Danny Dyer says he learned of Harold Pinter’s death by spotting a newspaper headline during a late-night binge—news that, he recalls on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, threw him into deep guilt and anger. The 47-year-old actor described himself at the time as “a lost soul.”
Dyer first crossed paths with Pinter while rehearsing the playwright’s 2000 production of Celebration at London’s Almeida Theatre. When Dyer froze onstage during the Lincoln Center transfer, Pinter comforted him. “He put his arm around me, and made me feel better about it,” Dyer remembered, crediting that moment with boosting his confidence.
After years away from Pinter, Dyer read of the 2008 passing outside a petrol station. “I’d been on a bender. I see it in the paper: ‘Pinter dead’, and I was struck by guilt for not staying in touch.” He says that shock set off a period of erratic behavior and self-doubt.
Deadline reports that Dyer is now developing a play about his bond with Pinter, whom he still calls “my mentor.” The new work will explore their professional collaborations and personal connection.
Best known for his breakout in Human Traffic (1999), Dyer later fronted Danny Dyer’s Real Football Factories and Deadliest Men. He admits those unscripted shows, while outside his comfort zone, provided funds to move off the council estate where he lived with his wife, Jo, and daughter, Dani.
His Desert Island Discs episode airs Sunday at 10 am on BBC Radio 4.