2 days ago
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- Scottish Sun
Ex-Rangers and Celtic rivals who used to kick lumps out of each other launch new careers together
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OLD Firm legends Charlie Miller and Simon Donnelly have revealed how making their acting debuts was more nerve-racking than walking into the cauldron of Ibrox and Parkhead.
The ex-pros have now joined the stage production of Billy and Tim to celebrate the play's 20th anniversary.
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Charlie Miller and Simon Donnelly with broadcaster Rob Maclean who are appearing in the play Billy & Tim
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Charlie Miller during his Rangers heyday
Credit: Scottish News and Sport
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Simon Donnelly starring for Celtic
Credit: Scottish News and Sport
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Charlie has some previous acting experience in the gritty flick The Angels Share
Initially the pair came onboard just for an audience Q&A but now their parts have been extended to act as co-commentators for a fictional Old Firm game - and that means they have scripted lines to learn.
Former Rangers midfielder Charlie, 49, says: 'I was nervous the first day we went on stage because we were out of our comfort zone.
'Obviously playing in front of 50,000 or whatever it is, was just normal for us when we played the game.'
Ex-Celtic striker Simon Donnelly, 50, added: 'When I was told 'We've got a couple of lines for you to do tonight' the colour drained out my face.
'I started to think, 'What have we got ourselves involved in here?' It's funny because football was just our lives but ask us to say a few lines in front of 200 people and we fold.'
Charlie continues 'The rest of the cast nicknamed us 'Biscuits' because they thought we'd go to pieces. But it was something new and we enjoyed it.'
Simon and Charlie were both childhood pals growing up in Glasgow's Burnside district, both playing for bitter rivals Rangers and Celtic during the exact same era from 1993 until 1999.
And they believe that their lifelong friendship perfectly sums up the message of the play which tackles the Old Firm divide with two fans - Billy and Tim - banged up together for non-payment of fines on the day of a Glasgow derby.
Charlie says: 'I've known Simon a long time. We grew up together and played together in a graduate academy too - although we still used to kick the s**t out of each other when we were kids.'
Simon adds: 'In recent times we've done the coaching and have done camps together, encouraging Celtic and Rangers kids to come together and enjoy themselves.
Rangers fans unfurl giant tifo ahead of Russell Martin's first match
'We would have parents emailing us asking, 'Can our kids wear Rangers and Celtic strips to the camps?' We were both like 'Why not?' It's just a kid wearing the jersey of the team they support.'
The old pals have been reunited by Outlander actor Scott Kyle - who played Ross the blacksmith in the fantasy series - who was raised in Rutherglen near the players, and co-owns the rights to play.
He says: 'We wanted to do something special for the 20th anniversary to freshen it up.
'There's a scene in the play where the two fans are banged up and both have bets riding on the outcome on the game.
'The stakes are really high because whoever wins the match is going to get released because they'll pay their fine and get out.
'Both of them take shots watching the match through the hatch in the prison door. Before the actors had to pretend they were watching a match, but now the action switches to Simon and Charlie along with Rob Maclean and David Tanner doing the live commentary.
'It's gone down a treat with the audiences and they always get a huge applause.'
Trainspotting 2 actor Simon Weir plays the turnkey Harry, who has a grandchild who is going through a major operation.
Simon, 52, says: 'That's a key element of the story as they begin to see there are far more important things in life than the outcome of some football match.'
Scott, 42, adds: 'Charlie and Simon hadn't seen the play until we had them along doing the Q&A.
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Actor Scott Kyle with Charlie, Rob, Simon and fellow performer Simon Weir
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Charlie Miller and Simon Donnelly are appearing in the play Billy & Tim
'But they both loved the really strong anti-sectarian message that comes through in the show through humour and pathos of the story.'
However Charlie does have more acting experience than pal Simon after being involved in two major movies - playing a thug in the 2012 Ken Loach film The Angels Share and the 2000 Robert Duval film A Shot At Glory starring Ally McCoist.
He says: 'I turned up for Angels Share but the director Ken Loach had fallen down a set of court steps the day before so filming got cancelled.
'So I was on set with a big catering van and the food was tremendous. I then had a fight scene in a corridor and the actor (John Henshaw) just ran down over the top of me.
'He was like a mad man and I was like, 'What the f**k?' I thought he was just going to be acting, so I really had to use my strength to stop him.'
However Charlie reveals he missed out on screen time in the Duval flick because he couldn't be bothered 'hanging around all day'.
He explains: 'One of my mates told me to come down to Hampden one Sunday afternoon as we were to get into strips and play for a scene.
'I arrived at 12 thinking we'd get this done then get to the pub, but then one of the guys says we won't be finished until 5 o'clock. I just said 'Here's your strip back, see you later'.'
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However Rob Maclean, 66, did make the cut. The veteran broadcaster says: 'I had to co-commentate a game with Andy Gray and we recorded our scenes at Pinewood Studios, where I walked down the corridors with all these posters from famous movies on the walls.
'The hardest part for us though was trying to be serious as we commentated on Ally McCoist throwing a punch in the middle of that film and trying to make it sound credible.'
But now the players can add another acting first to their resume when Billy and Tim - shortened from the original title Singin' I'm No A Billy He's A Tim - begins its run at The Edinburgh Festival at the end of this month.
Simon says: 'We've never been to the Festival and now we're actually going to be on at it.'
And after their Fringe run the cast will take the show to Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre in October, while there's even an offer on the table to take the play to Sydney's iconic Opera House in 2027.
Scott says: 'The Old Firm are huge Down Under and have a fanbase worldwide. We want to travel with this play.'
So will these one-time Old Firm rivals now be applying for their actor's Equity cards together now?
Simon scoffs: 'No chance - we know our limits.'
*Billy and Tim – Old Firm Legends is on at Lomond Theatre at Pleasance at EICC at 8pm from July 31 until August 24. It will also be on at Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre on October 24 & 25.
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