Do you know anyone who can claim to have done battle with fire-breathing dragons in London and lived to tell the tale, or traveled the world to locate The President of The United States' missing daughter? No? Well if you are a close friend of Terence Maynard you do! These are just two of the incredibly exciting situations the Cheshire thespian has found himself in.
Although born in Liverpool, Terence Maynard, 34, grew up in Winstaston, Nantwich. He currently lives in London due to various filming commitments but his family and roots have remained in Cheshire. "My family and close friends all still live here so I always look forward to coming home. I try to get back as much as I can and catch up on everything. I'm very fond of where I come from." At the age of eight, Terence showed a natural gift for dance and was encouraged by his family to take lessons three times a week at a class in Crewe. Even at such a young age, Terence demonstrated a high level of dedication and professionalism, putting in hours of practice after school. "I had a great deal of encouragement when it came to my dancing. I also had a strong self-belief because I knew this was something I could be good at," he explains."Even today, working as an actor, I still feel that my main talent lies as a dancer. Learning to act was, for me, a labour of love. I had to work really hard at drama college. With dancing, it comes more naturally so I'll always feel that's where my personal strength lies."
So has the dancing been an advantageous skill in the world of drama? "Most defiantly," enthuses Terence. "It enhances self-confidence in movement and gives your actions grace and presence. I think having a dancing background is a great tool to have at one's disposal, especially in the world of acting. The level of discipline required in dance has also influenced the amount of effort I put into my drama training. I really had to stick at it and remain focused."Terence took up drama after leaving school when he was advised by a friend to take classes. This led to Terence going to Guildford Drama College to study. He enjoyed it so much that for the first time, a genuine interest is forging a possible acting career came to the fore."I feel its best to get small parts first so you are not overawed by it all, then slowly work your way up. The key to getting on in the business is to try and gain more exposure by ensuring the performance stands out in whatever you appear in. That's the best way to secure more prominent roles and build up a solid body of work."Terence has been acting for 12 years and has honed his craft appearing in an impressive range of stage and television roles, including Waking The Dead, Holby City, The Bill and EastEnders. This helped build his resolve and fine-tune his skills in preparation for larger roles.
For many years he was a jobbing actor but his first major vehicle came in 1998 when he appeared in Roger Roger, a comedy set at a London mini-cab firm, alongside stars Neil Morrissey, Robert Daws and Keith Allen. From this he progressed to a staring role in Sky One's football drama Dream Team. Terence a Liverpool fan joined the cast last year and plays Stuart Nay-Smith the player/coach/manager. He clearly enjoys working on the show and can't speak highly enough of his colleagues."I love doing Dream Team. It's a great role and the cast and crew are fabulous. It is of great personal interest to me because I'm a keen follower of football and love any involvement in the sport, especially when the cast get to play in special matches. To have had the chance to play a footballer on screen is wonderful and will always remain a special part of my career."
Terence has also branched out into films and appeared in the 2002 summer blockbuster movie Reign of Fire, a tale about dragons causing a threat to humanity's existence in a post-apocalyptic future. It starred major Hollywood players Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale. An unforgettable experience surely? "I couldn't believe it when the opportunity came along to do Reign of Fire," says Terence. "I auditioned for the role and didn't hear anything back for months, then out of the blue, I was contacted, asked to re-audition and landed the part of Gideon. It was a tremendous feeling and totally unexpected because I thought I'd missed out on the film."
Filmed on location in Country Wicklow, Ireland, the production's extravagant set featured a multi-million dollar castle built purely for the intention of being destroyed in the name of creating exciting cinema. It was a surreal moment for Terence, which made him realise just how far he had come in his career.
"The whole experience of working on Reign of Fire was unforgettable, from the big-budget scenery, fantastic special effects and famous cast through to the challenge of acting alongside dragons, which were CGI (Computer Generated Images) rendered. I was actually acting against nothing at all. Surprisingly, this was a lot easier than I expected and it was a great test of not only my acting ability but also my use of imagination. I got to act like a kid all over again, allowing my imagination to run riot! Physically, the film was tough and I got to perform some of my own stunts. That was very exciting. It was punishing stuff leaping out of helicopters but it was worth it!"
Terence says the film shoot was a great learning curve and gave him a chance to see Hollywood actors in full flow."I took every opportunity to observe Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale, who are two well-established and respected actors. It is always beneficial when you see other actors playing their trade as it can influence and improve your own approach. It is really important to me to watch and learn rather than jumping straight into a role."The lessons learnt on the Reign of Fire set were carried over into Terence's next silver project; the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty. The independent movie was filmed in Prague and produced by the team behind Shakespeare in Love. Scheduled for release next year, the film also stars teen idol Mandy Moore and Anabella Sciorra.
Terence plays a secret service man called Harper who has to track down the president of the United States' feisty daughter in Europe. He enjoyed the experience immensely and was captivated by the wonderful views the Czech Republic's capital has to offer.
"The first thing that struck me when making the film was the sheer beauty of Prague. It is a truly stunning city, like a scene out of a fairy tale or a Disney film. It was a dream come true to have the opportunity to work on the project in the first place but Prague's incredibly picturesque scenery was the icing on the cake."
Terence's latest TV appearance was as the Rev Garstang in the BBC comedy The Crouches. Featuring an all-star cast including Rudolph Walker (of EastEnders fame) and Danny John Jules (Cat from sci-fi cult comedy Red Dwarf). The crouches is another impressive vehicle from which he can continue to build his credentials. "He's not your typical reverend." laughs Terence.When asked what his dream role would be, Terence doesn't hesitate for a second. "I'd love to play a cop, a really charismatic, larger than life character like Kojak, that would be so cool!"
At present, Terence's career looks very promising so anything is possible. He remains refreshingly down-t-earth however and refuses to get carried away with what he has already accomplished."Where I am at the moment with the career is surreal, almost insane! What's most important to me however is to always remember that this is just a job. It's a wonderful job and I'm thrilled to be doing it but a level of self-assessment is defiantly needed to keep yourself and those around you grounded in the real world."
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