BAFTA winner Richard Ayoade has revealed he prefers being behind-the-scenes, because he can hide behind the camera.
Richard, 36, who won the Best Male Performance in a Comedy BAFTA for his role as geek Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd one-off special last year, has also directed two films, Submarine and The Double.
“Despite the swagger, I’m not a natural frontman. I feel like I have an aptitude for it [directing] naturally in terms of demeanour and character profile,” he said.
“I can't maintain eye contact with anyone, only with my wife. Film directing is fine, because it’s just having an opinion about things and I have a lot of opinions. And so, really, you give them out and that’s all there is to it.”
Richard also revealed acting in the comedy series gave him nerves.
“It’s always terrifying in front of an audience so you have a lot of stage fright,” he said.
“It’s always nice to see everyone... but terror is a central component. I’ll miss rehearsing with everyone. That period is really good.”
He added: “I’ll miss less the not being able to eat for 12 hours before going on. The thing that’s really enjoyable is being with everyone and doing it is less valuable than what made it.”
