'The Full Monty': What Happened To Robert Carlyle?

It was 1997, and Robert Carlyle was in his mid-30s, when he first played the stripping Sheffield steelworker "Gaz" in 'The Full Monty'. In 2022, to get ready to play him again – this time for an eight-part TV series – he sat himself down to watch the film with 'The Guardian'. He seemed slightly embarrassed to admit it – he’s not the kind of actor who likes to watch himself.

“And I’m not about trawling back through something from 20-odd years ago,” he says. But 'The Full Monty' was calling him to South Yorkshire, so trawl back he did. He decided that he would watch a few minutes, then he would move on. “And I sat there and watched the whole thing.” He was surprised to find that it still worked, even after 25 years. “I don’t know if I can say this, but I really enjoyed it. It really stands up.”

The original 'Full Monty' told the story of six unemployed men from Sheffield who put on a DIY strip show at the working men’s club. It was an indie film, shot on a very small budget, and it almost went straight to video; a last-minute re-edit saved it from obscurity and it went on to be a staggering global success, making £200m at the box office!

After many years, he retook the character for the 'Full Monty' miniseries which is currently awaiting it's second season. “It’s easy to forget that the film is quite heavily political,” says Carlyle. And that sees him back in the character again today!

“It makes a point. And I think the same applies to the TV show. These people have lived through what seems like 25 years of austerity.” He credits the writers, Simon Beaufoy and Alice Nutter, with its gallows humour. “But you see that the older people’s lives have been pretty tough for the past 25 years, and then there’s 20 years of what Simon calls the Young Montys, the younger characters, heading for the same shit. So it’s good that this has been made. It shows what people go through to survive the day to day.” Not just men getting their kit off, then. Does he strip this time? “Nobody wants to see that,” he says, with a grin.

In recent years, he's kept busy as well. Carlyle has worked on the miniseries yes, but he also played "Fugler" in 2023, 'The Performance.' As well as "Robert Sutherland" in the hit series 'Cobra.'

He also small roles in films like 2022's 'North of Normal.' To many American TV lovers he played "Rumplestiltskin" on 'Once Upon a Time' until 2018.

He’s calmed down a lot since his wilder days, in part because he is, as he says, “125 years old” (he’s just turned 62, though he looks younger) and also because he now lives in Vancouver, on the west coast of Canada. “There’s a laid-back attitude and quality here I enjoy,” he says.

You can catch Robert in 'Toxic Town' which should be premiering next year. And possibly even the new season of 'The Full Monty' with "Gaz" back in action.

Carlyle is at his happiest when he’s at home. “I’m a homebody, there’s no doubt about that,” he says. “I’ve got loads of friends, particularly in London, and I enjoy it when I get to meet up with them. It’s brilliant. But I’ve always been a bit of a loner to be honest.”