Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette

It’s been a long time since we featured Brentwood-born actor Stephen Moyer on the station, but we put that right last week.

Mark Searby, our film and DVD critic who has had a weekly slot on Stewart Pink’s Drive show for over four years, got the chance to chat to former St Martins pupil Stephen, who shared his vivid memories of growing up in Brentwood in the 70s and 80s.

He reminisced fondly about a few of his first jobs, flipping burgers at Feeders and pulling pints at The Seven Arches pub.

Stephen described how, as a young man, Brentwood High Street was the centre of his universe – frequenting Kelley’s Records to discover new music and relishing Monday nights at the cinema in Brentwood where he first saw Star Wars when tickets were just a pound!

Now living in Los Angeles with his wife and True Blood co-star Anna Paquin, Stephen still boasts of Brentwood’s claim to fame as home of the Thermos factory and the first Pizza Express in Essex and has yet to find a roundabout more scary than Wilson’s Corner.

He also confessed to Mark that the back page ads of the Brentwood Gazette, while a great place to find a job, were also a vital resource for some mischief in his youth.

Stephen also shared how his passion for local theatre lead to working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and launched his TV career.

In his new movie Confession, filmed entirely in Suffolk, Stephen plays a lead role alongside Colm Meaney and explained how long and intense scenes piled on the pressure while filming.

You can hear the full interview again online at phoenixfm.com where you’ll also find Mark Searby’s weekly film reviews broadcast every Friday at 3:30pm.