WHET Guy Burnet

[quote]He was a heartthrob back in the day.

He still looks good, OP. I've been rewatching the McDean storyline recently and decided to see what he's up to now that John Paul is returning to Hollyoaks again. He's been getting steady work in the US for years now, most recently in the TV series linked in the article.

I was a gay teen when the Craig and John Paul relationship was happening and it really meant a lot to me; it still does. Part of me wishes that they'd had more time onscreen together but apparently Guy watched a Hollywood movie sometime in 2006-2007 while home sick that planted the seed in his head that that was what he wanted to do. It's probably for the best that Guy fucked off to America because Craig and JP would have likely been ruined (like JP was in his second stint).

R1 Thanks for posting a pic. UNLIKE OP WHO COULDN'T BE FUCKING BOTHERED.

Thanks OP, I loved the JP/Craig story! Yes, there were a few scream out loud moments like JP planned on Craig's fiance walking in and finding Craig making out with JP ON CRAIG AND SARAH'S engagements party! Lol.

What about Craig's cruelty to JP:

JP: So I'm just your dirty little secret?

Craig: Yes, and be don't be late. You'll be there. I know it and you know it!

Craig used JP for sex and JP couldn't stay away, lol. Very realistic dialogue.

JP hooking up with the priest was kinda boring. Didn't. Kieron die?

But at least three fans got JP and Craig's "Sunset Ending" literally.

Did you ever getting Pavel and Geoff story? Much better acting and the story line was awesome. Let me know what you think!?

[quote]Didn't. Kieron die?

Yes, he was poisoned by John Paul's murderous psycho brother, Niall.

I remember his death being very graphic and disturbing. But I was pretty young at the time.

Here's a channel with the entire McDean storyline for anyone who wants to watch it.

Omg. Niall. I forgot about that bad boy. Lol. Didn't he try to seduce the priest, too? God that show was crazy for a while.

I think 2006-2007 was the last semi-grounded period of Hollyoaks, with a youth focus, core families and some of the usual soap high jinks. The Niall and Silas stuff really opened the door to the annual serial killer, explosions, derailing trains, etc. that modern HO is known for. And it's been so decimated by constant deaths. HO since 2008 really should be a horror series about a village in Cheshire with a higher rate of unnatural death than Aleppo or Mogadishu.

Anyway, I found an HD version of my favourite promo for John Paul and Craig. Guy's hardly aged in thirteen years.

I still can't hear Razorlight songs, especially 'I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got', without picturing Guy crying and getting a bit misty-eyed myself. His turn as Craig in Hollyoaks was brilliance, in that it infuriated and yet drew sympathy. Craig Dean was the most self-involved bisexual to ever walk the planet, but a nation's heart broke for him all the same. As JP is coming back shortly and here to stay for 2020, does that mean we'll see Craig again? (hope so..)

Watching the McDean storyline again takes me right back to feeling achingly lonely and young-adult in the long rainy seasons of Britain, back in the days your phone weighed a ton and everyone went to the pub if they weren't at work or watching must-see telly. And those clothes! It's all at once exciting, terrifying, comforting and saddening; like I imagine it would be stepping out of a time-machine into any recognisable past.

Nice postr r7! God, how many times was The Dog blown up, lol. What about all the trashy McQueen sisters? And Mama and Nan McQueen?!

I learned a lot of British slang, like toe-rag, gob and oy!

Here's a good video that sums up Craig Paul.

R7, I loved your post.

[quote]I still can't hear Razorlight songs, especially 'I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got', without picturing Guy crying and getting a bit misty-eyed myself.

I'm the same. Apparently Guy heard that song and recommended it to the showrunners for the McDean storyline? I remember reading that somewhere. For me, it's indelibly bound to that iconic scene in the McQueen kitchen.

"Do you love him?"

"Not as much as I love you."

Epic Last Song and I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten have the same strong association with them for me.

[quote]His turn as Craig in Hollyoaks was brilliance, in that it infuriated and yet drew sympathy.

Spot on, he elicits complex emotions and feels very real. Even after all these years, I still feel like I can find new angles in Craig's character when rewatching the storyline: seductive Craig, manipulative Craig, vulnerable Craig, unhinged Craig, tender Craig. Guy managed to bring out all of these sides and more while convincing the audience all along of his authentic love for John Paul.

[quote]As JP is coming back shortly and here to stay for 2020, does that mean we'll see Craig again? (hope so..)

I'd be happy even with a very short appearance but Guy seems to have his feet firmly planted in America. I'd say that the main thing for me is that neither of them get killed off, but honestly I've severed HO in my mind somewhere around 2008-2009, so no matter what happens I prefer to imagine their story as concluding with the SE.

[quote]Watching the McDean storyline again takes me right back to feeling achingly lonely and young-adult in the long rainy seasons of Britain, back in the days your phone weighed a ton and everyone went to the pub if they weren't at work or watching must-see telly. And those clothes! It's all at once exciting, terrifying, comforting and saddening; like I imagine it would be stepping out of a time-machine into any recognisable past.

All of this! It happened in the last year of pre-HD Channel 4 as well, so that makes it feel that much quainter and from a different era. I definitely feel like I'm a gay teen again, watching their story play out for the first time. It was authentically a story of true love (we even got a Romeo and Juliet balcony scene) in a time when positive, loving, respectful portrayals of gay people were almost nonexistent in entertainment and the media.

[quote] I'd say that the main thing for me is that neither of them get killed off, but honestly I've severed HO in my mind somewhere around 2008.

I too prefer not to acknowledge JP's second run nor his string of relationship failures and that ridiculous marriage s/l. I almost think of the 2012-onward teacher!/dad!JP as a different man to the adventurous independent musical one we saw getting on the train with Craig in summer of 2008. I know people do grow up and change (even gay people with our tendency for delayed/long-lived adolescence..), but it's hard to connect the two. So in a way it's a mixed blessing that Burnet never came back to the show and that they never recast Craig - we miss him, but at least he was never ruined.

In the article at the link James Sutton says a few words about his next stint, including the sad remark "sorry to the McDean fans in advance!". That implies to me that an off-screen Craig is either going to be villainised again (not sure how - thoughts?) or cut out of the picture (via death, illness/coma, imprisonment, disappearance). It's a shame they have to go down this road, but Kirkwood was frothing to get Sutton back and James wanted/needed the work so here we are. I would be extremely interested to know what Burnet makes of all this post-Sunset nonsense, actually.

All this said, the JP storyline for next year does look more interesting than the last stint. It involves County Lines dealing in the school JP works at.

R8 mouthy chavvy vindictive Mercy McQueen was my icon for years lmao. I love how she never held back on anyone, not even her own mother or her little siblings.

and yeah, coincidentally things started getting silly on HO with explosions & murders & kidnappings etc. just after the point that Craig left first time. Hilariously it jumped the shark in exactly the same way its 90s parent show Brookie did after the infamous siblingcest story and the time a character got buried under a patio.

No one was frothing to get Sutton back.... Sutton presented all his holes for Kirkwood since he needed a job

Here's a really long interview with Guy from December 2017. He makes a lot of interesting observations and you get a good sense of his personality and outlook on life. Looks pretty good in the photos as well but I'd be lying if I said I'm a big fan of the beard.

R13 brilliant interview, thanks for the link.

I'm pleased to hear his career is going so well in the States, and that he's close to peers like the fantastic Sam Rockwell. Burnet really seems to have a good head on his shoulders and has a view towards longevity & integrity in his career and it's rare to hear of that, these days. It is also so eye-opening and wonderful to read his comments about the several years he had difficulty getting work and became depressed; that is too often glossed over in the romantic tales of unknowns-to-actors, but he talks about it with candour. Guy has clearly studied, invested and worked hard from a poor background to get where he is, and I hope he's proud of himself for all that he's achieved. I confess to my shame I haven't seen too many of his recent projects but I will be checking out ELECTRIC DREAMS as I'm a fan of Philip K. Dick as well as of Guy.

He looks gorgeous in the photos, flawless skin and those lovely beguiling eyes as ever. I notice that he's bulked up a lot, I wonder if that's to do with the American fixation on mens' fitness, or just a personal choice & ageing? Another thing I clocked was that the interviewer asked him about his sexuality & status, and he mentioned his longterm girlfriend but nothing more than that - is he possibly a bisexual in real-life?

I liked him on Hollyoaks, he was just a little too skinny for my taste

He looked quite beautiful cross-dressed in Jimmy McGovern's MOVING ON (2009, BBC).

There's not many current mainstream British actors I can think of who've cross-dressed just for a minor or obscure role on television (stage is another matter), aside from Sean Bean in ACCUSED & Patrick Stewart in BLUNT TALK. I suppose since 2015's THE DANISH GIRL with Eddie Redmayne it's going to become more prevalent and less interesting, but back when Burnet did it a decade ago it was still a tad controversial.

R14, I think he said in one recent interview that he does boxing six days a week and that he's done that for a long time. I think even in Hollyoaks days his body was quite strong and toned, but because he was so much younger his metabolism burned off more of the excess. So I'm not surprised that he looks a bit bigger now at 36.

R15, I think Guy being so reedy when he was younger helped him play the part of a character five years younger than his actual age. Watching it back, I think Guy's appearance was one of the reasons the McDean storyline worked as well as it did. He was more sympathetic in his manipulation and wavering because he really looked like a confused kid. But when the camera focused on those big, beautiful, pleading brown eyes, you knew as surely as the sun rises in the morning that John Paul would forgive him anything. Like in the clip from the show they play in the interview I've linked...John Paul never had a chance.

R16, Yeah I think he prides himself on playing a variety of roles. I haven't seen the show but I think his character is in a gay relationship in Counterpart as well (though it's with himself, haha).

[quote] he does boxing six days a week and that he's done that for a long time.

Wow, that's a lot of training. I suppose there's a lot of off-time for an actor, and it's never a bad idea to have mental & physical discipline. IIRC in Hollyoaks JP would box sometimes just as a casual hobby or to burn off frustration, which is a bit of a weird coincidence eh?

[quote] Guy's appearance was one of the reasons the McDean storyline worked as well as it did. He was more sympathetic in his manipulation and wavering because he really looked like a confused kid. But when the camera focused on those big, beautiful, pleading brown eyes, you knew as surely as the sun rises in the morning that John Paul would forgive him.

Ah, yes, Phil Redmond loves this trope. He used it in the Hollyoaks parent show Brookie, to make sure the audience stayed on the side of incestuous siblings Nat & George Simpson. They were doing something considered immoral and deceived/hurt an entire community by having an affair, but they were young & posh & well-educated & beautiful as well which went a long way to fostering sympathy for them.

Oops. i thought this page was about me.

Yeah I clocked that coincidence with John Paul's boxing as well, R18. I think it was good to show that John Paul was very athletic (that and the football) since James was a lot stockier than Guy and looked closer to his actual age than he did.

Here's a long interview with Guy from last year. Seriously, he looks amazing and his charisma really comes through.

Here's Guy talking at length about his new series. He's pretty articulate and I think he looks great.