RADA-trained actor Granville Saxton steps into a pirate’s longcoat at Brighton Theatre Royal as the dastardly Hook in Peter Pan. Having made his name in acclaimed Shakespeare productions at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Saxton has gone on to appear in Our Friends In The North on TV and films such as The Emissary and Lie Still.

Is there a performer who made you think, ‘I want to do that?’

My father took me to Billy Smart’s Circus on my 11th birthday... the sights, the lights, the danger… I still love the circus and collect circus memorabilia. Later, Robert Stephens in Royal Hunt Of The Sun. Years later I played the same part.

Tell us about any guilty pleasures lurking in your CD or film collections.

A record I made in Holland called When I Snap My Fingers. I did it as a joke for my kids but it went into the charts. The Dutch have strange tastes. .

Do you have a favourite film? .

Scrooge with Alastair Sim. I’m a really big softie.

Which TV programme couldn’t you live without?

I can live without TV but I admit to loving CSI and Judge Judy – trailer trash heaven.

What about a favourite album? .

Talking Book by Stevie Wonder.

Is there a song or individual piece of music you always come back to? .

You And I by Stevie Wonder. It really is our song; we played it at my wedding to my wife Jo and to the registrar’s surprise we got up and danced around her office.

What are you reading at the moment? .

The Devil’s Punchbowl by Greg Iles – a good American thriller. I can forget about the show for a bit.

Were you much of a panto-goer as a child? .

As a child I was taken to the panto in Nottingham, but cried as soon as the villain came on and never went back. Ironic as I’ve spent more than 40 years playing the bad guy.

Playing the bad guy always looks like much more fun – is it? .

Yes, it is fun playing the villain, especially at Christmas – if you can cope with the boos in the season of love and good cheer.

But this Christmas, my grandson will see “Papa” onstage for the first time, so maybe I’ll get a little love my way even if it is only for one performance..

* Peter Pan will be at Theatre Royal, Brighton, until Saturday, January 3. Times vary. Call 08448 717650 for tickets.