up to 260+ channels including Fox TV, Virgin Movies, Sky Movies and Netflix. Watch the trailer below...
“Acting is a lonely profession,” he tells HuffPostUK. “I prefer working as a team.
“When people are shooting at you, you form very strong bonds. Some crews stay colleagues, but the 'Extreme World' crew became my friends.”
WATCH: 'No One's Going To F****** Kill Me!' Ross Kemp Faces Down Guerrillas In Papua New Guinea
Despite this, Ross is convinced his experience as an actor, most famously in 'EastEnders', stands him in good stead, whether he’s in Goa or Glasgow.
“To be a good actor, you’ve got to like human beings and be interested in them, and to listen when you’re being acted to,” he ponders. “I’ve found listening’s come in pretty handy on some of my trips.”
In the 10 years since he started making documentaries – “I just fell into making these shows, really, because I like to work and the parts weren’t always coming up” – Ross has been embedded with soldiers in Afghanistan, negotiated his way between Hutu and Tutsi tribesmen in central Africa, and talked his way out of a gunpoint threat in Papua New Guinea, an incident which will be shown in full in the new series.
Despite this mixed catalogue of good and bad, it's the generous gestures that bring Ross to his knees. He describes watching a doctor at work in the less than basic surroundings of a Congo hospital. “I have to admit I’m feeling inadequate in that situation, and that connects with the audience. I can’t pretend," he says.
This time around includes trips to the Ukraine, as well as travelling to Northern Ireland, looking at the area's development in the 15 years since the Good Friday agreement.
He's also staying closer to home, inspecting the state of some of Britain’s most famous coastal towns. As he reflects, “We’ve been looking under the carpet of other countries, so it seems only fair we look under our own.”
And what’s he found under there? Well, as he explains it, the prospect of many of the nation’s formerly glamorous holiday spots is pretty grim. Ross has just returned from Blackpool, from where he reels off depressing statistics about the male mortality rate, the number of children in care, the problems experienced in these towns with trying to find an economy, post the advent of the package holiday.
The series has taken the best part of a year, which means, contrary to fans’ wishes, Ross is clear there’ll be no return to Albert Square to share in the show’s 30th anniversary celebrations. He’s at pains, though, to point out he would never say he’s completely done with acting.
“I wouldn’t train for three years and work for 10 in the trade if I hated it,” he chuckles. “And I’ve done some growing up in the past decade. But the truth is, no one’s asked me.”
However, after a decade spent witnessing both harsh and humbling sights – “nothing yet that makes me want to stop” - Ross feels, understandably, that he’s earned his stripes when it comes to documentary-making and that, after 10 years on the road, he deserves to be called a journalist, not a celeb.
“I didn’t know the world when I started,” he admits. “But I have a wider understanding of what’s going on now.
“And if anybody ever doubted my credentials after all that,” he says calmly, “I’d probably just point out to them, ‘I didn’t see you in Afghanistan.’”
'Ross Kemp Extreme World' Series 4 begins on Thursday 22 January at 9pm on Sky1, available on Virgin Media, which provides access to up to 260+ channels including Fox TV, Virgin Movies, Sky Movies and Netflix. Watch the trailer below...
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