Marking a rare occasion, Mike Bailey recently took part in an interview as he spoke about walking away from fame.
Of course, you might know him better as Sid from the hit noughties and early 2010s teen drama, Skins.
The now 37-year-old appeared in the first two seasons of the iconic TV show before going on to appear in the likes of 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth, We Are the Freaks and Hers and History.
While his cast mates such as Nicholas Hoult and Daniel Kaluuya continued with the industry, Bailey left his career in 2017 and instead completed a drama degree and teacher training to go on to work as a high school drama teacher.
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And having sported such a distinct look as a kid in Skins, it’s fair to say he’s looking pretty different nowadays.
Bailey appeared on the NSN Podcast last month as he spoke about working as a young actor, his time as Sid and why he chose to leave the industry behind.
Probably most notably for fans, the most obvious difference to the noughties him is the lack of those distinct glasses his character wore.
Well, that and the fact he obviously doesn’t have a long mop of hair anymore. Instead, he sports a short, bleach blonde trim with light facial hair and no beanie in sight.
“Whoa the short, light hair makes SUCH a huge difference, I never would have guessed this was Sid! He looks like he’s been doing great,” one user wrote on Reddit.
Another admitted: “I didn’t recognise his name and I was staring at him wondering who he played!”
As a third echoed: “Even with dark hair I don’t think I would have guessed that was Sid.”
A fourth also said: “I honestly can’t see Sid there at all, crazy.”
During the podcast, Bailey said light-heartedly that he thinks acting ‘is ridiculous’ but again, he does teach drama.
He also explained he ended up doing six auditions over four months for Skins and that one of the ones he did ‘was awful’.
But in the end, he says the cast ‘were quite lucky’ as they ‘did all gel together’.
"I was very lucky I did some other stuff afterwards, not as well known stuff, was absolutely fine," he said. "I got the opportunities to go to places and live that, and then it kind of... it's not that it necessarily died a death - it kind of did but then some choices that I made..."
Bailey said: "So many people in the world I think are taught that right, you pick up your skill you learn to do that job and then you must stay in that job for the rest of your life."
He added: "I think i made the choice between [seasons] one and two to finish off at college and not really go off and audition and stuff and get an agent.
"I didn't get an agent until series two and that's when everything slowed down massively."
Eventually, he says things just 'fizzled' but it is 'fine' and 'these things happen'.
As the host told him that he has 'a lot of talent', Bailey said: "But you can't hold on to it. I think if you constantly just cling to that bit, you're going to end up in a deep dark place."
Now, he says teaching drama to young people is 'the best job' he's ever had.
Topics: TV and Film
Jess Battison