Interview: Akin Gazi, actor

Whom did you last text and what was the message? “Love u” to my mum.

It’s not cool but... I once set fire to my younger brother’s hair with an oven igniter.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Embrace your difference.

What’s the worst job you ever had? A paintball marshal. My job was to encourage punters to fire more bullets and, hence, spend more money. I figured after a couple of weeks that people were shooting me on purpose.

Who is your favourite fictional character? The Silver Surfer is beyond cool.

What are you afraid of? Climate change. The planet is reacting to our greed and we are consuming more than the Earth can handle.

Did you have a nickname growing up? What was it and why? In primary school it was Elvis, due to the copious amounts of hair gel I used.

What situations make you lose your temper? People sneezing and coughing in public and not covering their mouths. Also, mediocrity. It’s celebrated more and more in music, TV and film.

What would your alternate profession be? An astronaut: exploring the stars, weightlessness, the rush of knowing you’re one of few humans to leave the planet.

What is always in your fridge? Ginger beer, hummus, Supermalt.

What would you change about yourself? I would change my nationality to Brazilian. Then I’d probably be a great dancer and footballer.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go? 1492. I would sabotage Columbus and warn the Native Americans about the threat.

Saturday night or Sunday morning? Saturday night, as I’m not much of a morning person, I like being alive so any time of day is good but I function better at night, plus Match of the Day is on then.

Who or what is the love of your life? Manchester United, cheesecake and, of course, my girlfriend.

Gazi stars as Saad in The Devil’s Double, www.thedevilsdoublefilm.com