Russell role for former litigator

By Vicky Anderson on Feb 26, 08 06:40 AM

A FORMER litgation specialist who swapped compensation claims for the stage is currently enjoying his biggest break to date as one of the main characters in the current run of Willy Russell’s Stags and Hens.

James Spofforth plays Eddie, the best friend of the groom-to-be in the latest version of the classic Liverpool play, on at the Royal Court until March 1.

It was only at the start of this year that he decided to move into acting full-time, after working as a litigation specialist at a number of city firms, most recently Goldsmith Williams but also including Leeds Lloyd Whitley and Paul Rooney.

On the side, he was part of the production company To Be Frank for 6 years where he regularly attended drama workshops and has had intensive private tuition studying Shakespearian and contemporary scripts with Shameless actress Tina Malone.

Mr Spofforth, 28, landed the role of Eddie after quitting the legal profession on January 2.

He said: “I am over the moon to have been cast by Willy Russell. My aim is to embrace this opportunity and to enjoy every moment. I wanted something different to just sitting in the office and Stags and Hens was an opportunity I just couldn’t miss – I thought to myself I just had to make that jump."