DID you hear the one about the Strabane man who appeared on Coronation Street? Well his name is Paul Mallon, he's 24 and he will be appearing at the Alley Theatre this Monday night.
Originally from Laurel Drive, actor Paul Mallon, like the majority of young Strabane men, started his teenage years in St Colman's High School, where, under the guidance of drama teacher Leo McBride, he got involved in the local amateur dramatics scene.
Early appearances at St Pat's Hall in productions of Cliona's Wave and the drug awareness play Out of their Heads appeared to suggest where the talented young man's future lay.
But as Paul explained prior to his appearance in Dennis Potter's critically acclaimed Blue Remembered Hills at the Alley, despite being bitten by the acting bug in his early days, it wasn't always his first choice.
"I did get into drama at the age of 14 or 15 while at St Colmans, but when I left school, I decided I wanted to get into advertising. It's strange looking back now, but I was interested in the creative side of advertising and I thought I could build a career out of it. As things happened, it didn't work out and I ended up applying to a few drama colleges. I eventually got accepted to a theatre school in Manchester where I spent three years, before graduating in June 2005," he said.
After college, it was down to the drawing board and the less than pleasurable task of finding work.
Paul continued, "When I left college, I was approached by a number of agents and it was great to have that choice. I eventually chose who I wanted to work with and they helped my score my first television credit in the Channel Four drama The Bradford Riots. I only had a small part but I did get to speak the first line in the show which was great."
From Channel Four, Paul moved to UTV and an appearance on the hallowed cobbles of Weatherfield.
"The Bradford Riots really got the ball rolling for me and shortly after I scored a part as a paper boy, delivering the Weatherfield Gazette. I only had about four scenes which were set at 5.30am, but weren't filmed until the evening. So I landed on set at about 4pm and had to spend a couple of hours in the green room and I got to meet just about everyone who appears in show. I have to say I was pretty sensational and rocked the street like no one before," he said, tongue firmly in cheek.
Paul's next appearance on our screens will be in a daytime version of Heartbeat spin-off The Royal, entitled The Royal Today, oddly enough.
"I filmed the guest lead role in The Royal Today earlier this year and it's due to go out in November I think. Apparently it's set to rival Doctors and other daytime soaps. I played the part of Daryl Watts which was quite a fun role. He's a bit of a geek and he comes to the hospital looking to be circumcised because his girlfriend has quite a high sex drive and he's in awful pain. It was a fun part to play and my most substantial to date," he said.
Commenting on Monday night's appearance in Blue Remembered Hills at the Alley, Paul said he is looking forward to coming home.
"At the moment I'm working with a theatre company called Bruiser. I worked last year with one of the guys who had already been cast in Blue Remembered Hills and he rang me and said there was a part that he thought would suit me. So I rang Bruiser and asked to be put forward for it. I auditioned and got the role.
"To be honest I haven't really kept in touch with many people since I headed to Manchester, but I probably will give my old drama teacher Leo McBride a call when I get back to Strabane. It'll be great to play at the Alley, I haven't seen it yet but I hear it's really nice. It's a very positive thing for the town and I'm really looking forward to it."
So what does the future hold for the Paul Mallon roadshow?
"I had a general meeting with the casting director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin earlier this year which went well so I'm hopeful that I can build on that and maybe get some work down there," he said.
And is the Strabane man on the fast track to making his first million?
"At the moment it seems like a far off distant dream but I have belief, so maybe someday. When I do make it, I'll buy my mum Catherine a helicopter so she can fly all over to see me perform," Paul added.
