Shaun Evans has been keeping audiences entertained as the brilliant Endeavour Morse on detective drama Endeavour for almost a decade now, but it seems that he could soon be gearing up for a new challenge.
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Chatting to the Financial Times earlier this year, the actor revealed that he has his heart set on doing more directing work in the future as he doesn't "want to be limited by just being an actor."
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He explained: "I really wanted to learn my trade . . . I don't want to be limited by just being an actor, and by that I mean I want to be able to tell stories that don't depend on my acting limitations. As an actor, you can feel stymied. You're always waiting for someone's permission to do your work."
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Shaun has a number of directing credits to his name already. He worked both in front of and behind the camera for the series six episode Apollo and again for the series seven opener Oracle. He has also directed three episodes of BBC hospital drama Casualty, which he said he managed to score after he "harangued them to give me a job.
"I did one episode and then, on the next break from Endeavour, instead of taking an acting job, I went back to do some more," he said.
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When asked whether he thinks he could move permanently into directing he cryptically responded: "I've got a couple of things that I'm developing that I can't talk about as I don't want to jinx them."
However, Endeavour fans need not worry too much it seems, as he added that he is "happy to be a gun for hire and act in a job if I think I can bring something to it." He explained: "Ultimately, you want to feel like your work is your work. So if I'm given the opportunity to create, then that's what I'll do."
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