JAMES FARRAR TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIS EASTENDERS ALTER EGO…
The character of Zack is so right for me, I got this part for a reason. I love the character so much and will do anything to protect him. I like his unpredictable nature and edginess, but there’s a kindness and a good heart in there, too. It’s nice to play that contradiction. He has that vulnerable nature, but also the ability to really annoy people!”
From the minute I knew I’d be coming in to play Sharon’s brother opposite the amazing Letitia Dean, I was in!
Having a hug from Tish is not a bad way to start your day – she’s in the dressing room next to mine at the studios so I bump into her in the corridor a lot. Zack loves his sister, and family is everything to him, just like it is for me in real life.”
I find Zack’s cheating really hard to accept. Why does he do it? Maybe it’s a case of self-sabotage – when life is too good, Zack thinks he doesn’t deserve it so he destroys what he has. Him and Nancy Carter were happy together, but he went and ruined it. Nobody’s perfect, and I suppose he just can’t help himself !”
Zack carries a lot of hurt from his childhood, there is trauma that needs to be unravelled. He feels he doesn’t have the ability or freedom to talk about his mental health. His parents treated him so badly he never learnt how to regulate his emotions. Zack has a temper, which is definitely Gavin’s demons sitting with him. And they’re not going anywhere!”
I’ve had to dig deep as an actor for the deep storylines, like when Zack found out he had HIV. One of the toughest scenes I had was Zack dealing with his diagnosis, and dealing with not knowing what his future would look like. He catastrophised over something he didn’t know enough about. The awareness we raised for HIV with that story is something to take hope from.”
Losing Peach was Zack’s worst moment. The scripts were amazing, and it made me realise there were thousands
