Creative Inspiration: Richard Coyle

Because we value creativity above everything else, we’ve decided to start documenting what it is that inspires the artists that we respect, and we hope their answers inspire us in return.

Richard Coyle is an actor best known for his brilliant turn as loveable fool Jeff in the BBC comedy Coupling. It was a role that led to a number of dramatic opportunities including a co-starring credit in Ridley Scott’s A Good Year, as well as the impressive UK sci-fi Franklyn.

April 30 sees Coyle in his biggest post-Coupling role to date, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as an Arab king in Mike Newell’s blockbuster adaptation of The Prince of Persia. You can see a complete transcript of his interview over at the Little White Lies website early next week. For what it’s worth, he’s a damn fine bloke.

Richard Coyle

TCOLondon: Who or what inspires you creatively?

Coyle: I love… That’s a good question… You know what? Whenever I watch anybody doing anything that they love doing – that really inspires me. People who get so involved with what they’re doing; people who are so good at what they’re doing are really inspiring. I find that very inspiring. I can watch somebody playing a piano and that’ll inspire me. Or somebody just sketching in a park and I just go, ‘Wow. Yeah.’ I really get off on seeing people loving what they do and being really good at what they do. That just really inspires me. You can watch somebody in a woodwork shop just crafting something exquisite out of piece of wood and you just think, ‘My god!’ Real talent is inspiring.