HE rose to fame as one of the most talked-about stars on The Only Way is Essex, but now James ‘Lockie’ Lock has revealed he’s ditched reality TV for good – and is keen to shake off his ‘lothario’ image, once and for all.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, while Lockie, 39, makes clear is that he’s very grateful for his time on Towie, saying: “I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t do the show,” starring in fly-on-the-wall shows are “in the past.”
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And while he’s not the first reality star to try it and he won’t be the last, Lockie has landed a huge new role – starring alongside big names including Alan Ford and Simon Callow in director Michael Head’s upcoming flick, Killing Time.
Michael is known for films including The Spin – the acting debut of Maura Higgins – and Jackie The Stripper, which was released this year and starred the likes of Patsy Kensit and Jamie Lomas.
Lockie admits there’s a lot riding on this role for him and, when he and Michael, 43, took a break from shooting to speak exclusively to The Sun, he said: “This is a new profession for me but it’s not a new passion.
“When I got into reality TV the goal was always to transition into film. To have an opportunity like this is a massive learning curve for me. Everyone’s got to start somewhere and this is a great place to start.”
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While on the hit ITV reality series, Lockie had high-profile relationships with Danielle Armstrong and Yazmin Oukhellou, and the ups and downs were played out in front of millions of viewers each week.
During our chat, he’s the first to admit he had a reputation for being “a lothario, a cheeky chappy and, for want of a better word, a bit of a f****r”.
But now he wants everyone to see that, while he’s “still Lockie”, he’s grown up and wants to have the chance to be taken seriously as an actor.
Away from Towie, Lockie has taken part in Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Ex on the Beach and The Challenge – but it would take a special kind of reality series to turn his head at this point.
He said: “I loved my time on Towie but it got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
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“Reality TV, for now, is in the past. There are certain shows I would consider that I don’t think would clash with being an actor.
“I won’t say which ones but in the last few years I’ve been offered so many shows but I decided I needed to stop doing them.
“I’m at a different point in my career – I’ve started businesses and now I’ve got the acting to focus on.
“I’m very lucky to have had the opportunities that have come my way but people change. I’ve matured and I’m more complete as a person.”
Something else Lockie is keen to clear up is that he’s not playing the field when it comes to women anymore and, fittingly given his new career, is looking for a “leading lady”.
He said: “I want to find someone to settle down with.
“I’m a lad and the ladies love me, so do the fellas! I know that’s not very modest to say but I’m not that person anymore. I’m looking for something serious now.”
Luckily for Lockie, Micheal is convinced he’s already seen something special in him and is planning to cast him in the second and third films in the Killing Time trilogy.
Lockie and Michael play hitmen Billy and Jimmy in the flick and it seems there’s a lot more to come from the characters down the line.
Michael said: “This isn’t one film, it’s a series of three. As soon as I met James we just clicked and I knew he was a natural fit for the film.
“He’s got this aura about him and he brings a lot to the table. It organically grew into this and already it’s grown to be a lot bigger than I’d hoped.”