Big Issue has (hypothetically) elected actor Adeel Akhtar to be prime minister for the afternoon.
The Bafta-winning star, best known for roles in TV dramas including Murdered by My Father, Sherwood and The Night Manager, says he doesn’t feel qualified for the big job. But perhaps he is better prepared than most. He recently played a prime minister in Netflix’s spy thriller Black Doves alongside Keira Knightley.
He’s now starring in the Donmar Warehouse’s stage adaptation of Fran Kranz’s Mass, as a father grieving the death of his son after a school shooting. In a rehearsal break, he takes on another role for this interview with Big Issue. Enter through our imaginary Downing Street doors and meet Adeel Akhtar as prime minister.
If you suddenly found yourself in high office, what is the very first thing you would do?
Well, the first thing I’d do is question how I got there. I don’t have any qualifications to be in any position of responsibility. Second thing would be… I just love theatre and music events. I think my emphasis would be on funding for the arts. It helps us understand the culture of the nation.
What do you think a prime minister could learn from watching Mass at the Donmar Warehouse?
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Most theatre is challenging. It exercises your empathy muscle and allows you to see perspectives that you wouldn’t ordinarily have. I reckon in the world of politics, that’s probably a good thing to keep an eye on.
What’s a big political issue you remember from your youth or childhood and how did it impact you?
I was one of the first lot to have to pay tuition fees when I went to university. It wasn’t loads that we had to pay to start off with. But it’s got so out of control. Being a student in the ’90s was the best thing in the world. Nobody was worried about anything. Everybody was having a lovely time. And then things we took for granted, like education, suddenly we had to pay for.
What would your leadership style be? And who do you admire in politics whose style you might mimic?
I was really happy that Zohran Mamdani got in as New York mayor. He’s a bit of a superstar. He has a beautiful tendency of listening carefully and trying to understand who he’s representing in New York, and that the cultures are so different and people come from different socio-economic levels. He’s got an ability to reach lots of people. I’m not saying I could do that. I’m saying I would love to think I could be close to that.
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Who would you call if you had a red telephone that could connect you with anyone? And what would you want to tell them?
I would love to ring up Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand. When I was working out there, her little boy and my little boy ended up playing in the park together. We had a look round and there were people who we thought were secret service. But she was just a mum in the park with her kid. I would love to talk to her about her style of politics. And I think she’d just be a good person to chat to.
Kemi Badenoch has just called you a failing leader at the dispatch box. What zinger do you fire back?
Right. Well, I’m not very good at quick zingers. My wife is very good at a quick one liner. I’d find the adversarial nature of it quite stressful, so I would gear us towards a very, very long conversation.
What’s your big idea to save the world?
It seems so simplistic and naive – but just listen more. And really think about how you respond.
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How would you reach across the political divide?
When you’re listening, you erase the idea of there being a divide. I find the thought of shouting across at somebody over an aisle a bit stressful. That’s probably why I couldn’t go into politics.
How would you encourage people to become more engaged in politics?
I would tell people that politics isn’t detached from how you live your daily life. It doesn’t just reside in Westminster. It can make you feel as though you have agency, especially in a world where people are disillusioned with politics.
What did you learn about being prime minister from playing a prime minister in Black Doves?
Maybe that it’s just people making decisions the best they can with the information in front of them. We can forget that politicians are just humans muddling their way through the world.
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If answering these questions have convinced you to stand for election, what’s your slogan?
Can I get my wife on the line? That would be my slogan, I think. No, that’s silly. Maybe off the back of this chat, it’s ‘Listen More’.
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