David Harewood

David Harewood, the British actor and star of Hollywood TV show Homeland, opens up to Tony in this brutally open and honest chat.

He talks about growing up as a Black kid in Birmingham in the 1960s and the incident of racism aged seven that tore his identity apart. He describes the mental breakdown in his twenties that he revisited for his BBC documentary ‘Psychosis and Me’ and how close he had been to losing his life. We hear how a teacher at secondary school led him to acting, why tech winds him up more than anything and how he’s returned to the UK to live in a normal area and keep away from the showbiz types.

David also reveals he only had eighty quid left in the bank when he auditioned and got the part in Homeland. Tony and him share their experiences of losing close friends and the pain of grief. And David reveals his dream job would be to play a James Bond baddie.

What can we say, it's a tear-jerker.

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Please be aware that the following extremely frank chat with David includes discussions of the racism he’s encountered, strong language including racist language and descriptions of emotional distress. Help and support with mental health and racist hate-crime is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline