JAMES Nesbitt enters the room looking tanned, having just returned from a holiday in Mexico with his two teenage daughters.
"This is all real," he quips, taking a seat on a sofa.
It was a well-deserved break following a busy year. He completed The Secret, about double-murderer Colin Howell, before Christmas 2015. "Then I worked straight from Cold Feet to Lucky Man," says Nesbitt (52). "I had such a lovely time but when you come back, you're straight into it again. I start filming Cold Feet on Monday."
There was much hype ahead of the Cold Feet crew reuniting after 13 years – could it possibly be the same? But the new series didn't let anyone down.
"Yeah, it went very well, and now we've got to do it all over again, which is a responsibility," says Nesbitt, crossing and uncrossing his legs and arms throughout the conversation.
Not only did the reunion allow fans of the original series to reflect on their own passing years ("Oh yeah, I think Cold Feet held up a lot of mirrors to a lot of people," Nesbitt nods in agreement), but it introduced the gang to a new audience.
"I, in my arrogance, thought everyone had seen the first five series, but quite a lot of people hadn't. They came to it new, loved it, embraced those characters and really got it, so that's encouraging," adds the actor, who considers himself "lucky" that Cold Feet is "such an ensemble piece".
It means he can enjoy time off and regularly return home to London from the Manchester set to see his daughters (he and their mum, Sonia, divorced last year after 22 years of marriage).
Stan Lee's Lucky Man, which returned to Sky1 last Friday for a second run, is filmed in London, but Nesbitt shoulders the responsibility of playing the leading man.
"And it really is, at the risk of sounding arrogant, my show," he says, noting that the pressure of playing a title character isn't often talked about. "There should be a pressure, because often the buck stops with you."
In the show, created by comic book icon Stan Lee, Nesbitt plays DI Harry Clayton, "a contemporary superhero" who's been given a bracelet that brings him great luck. There's plenty of action, which, he remarks, "gives you an excuse to keep fit".
"But as I am a man of a certain age, you do feel a bit stiffer in the morning, a wee bit creaky, but I love that and the fitter you are of body, the fitter you are also of mind. I've always been like that because I enjoy the good things in life, and so to enjoy the good things in life, you've got to do the difficult things in life as well."
Aside from working with a personal trainer, Nesbitt has "a mini gym in my trailer".
Sounds fancy?
"Too bloody right!" he exclaims. "It becomes your home for six months, so you want to be comfortable. I've got a very nice bed too, which I use a lot."
He feels "blessed", a term he uses frequently, by his success.
"The work is full-on but it's something I always wanted to do. And the fact I still enjoy it and am challenged by it is a blessing. So the balance is pretty good – I think."
In the new series, Harry is "clearly trying to walk the right path".
"Harry didn't ask for this bracelet," notes Nesbitt, then pauses as he feels the need to explain himself.
"I'm aware when I talk about these things, I have to embrace the genre. It's ridiculous, but I think what makes it so entertaining is you have to treat it with truth," he comments before continuing.
"Harry's trying not to use it [the bracelet] because he's seen the price and that for every good bit of luck, something bad can happen to those he loves. Or that's what he's always been led to believe. When we find him, he's trying to be the better man, but of course, all that's thrown into disarray when Isabella [who's also got a bracelet, played by Thekla Reuten] arrives."
How would he fare meeting a femme-fatale like Isabella in real life?
"I'd be terrified but I've got three older sisters, I've grown up with them. My mother had three sisters, my granny had three sisters, so I've grown up loving but being intimidated by women as well," he quips.
Nesbitt admits the superhero genre isn't one he was "really that interested in" before embarking on this project.
"It just didn't play a part in my life, but now I've embraced it so much, I love it. I think the escapism of the genre is important to people in an ever-changing, complicated world," he says.
"I think they need that. What's important about Harry Clayton is that he is flawed. He's quite anti-heroic in a sense. He's an addict; he walks a very fine line in terms of the law. He's lost his wife and his family, he sometimes makes decisions that are questionable, but he errs ultimately on the side of right."
Nesbitt could relate to the character straight away.
"Harry and I are 52 years old and we've probably seen a lot, been involved in a lot and had our ups and downs, but we're still trying to fight, both of us, for the right things. So yes, I recognise a lot in him."
Growing up in Ballymena, Nesbitt recalls it being "hard to entertain the notion of being an actor, because it didn't seem like a real job".
Though not shy as a child, he says, "I was quite isolated".
"I wasn't lonely by any stretch of the imagination, but I did spend time on my own and I think that can fuel one's imagination," he muses
Being from Northern Ireland "is everything", and he regularly returns home.
"My three best mates are there. My dad's still there. Two of my sisters are there. I have a company there called G&H Film and Television Services, so do all the facilities for Game Of Thrones. I've got a presence there, and have just bought a property by the sea."
His pals often take the Mick out of their friend's career.
"Well, they think it's ridiculous. They don't think it's a real job at all," says Nesbitt, laughing. "But they've done rather well from it! They looked out for me when I was at drama school and impoverished, and now we've got to have some fun perks from it... I've been very, very lucky. I'm a lucky man!"
:: Stan Lee's Lucky Man continues on Sky1 on Fridays.
