FROM walking the beat to treading the boards – a Croydon policeman is set for the West End next week.
Sergeant Du'aine Samuels began pursuing his acting dream four years ago.
Du'aine, 32, has since appeared in numerous theatre productions, small films and, appropriately enough, an appearance on The Bill.
The Addiscombe resident will appear in Dante: The Inferno at Leicester Square Theatre next week (April 8-12) – and says he is using his day job for inspiration.
Du'aine, who has been a policeman for 12 years, said: "I'm playing the victim of a stabbing at three different ages – 15, 25 and 35. Interacting with young kids from different backgrounds at work helps me understand certain things like the jargon they use."
Du'aine, who has an agent, always wanted to be an actor but was persuaded to follow a safer career path by his mother when he left John Ruskin College.
He said: "My family have always encouraged me to follow my dream but when you leave school, they made me realise you have to be financially realistic.
"But I wasn't getting any younger and decided to bite the bullet."
Du'aine said he is still very committed to his role as a policeman, although his fellow bobbies like to give him stick about his acting ambition.
He said: "My colleagues are very inquisitive about my sideline and give me banter and support in equal measure, but it's all in jest, you know."
Du'aine said his ideal role would be in BBC crime drama Luther, and added that he is unsure as to which of his jobs is the hardest.
Among Du'aine's acting credits are appearances in Hollywood blockbuster Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black and future independent film 11 to 1.
