Acting's a tough career to break into. When did you realise it was the life for you?

I'm not sure if this is a common thing for actors, but back at school I was always the loud and usually obnoxious extrovert. Instead of knuckling down to my studies, I was the kid who larked about in the back of the class, annoying the teachers. So I think the performance bug was there in me from the start.

That said, it wasn't till I was 17 that I gave acting any serious thought. Everyone was applying to university and I had to make a decision about what to do with my life. I realised then that acting was the only thing that held any attraction for me, so I applied to Rada. Which actually turned out to be a friendly place full of people from all backgrounds – not just a bunch of posh types as I'd originally feared.

You appeared in shows like Teachers before Robin Hood changed your life. How did you bag this plum role?

Believe it or not, I almost didn't bother going to the audition. My agent had worked hard to get me on the longlist to play Robin, but I basically thought it was pointless. I knew they were looking at better-known actors, and I didn't fancy wasting my time – particularly as I was due to fly out to India for another project a few days later.

But thankfully I did end up auditioning, and it was about a week or so later, while I was out in India, that I got the call saying I'd won the role. I was over the moon, and immediately started training to buff up a bit. The gym in India was OK, but I had a bit of trouble finding a horse to practice riding on. At one point I found myself on a donkey led by a boy with a piece of string. Some Errol Flynn, eh!

What was your approach to playing such a globally recognised character?

He's a total legend, which is why it was so amazing to get the role. Like everyone else, I came to the part with images of other Robins in my head. You know, the Kevin Costner film and the like. But I also had some firm ideas about how I wanted to play him.

There's always been this thing about showing Robin Hood as a kind of superhero. A pure, heroic, invincible kind of guy. Whereas I wanted to play him as more of an everyman, a bit awkward sometimes, not a show-off. And he's also really socially conscious. He doesn't just rob from the rich and give to the poor, he's angered by corruption. Which is why he's at war with the Sheriff.

Robin Hood is one of the most action-packed shows we've seen in a long time. Was that hard going for you?

Well, I already had a certificate for stage combat, which I got while training at Rada. So I knew a thing or two about making myself appear pretty deadly on screen. The trouble was I wasn't allowed to do certain things, like walking across narrow beams or whatever. They had to get a stunt double to do that. Which I found frustrating, but it was all down to insurance reasons and couldn't be helped.

On the plus side, I did get to do all my own horse riding, and that was a blast. I was literally galloping along, bow in hand, shouting orders at my men. I was Robin Hood in those scenes, I can tell you. The one snag was I'd wake up some mornings feeling really raw from all the bumps and bruises I'd got from filming the day before.

What was the most memorable part of filming for you?

Well, I saw a ghost in the woods! I say "saw", but actually I didn't notice anything at the time. The producer and I were trudging around the forest in Hungary doing an evening shoot, and the lighting guy decided to take a photo of us.

Looking at the photo later, we saw a shape behind us in the trees, with a really distinct face and musket helmet. Sort of tubby looking, like Mel Smith! It really freaked me out actually, even some of the crew members insisted it was just the lighting. I've since learnt that part of the forest was once used by thieves to stash their swag, so maybe it's the ghost of an old outlaw. Would be fitting, wouldn't it?