Martin Clunes reveals the harsh ‘advice’ he received after his dad’s death

Martin Clunes is playing a widow in new ITV drama Out There, and has spoken about how men can be expected to grieve.

He candidly shared how there can be pressure to ‘carry on’, and recalls experiencing this himself after losing his dad Alec Clunes. His actor father died from lung cancer aged 57 in 1970.

‘I remember when my dad died, I was eight and the advice was “You’re the man of the house now and you’ve got to be grown up”. I was still wetting the bed, but never mind,’ he told Metro and other press during the launch event for Out There, held at London’s Soho Hotel.

The 63-year-old actor stated: ‘Men can feel like they have to just carry on, and my character does plough on.’

Grief is a major theme throughout the six-part series after the central characters lose the matriarch of their family. They took extra care to ensure that the scenes resembled the reality of how people may deal with a loss.

Martin, who played farmer Nathan Williams, said: ‘It’s not that they just sit down and grieve all the time, there are moments of light because that’s how it is in real life.’

Martin is playing Nathan Williams (Picture: ITV)

In the series Nathan is pulled into a dark world of county lines drug dealing after his teenage son Johnny, played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, becomes involved.

Martin and Louis managed to create a truthful bond on set that was then reflective on screen.

Speaking of their characters, Martin said: ‘The darker life becomes, it’s almost like they get closer. When the story begins they are disconnected because what 17 year old boy wants to hang out with their dad? I know from experience that they don’t,’ Martin, who has a 25-year-old daughter called Emily, summarised.

Out There also stars Mark Lewis Jones as Nathan’s brother Caleb Williams, Carly-Sophia Davies and Gerran Howell as sister and brother Sadie and Rhys, whose lives are embroiled in the crime, and Natalia Kostrzewa as Eva, a cleaner who is drawn into the fight against the dark forces.

Martin Clunes could have starred alongside Ben Stiller in a 2013 film (Picture: ITV/Neil Genower)

When actors reach a certain point in their career, they can secure their next jobs without any need to audition. Martin has reached that place in the UK, which has afforded him this privilege, although, he’s keen to note that he would be willing.

However, when it comes to Hollywood he’s still having to grind in the often unforgiving process.

In 2013, he tried to impress producers, including Ben Stiller, for a role in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The movie about one man’s mission to find a missing negative print and its elusive photojournalist, also starred Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn. Unfortunately, Martin was quite far off joining them in the end credits.

Recalling the disaster audition, Martin explained how he ended up making a very unique decision.

‘Americans expect you to self-tape, and I asked Phillipa [Braithwaite, Martin’s wife] to read the other lines. She said: “I don’t want my voice in it”. So I put the camera on my Jack Russell and I read the other lines too,’ he recalled.

Ben Stiller produced and starred in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Picture: Red House/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

‘I did not get a callback, not even a rejection.’

Martin was going for the role of a drunken Greenlandic helicopter pilot, unnamed in the script, which eventually went to Ólafur Darri Ólafsson.

But Hollywood’s loss is our gain, and now we have his latest gift to British TV.

Martin goes to Philippa for advice (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Taking on the gritty drama following his exit from the much lighter Doc Martin who he played for nearly two decades, could be seen as a smart decision to demonstrate his range. The reality is that Martin has never actually had a plan.

Martin admitted: ‘You can never relax in this industry because you are self-employed. You can make a plan if you want, but the reality is it’s not up to you.’

But there is one person who’s approval he wants to gain before saying yes to anything – Phillipa, who is a talented producer in her own right. She was recently nominated for a BAFTA for her executive producing role on ITV drama, Manhunt, which starred Martin.

‘She’s the brains behind a lot of things. She’s pretty smart, so I go with her. I trust her,’ he remarked.

Out There will continue tonight on ITV1 at 9pm and will be available to stream on ITVX.

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