After his successful run on EastEnders, Danny Dyer faced the challenge of following up on his iconic role as landlord of the Queen Vic.
Now, fans can look forward to seeing Dyer on Channel 5's upcoming drama, "Heat," which sees the actor traveling down under to portray Steve, a British expat living in Australia with his family. Set against a backdrop of raging bushfires and simmering emotions, Dyer believes this project showcases some of his finest work to date.
Speaking about his Australian filming experience, Dyer has now shared on how he and other actors had to deal with the presence of snakes on set. Dyer shared his apprehension, saying: "Yeah, that was a big one [challenge]. Snakes. I don’t do snakes… On set, they had this poor bloke, bless him, he’s a snake expert, and he used to do this weird thing, right - when it rained, that’s when the snakes come out, right. So as soon as it started raining, he would go, ‘Snakes!’… He knows you’re a bit nervous about snakes, so he would start giving it some: ‘We’ve got a snake here!’"
Despite being initially wary, Dyer trusted the expertise of the crew, although he suspects they may have enjoyed playing up the snake threat to unsettle him. He said: "I was s***ing myself sometimes, but they loved it. They loved playing the prank on me."
Being far away from his family was the biggest challenge for Dyer. He said: "Being away from my family, I think. I think I didn’t realise how much I was gonna miss them. And I did have some moments out there where I was quite lonely."
The new Channel 5 drama seees Brit expat Steve, played by Dyer, and his long-time friend Brad moved to Australia, where they met their wives. The story unfolds during their summer holiday at Brad's new dream home in the Victorian highlands. While the families initially enjoy a warm reunion, tensions lurk beneath the surface, and as secrets, lies, and suspicions of infidelity emerge, a devastating bushfire threatens their lives. In the scorching heat, the truth will be revealed.
Dyer himself sheds light on why he chose this role as his first venture after departing EastEnders, saying: "I couldn’t believe that this job had presented itself to me... I read this piece of work... and as the eps go on, I mean, it just becomes so dark and twisted and brilliant. It was so up my street."
Speaking about his character, Steve, Dyer describes him as a good-hearted man who has made a massive mistake. "Steve is a good man, right, he’s got a good heart, got a good soul. He’s just made a f****** huge mistake."
As an actor, Dyer delved deep into his emotionsand said this was one of his most challenging roles to date. He said: "As an actor, you need to go somewhere quite deep. And I think most really good actors have suffered some sort of trauma in their life. You know, so you can dig into your toolbox and use it... So I really did dig deep on this scene. And I was a f****** wreck afterwards for quite a bit, but I was so proud of the fact that I could actually go to this place – and the scene really does deserve it."
Looking ahead to the future, Dyer expresses his desire to return to theatre and explore the world of filmmaking. "I think I do want to go back to theatre, I do... And I think that I would want to do something… maybe a short film or something, work with some young working class actors, and give them an opportunity and tell them that if I can do it, then anyone can f****** make it."
"Heat" will air on Channel 5 from July 11 to July 14 at 9 pm, with the episodes also available on My5.
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