Class of 1986
Linguistics BSc
IF YOU STUDIED YOUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME AT YORK ST JOHN UNIVERISTY OR FOUNDER COLLEGES, DID YOU GO ON TO POSTGRADUATE STUDY?
No
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN THIS PHOTO AS YOUR YSJ SNAPSHOT?
The first is the image I use to get work now. It’s my main headshot. Completely different from how I was at CRYSJ of course.
The second picture shows that difference. One side taken on a field trip to Middleham Castle we visited whilst I took a History module as part of my degree; the other years later during a break from filming in Rome.
WHAT ARE YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES OF YORK ST JOHN UNIVERISTY?
Meeting a whole new range of people from all over the country. And encountering many new ideas and a new way of thinking. It also gave me the freedom to explore new ideas and allowed me to have the time to pursue different interests that I came across. I’d never used a computer or really studied martial arts before I went to college; I still do both today thanks to that time.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY OR FOUNDER COLLEGES?
It offered the course I wanted (Linguistics) and was set in a decent sized place and not some grotty city.
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE COMPLETING YOUR STUDIES?
After leaving college, my degree helped me get work teaching English as a foreign language in Greece. That indirectly led me into film acting which I’ve done for the past 20 years or so.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR SPECIFIC COURSE?
Because at the time I wanted to become a writer. (I still do write, by the way, but now it’s screenplays and not novels.)
WHAT WERE THE BEST FEATURES OF YOUR COURSE?
It was relaxed and the tutors were all willing to argue and discuss ideas.
WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU GIVE TO A CURRENT STUDENT, OR ONE ABOUT TO GRADUATE?
Don’t let yourself be restricted by what you think you should do, or what people tell you that you ought to do: instead go out and explore new ideas and allow yourself to follow paths that lead somewhere unknown.