The Long Firm
Joe Absolom is Tommy
Joe Absolom, perhaps best known
for his role as Matthew Rose in EastEnders, plays Tommy, a confused
lad in his early twenties.
Tommy is Harry Starks' toyboy who walks a dangerous
path when he becomes more and more enamoured with Harry's friend, the
fading movie star Ruby Ryder.
The first time viewers meet Tommy is in Harry's club,
The Stardust.
The charismatic nightclub owner has taken the young
man under his wing and they have become lovers, although, says Absolom,
Tommy isn't gay, just confused.
"Harry gives him lots of
smart clothes and a nice car to drive around in, whereas he had nothing
before," says Absolom.
"He does feel for Harry and they enjoy each other's
company but I think it's more about the lifestyle. I think Tommy loves
himself more than he does Harry or Ruby."
The role of Tommy in The Long Firm is quite a departure
for Joe - whose CV includes parts in EastEnders, P.O.W., Servants and
Trevor's World Of Sport.
He says he was intrigued by the way the characters interact
with each other in the drama: "I like the
fact that, although there is one main character throughout the series,
each episode is about different characters' stories."
The Sixties era is another thing that attracted Absolom
to the role: "The Long Firm is set in such a cool period, with
the music, style, cars and guns. I think it's the coolest era.
"In the Seventies, people wore long wigs and in
the Eighties they wore silly suits.
"I think most people would go back to the Sixties
for the mods and rockers and Quadrophenia days."
And Joe admits to being just a little star struck when
he came face to face with Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia, who
plays drug dealer Jimmy in The Long Firm.
"I briefly met Phil [who played Jimmy Cooper in
Quadrophenia] on my first day of filming.
"It was his last day, and he came up to me and
said: 'Alright mate?' I was going to bring in my Quadrophenia album
for him to sign, but I thought he'd think I was a bit sad!"
Joe enthuses about music from
the era and even played in a band a few years ago.
"We used to play Sixties stuff and I really got
into it," he says.
And his musical talents don't end there. If his CV is
to be believed, he's a mean bagpipe player, too.
On further probing, however, Joe admits this may be
a little white lie: "You're given a list of musical instruments
to choose from when you fill in a CV and, well, someone's got to tick
the box for some of them, haven't they?" he laughs.
"I got caught out once, though, because Radio 4
approached me with a part in a play, and when I turned up to record
it I was asked to sing a song.
"At that point I had to admit that I couldn’t
sing a note," he says sheepishly.
"But they told me that my Spotlight entry said
that I played the bagpipes and that I was very musical! What could I
say?!"
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