Christopher Eccleston says he rejected Billy Elliot because it was "offensive"

In an interview with The Independent, the typically straight-talking Eccleston comically described Billy Elliot as "that f***ing ballet film everyone went mad for".

He went on to reveal that he was approached for the role of Billy's father, Jackie (ultimately played by Gary Lewis), but deemed the character's hardline stance against a career in the arts as an "offensive" portrayal of working-class parents.

That opinion stems from his own upbringing as the son of Ronnie and Elsie, a forklift truck driver and a cleaner respectively, both of whom were wholly supportive of his own ambitions to be a performer.

He explained: "[I'm] tired of seeing working-class parents portrayed as being vehemently against their kids going into the arts...

"I was offered a meeting to play the father [in Billy Elliot]. But I said I’m not going to do that, it’s offensive.

"It was a middle-class view of the working-class experience, made for the American market. F**k it!"

The former Doctor Who star went on to criticise the multiplying academic barriers into an acting career, which he argues would have prevented himself, Gary Oldman and numerous other prominent figures from carving out a space in the business.

"I got into a school that was grant-assisted by the Inner London Education Authority thanks to Ken Livingstone," said Eccleston.

"Salford Council at that time provided a discretionary grant, because I have no academic qualifications. I’m not an academic, I’m a creative."

He added: "[In today's world] you need academic qualifications to get into drama school. It rules out anybody who had a poor or rudimentary education. You’re ruling out the Gary Oldmans.

"Add to that the price of a trip to the theatre today... A family could go on a week’s holiday for the cost of watching a two-hour play."

Eccleston is currently starring in acclaimed HBO drama True Detective: Night Country, playing no-nonsense police captain Ted Corsaro, who is both a rival and former flame of Jodie Foster's chief Liz Danvers.

True Detective: Night Country continues tonight at 9pm on Sky Atlantic. Find Sky deals here or stream on NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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