BIRTH NAME : Gerald Awakoumides
BORN : 1973
HEIGHT 5ft 11
BORN : Pretoria, South Africa. He lived in Africa till he was 14, where they then moved to Streatham, England. Gerald can speak fluent Afrikaans.
LIVES : Glasgow, Scotland.
FAMILY : Born to Scot mother, Audrey and Greek father, Savvas, an insurance broker – who used to be a professional musician. Lives in Johannesburg.
PARTNER : Lynne Bustard, a choreographer and dance teacher. Married on a boat on Loch Lomond in 2004.
STUDIED : He spent three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and graduated in 1997. He wasn’t out of work long, and was spotted by an agent who gave him work straight away, ‘I graduated on the Friday and started rehearsals on the Monday’. He also spent seven months with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
SKILLS: Fire eating, riding, rollerskating, flamenco dancing, and holds a certificate of the Society of British Fight Directors.
ON CASUALTY’S POPULARITY : ‘I think people have a fascination with the suffering of other people to be honest with you.’
ON CHARACTER SEAN : ‘In every scene, Sean seems to be chatting up women – it doesn’t come naturally.’
LIKE SEAN? : ‘Sometimes I wish I had more of his outgoing attitude in life, but unfortunately I worry far too much about things.’
ON SEAN’S AFFAIR : ‘Sean thought he could get away with it, but he hasn’t.’
ON LEAVING CASUALTY : ‘When I started CASUALTY, I gave myself two years on the series, now that time is up. I’ve decided to leave on a good note, rather than staying with the show too long – I don’t want Sean to be part of the furniture.’
ON MAKING A GUEST RETURN : ‘It feels so different to when I was in it. But I think that’s also due to the fact that the production team, who were in London when I was on the show, are now based in Bristol where the series is made. Now everyone is together and it feels like that. But I did feel like a new boy, but one who has done something at another school.’
HEARTTHROB STATUS? : ‘I didn’t like the heartthrob tag. It didn’t sit with me and didn’t suit my personality. I’m not gregarious, I don’t want to be the centre of attention and I wanted to get away from CASUALTY and show I could act.’
ON SCOTLAND: ‘I moved to England at 14 when my parents divorced. All my life I’ve been searching for a place to call home. And I think this is my home now. It is so culturally different, even to England, but I love it now and wouldn’t live anywhere else. It’s a place of its own.’
HOBBIES : Poker, tennis, golf, lifting weights
DISLIKES : Fashion victims, bad drivers, flying, loud noises
TELEVISION CREDITS : Underworld; The Professionals, Casualty; Soapacabana; CI5: The New Professionals; Richard II; Brief Encounters; In Search Of Shakespeare; Grease Monkeys; All in the Game; Persons Unknown
FILM CREDITS : Principles of Lust; Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life; The Defender; Legacy
THEATRE CREDITS : The Local Stigmatic; Cyrano de Bergerac; Ramayand; Prophet in Exile; Love’s Labour Lost; Deathtrap; Richard II; Edward II; Revelations; Macbeth; The Crucible; Fantasticks; Off Out; Conversations in Havana; The Three Musketeers; The Seagull; This Much is True; Blood and Gifts; The Years Between; The Cherry Orchard
AT LAMDA : A Clockwork Orange; Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance; It’s a Mad World; My Masters; The Way of the World; Romeo & Juliet; Oedipus
BOOKS : Appears in ‘CASUALTY : Behind the Scenes’ by Rachel Silver.
AGENT : Ken McReddie, 11 Connaught Place, London W2 2ET.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Gerald spent time in Weston Super Mare A&E department, observing a motorbike accident victim.
* Gerald had a run in with A&E in real life, soon after buying his BMW, a car drove into the back of him at a roundabout. He didn’t go to hospital, and in the morning woke up with sickness, fever and whiplash, and went to Bristol Royal Infirmary, who thought he may have meningitis, but was given the all clear, ‘I was a right wuss!’ He was told he had a gastric and viral infection.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Gerald Kyd has concentrated mainly on theatre work since leaving CASUALTY. He made a return to the show for six episodes in Series 21 to mark the show’s anniversary.
