Suzy

Acting is a tough job. Performing in front of strangers must be terrifying. But I think the hardest part of the job, is dealing with the rejection.

We only see successful actors; those that have made it on to the telly or films. But for each success, thousands haven't had that break, and coping with not being wanted, must be soul destroying. 

I met Suzy in Waterloo and she told me that since the age of 4, she has been an actor. (below). She’s appeared 'Eastenders’ and ‘The Bill’ but said that she hasn’t worked for a while. 

She’s written to Equity hoping they will pay for her to get some new teeth because hers got knocked out. ‘I need my teeth for auditions,’ she said, as if having ones teeth knocked out was an occupational hazard for an actor. (She didn't tell me how she lost them). 

As we chatted, a couple of men who were also alcoholics joined us. They knew Suzy and kept interrupting her with lewd jokes. I wondered what life must be like for a woman who was just over 5ft tall, having to spend her life amongst these men.

She shone out amongst them. She told me that she was married, but her ex-husband was 'a philanderer who shagged everything in the Crown and Cushion' (a pub in Waterloo). She never had kids as she has Huntingdon's in her family. Her mum and sister had it, and they both went 'nutty.'

She was in a good mood because she's just won £20 on the horses. She goes to BetFred to have a flutter when she can. She liked me taking her photo and said the 'I was a gentleman.' 

Despite whatever she was using to get her through the day, You could still see the playful and cheeky personality that probably drew Suzy into acting in the first place. She said that as soon as the ‘silly lockdown’ ended, she was sure that she would get some work. It was this hope that I liked most about Suzy, I loved the fact that she projected the image that she is just a hairs breath away from being discovered. 

I guess it's that hope that keeps most actors going.

A month or so later, I saw Suzy again and we went for a drink in The Stage pub in Waterloo. 

Some local pubs won't let her in, but they didn't seem to mind in The Stage. Suzy was as bubbly as ever, but it was clear that things weren't right with her; She struggled to walk and was wobbly on her feet. I thought that perhaps she'd already been drinking, but this was unlikely as she'd been in the betting office for several hours before we met. She told me that she does like a drink but only in moderation. She also told me that she has never touched drugs. Her brother Stephen, who was mates with the musician Peter Frampton, died of an overdose, so she won't go near them.

She told me lots of interesting stuff, like how she once met Mick Jagger when she lived in Bromley. She also knew Rod Stewart, who apparently was a laugh. Her mum went out with Roger Moore for a bit and her uncle was a journalist who got awarded a gallantry medal by the Queen for helping to stop the kidnapping of Princess Anne in the '70s.

She told me of her days working as a dancer in the dance troupe, 'Young Generation,' and appeared on shows like 'The Rolf Harris Show' and 'The Two Ronnies.' She repeated with a laugh that her ex-husband was  "A prat," she said that the nicest man that she ever knew was Joey Pyle, who was "a bit of a gangster but a lovely man." (I later Googled the stuff that Suzy told me, and it was all there on the net, including an article about a local gangster called Joey Pyle).

I asked her if she's been checked for Huntingdon's. She assured me that she didn't have it, but I sensed that something else was affecting her beyond alcohol.

Other people in the pub stared over at Suzy, but fortunately, she seemed oblivious to this.

Suzy remained incredibly optimistic; she laughed the whole time and said that she couldn't wait to start acting and singing again.  I told her that people who saw my previous shot had offered to help get her teeth fixed. But Suzy was adamant that the Musicians Union or Equity will come through and pay for this. She said it was nice that people wanted to help and added that she's been offered money before, but she doesn’t need it. She said that she gets by okay.

I asked her how the entertainment business had treated her (probably because she mentioned Rolf Harris). She said that everyone has always been lovely to her and that she has had a great life. She told me with a big smile that "she was happy." Perhaps Suzy really is genuinely happy, or perhaps she really was being a brilliant actress. I guess I will never know. As I left the pub, I said that if ever she changes her mind about the teeth, to give me a call.