Being an estate agent is the last job Kris Marshall would ever do.
"Essentially I'm quite a lazy person and I'm most definitely not a salesman," he confides. "Being an estate agent was never my calling."
Kris says his character Matt in Sold is the most unscrupulous estate agent you are ever likely to meet.
"He is the biggest liar, the biggest poseur and in no small way self-obsessed. It is hard to find anything in him that is redeemable but I have tried to create a back story for him to understand him better.
"Basically I think he's a wannabe city boy who didn't make the grade. He has been an estate agent for about 10 years, working his way up the agency ladder but with absolutely no people or management skills. He's a sociopath.
"Matt is hugely competitive. He has to win at all costs. He has to be the best salesman, wear the best suits, drive the fastest car. There really are people out there like him. But he is great fun to play. He's funny in a David Brent sort of way. He's embarrassing to listen to sometimes, a bit close to the bone. He has the funniest lines and great sound bites. It's been a blast."
Despite all that Kris can find common ground with him.
"I am really competitive but not to the ends where I would tread on people to get what I want. That's the problem with Matt. He would turn over anyone to get what he wants.
"Matt is driven by money and glory. His pursuit of glory is all. He aspires to be Mr Colubrine. He thinks the rest of his team are all fools and it's despicable the way he would happily shaft his staff while pandering to his superiors.
“All it means is his team don't like or respect him and his boss thinks he's a fawning idiot. I do feel a bit sorry for him though because at the end of the day it's his head on the block if they don't deliver.”
Kris adds: "Matt's achilles heel is his thinly veiled love for Mel. However much his muddled sound bites and jargon might work on the bimbos from the other offices, Mel isn't interested.
Last year Kris bought a house in Cornwall and two years ago his home in Windsor. So how did he find dealing with real estate agents?
"I had really easy experiences both times. I was buying and not selling. Selling is always more stressful. I also think it depends on where you are buying. In London there's such a housing shortage, it's a much more ruthless game.
"I love looking for houses. When I was looking to buy in Windsor I saw so many houses and couldn't find exactly what I wanted. My dad told me that house buying was all about compromise, you are never going to get absolutely everything in one property.
"I went out and bought the next one I saw. Likewise when I decided to buy a house in Cornwall I drove all over the county. I saw 10 or 15 houses, all miles apart then bought the very first one I'd seen."
The common factor with both homes is their proximity to water.
"In Windsor my house is on the river and in Cornwall right by the sea. I have a real thing for water. It chills me out. I'd been going down to Cornwall to surf for years and always stayed in hotels or rented houses but it's expensive so I thought I'd buy a house then rent it out when I'm not there.
"I'm an average surfer. It's not like riding a bike, unfortunately. You do need to do it all the time to be good. When I go down there it takes me quite a while to build up the skill again and then I have to go back to work just as things are picking up.
“It's great for cleaning out the whole system. It's a difficult sport, waves breaking over your head, 11-year-olds cutting you up. But it builds up your strength and I really enjoy it. Out there all you can do is think about the next wave. There is no stress."
