Im Danny Dyer – I dont need a chat-up line

Danny Dyer is back on the big screen with a film about a bloke trying to win back his missus.

Marching Powder follows the story of Jack Jones (Dyer), a football hooligan who feels increasingly irrelevant.

After some violent match day behaviour, Jack is arrested and given six weeks to turn his life around - or face prison. He also has to try to save his marriage.

But the real Danny Dyer met his partner when they were 13. Theyve been together more than 30 years, married for eight of them, and he likes to think hes a bit of a romantic.

So, what love lessons can we learn from the former EastEnders actor?

"Im a snorer," Dyer admits.

"You know what, snoring is just bad luck. Me and my wife have been around a long time and we have separate beds and the reason for that is, I unfortunately roar in the night."

The 47-year-old says its rare to have been with your partner for over 30 years at his age. "Were bringing up grandchildren – its a beautiful thing. My clans getting bigger and Ive become more responsible now.

"I feel like Ive grown up slightly and become an adult."

"Listen, I think its a bit of a myth that Ive played the hard man role," Dyer says. "In EastEnders, I played an alpha male that wore a pink dressing gown. I was a very sensitive soul."

He says if you look at the Marching Powder poster, its easy to think hes playing a hard man - but his character, Jack, isnt. "Hes into football violence and hes got a lot of issues around addiction, but hes a good man.

"What is masculinity?" Dyer wonders. "When does it become toxic? Its about being a decent human being.

"Theres nothing wrong with being masculine. But as men, we need to open up to each other and stand up to our mates and go, no, Im not coming out tonight – Im going to spend a nice evening with my wife.

"Me and my wife are actually going to therapy, couples help groups. And you know, your mates are all laughing but you go – no, no I love her."

When it comes to his romantic playlist, Dyer loves the somewhat unlikely combo of Luther Vandross and Jeff Buckley.

"Everybody Here Wants You – whack that on," he says. And whats his best chat up line? He replies immediately.

"Well, Im Danny Dyer. I dont need one. Whatever that means. Well, you know, fame and stuff, I dont think Ive ever needed to use a chat up line.

"Obviously Ive been with my missus for so long and I went through a period where I was quite desirable to women, and all of a sudden Ive become desirable again, even though Im a grandad, a balding sort of lumpy grandad."

Dyer says his wife has grown with him and kept him grounded. "Shes a very special human being and shes never really been fazed by my work."

He says he comes from a working class family and the Marching Powder screening was "full of the working class lot that love our movies. And its always great to be around real people, as I like to call them".

"You know, the real people that keep this country going – the underrepresented at the moment, the underpaid, you know, people just existing at the moment," he says.

"We need more working class people in politics that know what its like to be working class. And we need more working class people in the arts. The most creative people out there – musicians, actors, whatever, are working class people. End of it, full stop."

Dyer says Jack, his character in Marching Powder, is flawed but lovable.

"Hes got no right to still be with his wife - the way he treats her, he just keeps on getting it wrong."

But he says audiences are hopefully rooting for Jack to save his marriage.

"To be a good patriarch is hard and every day is a lesson," says Dyer. "Look after the ones around you."

"What is love?," Dyer asks.

"Its falling in love with peoples flaws, thats why we stay with people, we meet people, we have a mask on that were so perfect and then we got to the next level where you take that mask off and its the weird, quirky stuff that you either go – see you later, youre elbowed – or, ooh, I quite like that about you."

Dyer says love is an interesting dynamic.

"We need more love in the world, by the way," he says.

"Wheres all the love gone? Too much hatred and division going on."

Marching Powder is out in cinemas from 7th March.