WHILE David Morrissey wouldn't call himself controlling, he does enjoy a certain amount of influence when signing up to a show. "Sometimes, as an actor, you come in on the middle of a project and all of the writing has been done, and most of the decisions have been made before you get there," explains the 50-year-old, who's played a mass murderer in The Widowmaker, Gordon Brown in Peter Morgan's The Deal and an arcade owner in the BBC musical series, Blackpool.

"Then you leave a project early and it all gets edited together with music, so I was finding I liked being involved in all of the aspects really, and I like the collaborative nature of that."

It's why a couple of years back, he co-founded a production company with his friend, producer Jolyon Symonds. "One of the first things we did was meet writers and top of that list was Danny Brocklehurst," says Morrissey, of the man whose credits include Accused and The Street.

"I've known and wanted to work with him for a long time, but we'd never got round to it, so we sat down, he had a few ideas, and this was the one that jumped out."

He's referring to The Driver, a three-part drama for the BBC in which Morrissey stars as taxi driver Vince McKee, a man who, frustrated with the monotony of life, accepts an offer to drive for a criminal gang.

"Vince has walked a straight and narrow line, paid his taxes and supported his family, but he slightly feels like he hasn't been rewarded for it. He's wondering where his prize is," says the Liverpool-born actor, who began his training at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre before enrolling at Rada.

Vince is introduced to the gang by Colin, a friend who's resurfaced after a six-year stretch in prison. He's played by Ian Hart, an old school pal of Morrissey's, who he previously worked with on the acclaimed 1983 TV series One Summer.

Their shared history meant they could enjoy a shorthand on the set of The Driver, a project he describes as a "domestic drama".

"It's about a man who's struggling emotionally because his son is missing," reveals the father-of-three, who is married to novelist Esther Freud, daughter of artist, Lucian. "His wife (Claudie Blakley) doesn't want to talk about their son but Vince needs to, so he's not only in a financially troubling place, he's in an emotionally troubling place. He's slightly lost and wondering what life's all about, really."

The offer of becoming a driver for gang leader The Horse (Colm Meaney) seems like an exciting proposition.

"The excitement of driving is what he needs as a man; what gives him his machismo back. It's not another woman or gambling, it's flirting with danger that makes him feel manly and part of life again. That is a very relatable thing for many people."

The team were keen for the driving sequences to be as enthralling as their budget would allow - "so we're on that journey with Vince, and you feel the same rush, fear and relief he does," says Morrissey.

Morrissey loves the thrill of getting behind the wheel, but adds: "I love speed, but I'm not someone who looks at a car and goes, 'Woah'. That's not my thing. I enjoy driving fast, but I couldn't tell you the cost of an Aston Martin. I'm not boysy in that way."

He loves how well the industry is doing at the moment.

"I see it with my kids. They watch television in the same way that I used to listen to LPs. They'll watch something again and again, until they can quote it. TV's in a really healthy place," Morrissey adds. "A few years ago, we thought it was dying, so I'll be interested to see how that develops over the next decade."

  • The Driver, BBC1, 9pm