The acting role Pete Doherty regrets turning down
While Pete Doherty, the ever-entertaining and charismatic frontman of The Libertines, has mainly stuck to singing and songwriting over his rollercoaster quarter-century career, he has made notable attempts in other realms. After a brush with modelling in his days partnered with Kate Moss, Doherty began to fancy himself as a face for the big screen.
After rooting around for acting roles in the early 2010s, the troubled star was singled out to act opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in the lead role for Confession of a Child of the Century, Sylvie Verheyde’s film adaption of Alfred de Musset’s autobiographical novel La Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle.
Although appearing at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, the film suffered an embarrassing record as the lowest grossing film of the year in US box office takings. This crushing reaction seemed to turn the Libertine away from his dream of making it on the big screen, adding to his ostensibly lengthy list of regrets.
The biggest regret of Doherty’s foray into acting, however, wasn’t anything he did but rather something he didn’t do. Speaking to The Mirror in June, Doherty revealed that he was once offered a part in Britain’s beloved long-running soap opera, EastEnders, in 2014, but he regretfully declined.
“There are a few things that have fallen through over the years that I was a bit disappointed about,” Doherty said. “Opportunities that came up that I didn’t take. I was going to get a part in EastEnders at one point. It was around this time that the Libertines re-formed too.”
Elsewhere, the Libertines co-frontman also revealed that he declined an offer to appear on the highly exposing George Orwell-inspired reality show Big Brother. Understandably, Doherty seemed much less regretful for that missed opportunity.
While seeing Doherty appear on EastEnders for a few episodes would have been fun for all, I’m sure any fellow fans are relieved that he used the time to patch things up with Carl Barât and reunite The Libertines.
Listen to ‘Gunga Din’ below. It was the first single released by The Libertines after they reformed in 2014.
