HART DREW ON FAMILY HISTORY FOR SCHIZOPHRENIC ROLE

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Former Harry Potter star Ian Hart had no problem playing a schizophrenic paparazzo in Courteney Cox's defunct TV drama Dirt because two of his uncles suffered mental illness.

The British actor dedicated the character to his uncles Chris and Joe - and felt he owed it to them tackle the role with sensitivity - because neither of his relatives were dangerous.He tells WENN, As a kid, when my uncle Chris would come round to my house and just sit there laughing; he was the happiest man alive. To me, as a kid, I just thought he was crazy and not mentally ill.And my uncle Joe would walk 40 miles with a stack of 45 records in one hand and an old record player in a box in the other and come to the house, put his records on and dance around the living room.As a child, I thought, 'Whatever he's doing, sign me up.' Neither of my schizophrenic uncles posed any threat or negativity to me.