He added: “It had been on in the background maybe a couple times, but I’d never watched it myself, so I didn’t know much about the actual role of Joey.”
The actor now realises that, like Joey, he is also an actor chasing auditions and a “class clown”.
Despite now living in Kempston, Bedfordshire, Joey’s Italian-American accent was not an enormous leap either.
Not only did he get experience when he took part in productions of Bugsy Malone, but his Greek heritage meant directors often cast him in Italian American roles.
He said: “So from a kid I was always doing Italian American accents… That accent just falls naturally to me, and it’s a fun accent.”