Welcome to episode 234 with Andy Ellis, who is an actor, voice actor and film maker known for his roles in This is England, The Walk In and Supertato.  He is also acting coach at Scene to Screen Acting School in Manchester. Andy found a passion for acting in high school and it was almost by chance that he landed a part in Shane Meadow’s BAFTA winning film ‘This is England’.  He went on to star in a number of film and television productions as well as reprising his role as the lovable ‘Gadget’ in ‘This is England’ television series. In this episode I chat to Andy about growing up in Manchester, getting in to acting and why it’s particularly hard for working class people to find work in the creative industries. We chat about the coaching side of his work and how acting can help people to get in touch with their emotions, be part of a community and practice being vulnerable in a safe space. And we chat about dealing with rejection and navigating the feast or famine nature of Andy’s work, how going to counselling and learning to open up helped him to find a way through some dark times and we also talk about his recent short film ‘Blackpool’ which touches on themes of class, mental health and suicide. There’s loads of This is England chat in here too and it was very cool to chat to Andy about acting and mental health and everything in between! Follow Andy on social media: @andy_lp_ellis Scene to Screen Acting School: @scene2screenmcr Watch the ‘Blackpool’ trailer at: https://vimeo.com/1067269265?fl=pl&fe=sh You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!