Why Karl Theobald is over the moon to be part of the Primeval team
When Karl Theobald walked onto the set of Primeval, he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Just a few years ago, he was an out-of-work stand-up comedian, with barely enough money to cover his rent.
‘I was down on my luck,’ recalls Karl, who plays Lester’s right-hand man Oliver Leek in the second series of the adventure drama.
‘I owed four months’ rent and couldn’t afford to but milk. The weight of poverty was a horrible feeling.’
Luckily, Karl got his television break in 2004 when he won the role of bumbling Dr Martin Dear in C4’s comedy Green Wing.
‘I probably would have been unemployed for a long time if it hadn’t been for Green Wing,’ admits Karl
‘But I always wanted to be an actor. When I was a child, I convinced school friend that I’d been born in the wild and brought up by wolves!’
Green Wing ended in 2006, but it wasn’t long before Karl was offered a role in Primeval.
In this week’s episode, Leek encourages Cutter to build an anomaly detector system, while the team is called to investigate the giant man-eating worms at a new skyscraper.
‘When I was first asked to be in Primeval I thought it was a kids’ show says Karl, 38. ‘But I was given the first series to watch and I was impressed. Leek is a delight to play-he’s intelligent but nerdy. He’s really pleased he’s got the job and starts out very ambitious and eager to please Lester. He gets drawn into the action plenty of times.’
What’s on TV 19th -25th January 2008