Carlyle has played iconic characters on screen throughout his career, but he never imagined he would be asked to play Conservative Prime Minister

Although he immortalised Trainspotting’s psychopath Begbie, he didn’t really want to become Prime Minister.

He has been cast in the Sky TV COBRA series’ third installment, however.

I don’t remember it ever coming up, did it?” he asked. “Who’d have thought I’d get to play Robert Sutherland, the former Conservative prime minister?”

Having the casting director send me this part was brave, because I am not what you would expect to play a man in that role, but I take that as a compliment and a challenge.”

Carlyle, 62, said he initially agreed to a season – just six episodes – of the political drama. The experience has been so enjoyable for him that he keeps returning.

Prime Minister Sutherland needed a different kind of inspiration from Begbie and rookie stripper Gaz in The Full Monty, which he played in The Full Monty.

A bit further back was necessary, he explained. In the conservative world, it was difficult to find anyone.

The one I thought of was John Smith. Even though he was a Labour man, something about him stood out to me. Something about the way he spoke drew me to him.

My Glasgow accent would not allow me to play Sutherland in there.

“In the nicest possible way, sometimes I hear them and they are just vaguely Scottish, maybe Oxbridge educated, and when I found that for Sutherland I thought I was onto something.”