Actor Pete Postlethwaite outside the Liverpool Everyman _320

Pete Postlethwaite tells Vicky Anderson why he’s glad to be back in Liverpool - but doesn’t know why he returned

"PETE POSTLETHWAITE is King Lear." It’s the sort of theatrical event that gets people talking all over the country or even the world, like David Tennant and Patrick Stewart in Hamlet or Kevin Spacey taking over the Old Vic; the sort of theatrical event that people take mini-breaks down to London to see.

Not this time. Those lucky enough to have snapped up the advance tickets of this sold-out production will see Postlethwaite, regarded as one of the world’s finest actors, treading the boards where his career began – the Everyman.

He arrived back in Liverpool last week for a day of interviews, not sat stage side like a luvvie or in a fancy hotel like a Hollywood star, but camped out in the middle of the Everyman foyer as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

A new, huge Lear-esque beard detracted from his ever- distinctive features, and a thick cream cable- knit jumper made him look as potentially regal as if he might fancy a spot of deep-sea fishing.

He proved to be, as ever, as normal as he is extraordinary.

"I don’t know why, as a person, I wanted to do this," he begins.

"But when the opportunity came up and the stars aligned themselves – the Everyman, Capital of Culture, [director] Rupert Goold, myself, I couldn’t walk away if I wanted to."

Postlethwaite admits to being "really gobsmacked" as to all the attention.

"When your local postman comes down the lane in Shropshire and says ‘it’s a load of rubbish Pete, I can’t get tickets to your show’ – when someone tells you it’s sold out, there’s a lot at stake in that respect."

Such as?

"Failing," he says earnestly, before starting to laugh. But if we do fail, you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll fail spectacularly."

Which begs the question as to how the 62-year-old actor came to the point where he was ready to take on one of theatre’s most illustrious roles.

"You don’t choose to play Lear – you find you have to. You’re up against a rock and a hard place," he says.

There’s something grandiose about his way with words, but he speaks with humanity, rather than theatricality.

Like a true Northerner, he fusses over the tea on the table, making sure it is poured and fretting about it going cold.