Danny Dyer has declared he would refuse a knighthood if offered, stating the honour “isn’t for me” due to his anti-establishment stance.
The 47-year-old former EastEnders star told Radio Times he would emulate his “hero” Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize-winning playwright who declined a knighthood in 1996.
“Harold was my hero and turned down a knighthood. He was anti-establishment as well, so I don’t think it’s for me,” Dyer said when asked whether he had been approached about appearing on the New Year’s Honours list.
The actor explained he considered himself too “anti-establishment” for the royal accolade.
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EastEnders actor reveals why he would refuse award from King Charles.
Dyer’s theatrical connection to Pinter began when he starred in the playwright’s Celebration aged 22, later performing in productions of No Man’s Land and The Homecoming.
Whilst Pinter rejected the knighthood offered during John Major’s premiership, he subsequently accepted the Companion of Honour in 2002.
The playwright went on to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005 and France’s Légion d’honneur in 2007.
The actor also made light of his standing compared to Sir Gary Oldman, who received his knighthood in King Charles’s Birthday Honours this year. Dyer joked he was the “cheaper version” of the Slow Horses star.
Danny Dyer has slammed the treatment of working-class actors in the performing industry.
Discussing his role in the upcoming Irish film Three Quick Breaths, Dyer quipped that he had been selected as the “cheaper” alternative to Oldman, who he claimed was initially approached for the part but demanded £2million “just to read it”.
“But I was next in line, which I’m chuffed with,” he said. “If you go Gary Oldman and I’m next, it’s because I’m obviously cheaper. I’m happy to be a cheaper version of Gary Oldman.”
In the thriller, Dyer portrays the film’s only character – an old-school football agent desperately attempting to secure his star player one final lucrative deal before both his life and his client’s reputation collapse.
Dyer’s knighthood remarks follow a long-running joke that began in 2017 when comedian Michael McIntyre sent a spoof honour offer to the actor’s friends and family during his TV show.
Danny Dyer broke a major rule during his Bafta acceptance speech.
Danny Dyer left EastEnders in 2022 and subsequently starred in Rivals.
The prank, which aired on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, prompted responses of congratulations and disbelief from Dyer’s circle.
The actor famously discovered royal ancestry during his 2016 appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, which revealed he was descended from King Edward III.
After nine years playing Mick Carter in EastEnders until 2022, Dyer has since appeared in Disney’s Rivals, comedy series Mr Bigstuff, and the forthcoming Three Quick Breaths.