Death in Paradise star Ralf Little, who departed the BBC One show at the end of its latest season, has opened up about the “nagging insecurities” about his career as an actor. It comes after Ralf’s character DI Neville Parker got his happy ending as he joined long-time crush Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) to go travelling, leaving Saint Marie behind.
Ralf is a successful actor with plenty of major roles under his belt already, including The Royle Family’s Antony Royle and Jonny Keogh from Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. However, that doesn’t stop him from fearing that every job might be his last.
Speaking to Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast, Ralf reflected on his privilege as an actor. He said: “I have been so, so lucky and you’ve got to take a minute to just go: ‘Enjoy it, don’t forget it.’
“Especially if you’ve been a bit down, because it’s not always a bed of roses,” he reflected. The star then went on to speak candidly about his own feelings of insecurity.
He said: “I genuinely believe until you’re Ryan Gosling, until you’re that level… You’ve got this slight underlying nagging feeling of: ‘What if this is the last job I get?
“‘What if this one doesn’t lead to other things?’ I’m not sure that ever goes away.
“It’s a weirdly mentally tough profession to go into,” he added. “I genuinely believe it’s woven into the fabric of what we [actors] do.
“Ralf also pointed out that, while many actors might enter into the industry “for validation” the nature of the work means they will be “rejected time and time again”.
Ralf proved popular with BBC audiences after remaining on hit detective show Death in Paradise for five seasons. EastEnders star Don Gilet has since been announced as the next detective.
Speaking about his decision to leave when he appeared on BBC Breakfast, Ralf explained: “You know, this last series was always going to be my last series.
“I spoke to the BBC and Red Planet, the production company, and we all agreed.
“If it was just a heart decision I would have wanted to do it for 20 more years.
“But just for the show and for my character Neville it just sort of felt like his story was finished and his journey deserved to be completed. He deserved a happy ending and it just felt right.”
Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time is available to stream now.
