Character: Will Grayson
Actor: Sam Hazeldine
Episode: Invasion

Sam Hazeldine enjoyed getting into costume for his role as Will Grayson in Foyle's War.

"It's my first costume drama because I've done a lot of contemporary work. I wear a really cool period leather jacket, which I would have loved to keep. As I said to the costume lady, I always look an idiot but she made me look quite cool. I had the short back and sides but it wasn't too bad."

Will is a friend of Milner's (Anthony Howell) who's home on leave.

"He's been a soldier since the beginnings of the war and he's served in France, Africa and Trondheim. He's seen a lot of his close friends die around him and he's sick to death of the war, he's struggling to find any hope of it ending.

"Before the war he was a very jovial character, always cracking jokes and being everyone's friend. Although he's still likeable, he's steeped by the death around him and it's affected him badly. He will only talk to other soldiers about the things he's seen. I understand that because my granddad rarely speaks about things that happened in the war, it's a hidden experience.

"It was great to play a hero for a change. I keep getting cast as murderers, which is a worry - perhaps I should shave more!"

Sam is the son of the late actor James Hazeldine and says his father's death encouraged him to get back into acting.

"I went to drama school but I left because I got into music and my band was on tour. I wanted to finish with music and get back into acting, but I didn't have the confidence to do it as I'd turned my back on it before. I went to live with my dad, which turned out to be the last year of his life.

"After dad died, it was a catalyst. I thought 'to hell with it, I'm just going to give it a go'. It was a great foot in the door to have him as my father and I've done some really quality TV work, where at each point someone has known him. It feels quite natural for me because it's a way of life that I was used to when I was young.

"The only regret I have is that every time I get a new job, I reach for the phone to call Dad with the good news but realise immediately I can't."

Sam's latest role is in the forthcoming BBC1 drama Life on Mars. "I worked with John Simm who is an old friend of mine from drama school. I had to have my hair dyed ginger and play a borderline paranoid schizophrenic."

Sam's other credits include Passer By, New Tricks, Dalziel and Pascoe, Shameless, Prime Suspect 6 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.