After appearing in Love Island, Paul Danan, who played Sol Patrick in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, spoke about the devastating effect his reality fame had had on his acting career.
Paul Danan made a name for himself after starring in the original Love Island, but it had a knock-on effect on his career.
The Hollyoaks star, whose inquest is today, tragically died at the age of 46 on January 15. A statement by his management read: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old. Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many.
“His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him. During this difficult time, we kindly request respect and privacy for Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues. No further comments will be made at this time.” The actor rose to fame playing Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap between 1997 and 2001.
As he tried to carve a new identity away from the soap, Paul went on to appear on reality TV shows Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother. In 2005, he was an islander alongside the likes of Calum Best and Rebecca Loos. The series was won by Jayne Middlemiss and Fran Cosgrave. But while it did well for some stars, it only set Paul back in acting.
While on an episode of the Dozen podcast in November 2024, he reflected on his career choices. Speaking about life after being in the villa, he said: “I’ve never known fame like it. I’ve never seen people go so mental. Four years on a soap opera – that was nothing compared to these six weeks [in terms] of the stature of fame.”
According to host Liam Tuffs, “So Love Island was the one that skyrocketed you into fame”? Like ridiculously, Paul, who made a second series of appearances in 2006, said. He claimed that it was “mental” that he was appearing on magazines’ covers and that it had become excessive, claiming that he had never wanted to be famous. He continued, “I just want to be respected as an actor.”
However, he realized that his Hollywood acting dreams were unfulfilled by his success on reality TV. He claimed that it had no bearing on my acting career because people suddenly said, “Oh, we don’t want to hire a reality star! “
The casting directors were a little snobby, and they don’t want people to see me on a TV show because they thought, “Isn’t that the guy from Love Island?” It took a long time to recover that which my acting career had been lacking. Even so long ago, I’m not sure if it has been fully redeemed.
According to the actor, reality TV stars from 2005 through 2007 were cast in a negative light rather than reflecting on their careers in movies, theater, and soaps. And as a result, he began looking for work outside the business to help make ends meet. He even held positions in retail clothing stores as well as phone repair shops.
He said: “I worked in a place called I Smashed It, which is where if you if you drop your iPhone or your phone and the screen smashes, then we’ll fix the screen for you. I was working there for a bit, probably about 10 years ago. And that was just to get a bit of money on the side.” Paul added: “I probably didn’t want to do a reality show did I? I should have just stuck to my acting.”
Source: Mirror
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