Iddo
Goldberg
Iddo Goldberg
felt the odd one out for keeping his clothes on during the filming of
raunchy drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
“It was quite
funny because every time I went on set in the studio there would be
people walking around in dressing gowns. It almost felt like working
in a brothel. I felt like the caretaker.
“I felt cheated,
I’m telling you. It was an outrage. I was robbed,” jokes
Iddo, who plays Hannah’s best friend, Ben.
Iddo finally got
his one chance to bare all when Ben persuades Belle to let him be part
of a foursome with paying clients.
“I was excited
rather than nervous by the chance to be in those scenes. I’m fairly
fit as I’ve been exercising all my life. I try to stay fit and
healthy, although I do like my food and my beer but I’m not worried
about my body; I’m not really a very hairy person, although I
don’t know if that’s a good thing!
“Clever make-up
always helps; you see many people on TV and they look perfect but in
reality they can be far from it.”
As for the raunchy
scenes, they didn’t worry Iddo: “The director of photography
did an amazing job, all the scenes you think are going to be fairly
rude are actually quite sensual. It comes across as a situation you’d
like to be part of. Intimacy on screen can intimidate you at times,
but this didn’t.”
Iddo explains his
character’s relationship with Hannah: “Ben is Hannah’s
ex-boyfriend and to begin with he knows nothing about Hannah’s
secret life as Belle. They went out for a couple of years and things
didn’t work out and now they are just really good friends. I think
they still do really care for each other but I think he cares more about
Hannah than Hannah cares about him.”
During the series
Ben learns the truth about his best friend’s secret life.
“I think Ben’s
journey as a character begins from the moment he finds out what she
really does for a living.
“Hannah has
this whole persona being Belle and that was really hurtful for Ben to
find out about someone he thought he was so close to. I think the biggest
thing for Ben is to find out that someone he’s known for years,
that he’s been in love with, and thought was his best friend,
has kept this huge secret from him. The main questions he has to ask
are ‘Where do I actually come into your life? and ‘How much
do I actually mean to you?’
After the initial
shock of finding out the truth, Ben is keen to show his acceptance of
Hannah’s choice to be a prostitute.
“It obviously
matters to him that she’s a prostitute and he worries about that
because of her safety more than anything. But I think Ben realises that
telling him was a big offering on her behalf. I think there are times
when he thinks about it and is amazed that she told him and shared that
secret.”
“He is there
for her as a friend, whatever. Their friendship is about give and take.
I think asking to be part of the foursome is all a part of acceptance
and accepting her and her choice of what she wants to do with her life.
Although, when it happens I don’t think he can really get his
head around it, particularly when it comes to the emotional separation.”
Iddo admits he was
immediately interested in starring in the show because of its unique
style, the chance to work with Billie Piper and the challenge of the
part.
“In the first
scene of the first script Hannah turns around to the camera and speaks
to the audience and I thought that was really new, exciting and fresh.
“I knew Billie
was attached to it. I think she’s great. When she comes on set
she is totally natural, and totally focused.”
“I think it
was a tricky part for me as an actor but I liked the challenge of having
to find the right balance in terms of Ben and Hannah as friends and
not crossing that line into something else despite their past and Ben’s
confusion about what both of them want.”
And what does Iddo
think about the show’s portrayal of sex and prostitution?
“I think there
is something promiscuous about our age in general and this reflects
that idea. A lot of people these days enjoy sex and don’t mind
showing it. In this, I think Hannah chooses prostitution because she
just really enjoys sex and for her, being a prostitute is like being
paid for something you enjoy doing.
Iddo’s
other credits include Run, Fat Boy, Run and Are You Ready
For Love? He is currently filming a feature film in Lithuania called
Defiance set in Poland during World War Two.
“The film
is about four Jewish brothers who in 1941 saw their whole family murdered
in a village in Poland by Polish police and German soldiers. They run
away to a forest and come across more Jewish refugees who are running
away from ghettos or villages where they are living and start a partisan
movement. I play a guy who has run away from the ghetto.”
When he’s
not filming Iddo is a fan of photography and travelling, and would one
day like to find that special someone…
“I’ve
actually just bought myself a really nice camera, a Canon 5D. I love
pictures where you capture the atmosphere of the moment, like the sand
or dust flying off the road. I’d like to keep doing photography
as a hobby and then if anyone is stupid enough to marry me and have
kids, it will be great to document them growing up.”
Secret
Diary of a Call Girl
About the Show
Episode Guide
The Real Belle de Jour
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Interviews
Billie Piper
Cherie Lunghi
