Photographs by SARAH CRESSWELL

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Down Cemetery Road star Adeel Akhtar tells Hollywood Authentic about his evening chocolate fix, clapping with one hand and being buried alive in a coffin.

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
Very important. It allows you to not take things, yourself or other people too seriously. It’s important to take things a little bit seriously, though.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
The goodness in people. Especially from people who have gone through a lot and you wouldn’t expect them to be able to have the breadth of emotion to afford to be kind to people, and they are… that makes me believe in magic.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I’m filming at the moment in Greece, and I had to go to the edge of this mountain. I was harnessed and I was clipped in and I did it – but I was terrified. 

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
My family and my children. I’m in a beautiful place right now, but it would be even more beautiful with my wife and my kids.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
It’s not an odd habit, but it is a bit of a ritual. On the first day of filming, I have to pack my bag and leave it all by the door the night before. Everything has to be ready by the door for me to go. And the times I haven’t done that, it hasn’t been a very good day. 

What is your party trick?
You know that Zen quote? What’s the sound of one hand clapping? You’re supposed to say it doesn’t sound like anything, because how can you clap with one hand? I can clap with one hand because I’ve got a really floppy wrist, and that’s my party trick.

What is your mantra?
I don’t have one, but if I were to make one up it would be ‘keep going’. 

What is your favourite smell?
I suppose the distinct smell of home when I get back after being away for a long time. You know your house always has a particular type of smell? That’s the smell of home.

What do you always carry with you?
Headphones. If I’m going on set they’ll be small ones, and if I’m walking around, big ones. But I have to have my headphones because I listen to music all the time. 

What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate with milk in an evening. Or a chocolate chip cookie with milk. But a big glass of cold milk. At the end of the day, that makes me quite happy. 

Who is the silliest person you know?
My two boys. Both of them are equally as silly as each other. Some of the silly chats that we get into start in English and then end in gibberish.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
In a coffin, buried alive.

What’s your idea of heaven?
I had it a little bit this summer. Me, my wife and the kids went to the south of France and we hired a little house there with a swimming pool. The weather was lovely, and we drank loads of rosé and ate really well. That was heaven to me.

BAFTA-winning actor Adeel Akhtar studied law at university but found his calling in drama, training at the Actors Studio Drama School and The New School, New York. He made his name in Four Lions and has appeared in diverse projects ranging from Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava, Sherwood and The Night Manager to Back to Life, Capital, River and Murdered by My Father (for which he won the BAFTA) as well as numerous theatre productions. He is currently starring in thriller series Down Cemetery Road, based on the novel by Mick Herron.