10 questions with comedy writer, Jack Rooke

BAFTA award-winning writer and performer, Jack Rooke, has been writing and performing comedy since his early twenties. Perhaps best known for his coming-of-age comedy, Big Boys, it's a story that is drawn – loosely – from his own experiences as a young, queer man. Rooke's adeptness at pulling from the playbook of his life to create characters and stories that are jam-packed with heart and humour is something that has earned him endless accolades (including a spot on the prestigious BAFTA Breakthrough programme, aged 28.)

Ahead of the release of Big Boys series three, we asked Jack some of life's important questions.

Wallpaper*: Hi Jack, how are things?

Jack Rooke: If I was to tell you the truth, I’m absolutely exhausted and I’ve just worked out I’m allergic to mustard (it makes my nose itch), which is so shit cause mustard makes so much stuff so much better! So I guess I’m grieving. I’m grieving mustard.

W*: What have you been working on and how does it differ from your previous work?

JR: I’ve been working on my sitcom Big Boys for over two years straight now so I’ve been in one world for a very long time. I’m really excited at the prospect of starting something new whilst also terrified of never finding the same level of creative happiness again. But I don’t wanna be a drama queen about it haha! It is after all, just telly.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Maybe that after all the hard work you put into something it is 'just telly!' I can’t remember who said this but… the person I know who always gives the best advice is Dolly Alderton, the writer. She has this rare expansive capacity to find love and time for people even when they’re being mega annoying or needy (me, often.) The more I’ve got to know her, the more I see how she mixes being a sharply funny, cynical traditionalist with being an incredibly progressive, compassionate optimist. I think in a way that is the best advice she’s taught me, leading by example that you can be two different things which don’t have to feel like opposites. The best writers blend being both cynics and sweethearts. The worst writers always stick to one camp, and then their schtick runs out quickly.

What’s your most prized possession?

I bought my mum a new fridge last Christmas. Truly, the best thing I’ve ever purchased. It has these really sleek pull out drawers instead of a freezer door. We both stand and stare at it in awe and then mum shouts at me if I leave the fridge open too long when I’m making a sandwich. She keeps wiping down the doors if anyone touches it, meanwhile in the living room I have gifted her my BAFTA trophy and she’s perfectly happy for people to come round and leave grubby fingerprints all over that. It’s nice to know her priorities.

What’s your biggest insecurity?

I hate that all my work to date has been semi or fully autobiographical. I’m hung up on it really, because it is a hang over from being in my 20s during the 2010s era of ‘oversharing’, in writing, on stage and online. The whole concept of fully 'baring your truth', now makes me cringe I’d like to think I’m more self-aware nowadays, and even if a story of my own is the vehicle for something, I try to make the sentiments as applicable to as many different people as possible. It can’t always be about me, I’m actually quite boring sometimes.

In your opinion, what's a no-skips album?

For me it’s an LP from 2010 called The Sea by Corinne Bailey Rae. It was and remains to this day, my most favourite piece of art about grief and love. I think it’s a perfect record, start to finish, which I started listening to at uni with one of my halls mates. I named the last episode of the new season of Big Boys after it, because the spirit of that album is like the spirit of the finale: it’s all about finding possibilities after tragedy. Not thinking everything is fucked and over and done, but embracing how the aftermath of a loss is the chance to create something new or imaginative or totally made up, and how that’s kind of key to getting through it and has always been key to all of my work. Wow, I’m sorry to be so earnest in this answer but it’s true!

When you want to feel your best, what do you wear?

100% Adidas. I grew up as a kid in Adidas trackies and then in recent years I’ve watched the brand grow to design amazing remakes and nostalgic new collections that are fashion forward but also size inclusive. I’ve paired an Adidas tracksuit with a white shirt and tie before and felt incredible. There’s versatility there which I love. I also think everyone looks quite hot in good sportswear? No one looks shit in sprinter shorts. Well I’m sure some people do but I don’t and that’s what matters.

The best hotel in the world is…

Either one full of all your best mates celebrating or one where you have the entire bedroom just to yourself. My favourite hotel experiences have been at The Sea Containers London in one of their River Thames overlooking balcony suites, celebrating with all the Big Boys cast til 9am the first year we were BAFTA nominated. And then my second fave hotel is this tiny boutique place in Paris called Les Artistes, which sits in the shadow of the Montparnasse tower but has this cute market outside, some incredible creperies nearby and a massive cemetery where Sartre and Beckett are buried. I wrote a lot of Big Boys Season 3 around there because it feels both excitingly busy yet completely easy to have a moment to yourself. And the hotel is relatively affordable, super comfy and you can walk just about everywhere, which are my personal favourite traits of any stay.

What are you most proud of?

This changes all the time which is a privilege I suppose, but right now I’m most proud of being an executive producer on Big Boys from the very start. I think that was quite a battle to get at the beginning of my career and I’m just seeing now how that’s paid off. I always knew the wider vision of Big Boys more than any producer or commissioner could, and I think it’s cool that they trusted a 25 year-old me to be like – I have my own instincts and I know how this should land, so please just believe me. And I’m proud (and relieved) that the risk paid off.

Describe your perfect Sunday

Honestly, a shag and a roast. Can you say ‘shag’ in Wallpaper* magazine? You should be able to. By roast I mean like a chicken with loads of veg and all the trimmings, nothing sordid. Although I have just realised, I’d normally add loads of mustard to a roast dinner plate and I can’t anymore. That’s shit.

The final series of Big Boys is available to stream on Channel 4 from Sunday. Series 1 and 2 are also available via Hulu in the US