Tom Burke & Marc Warren: 'We're cut from the same cloth: neither of us is ever going to be the loving father-next-door type'

Marc Warren, 47

An actor, Warren (right in picture) has starred in TV series including 'Hustle' and 'The Good Wife'. He has also appeared in films including 'Wanted' and 'Wild Bill'. He lives in London

I've always had the feeling that we were cut from the same cloth. It's the way he looks at the world and the fact that, as actors, we play quite unusual types, with a slight intensity and a warped view of things: neither of us is ever going to be the loving father-next-door type.

Our friendship has hung around three jobs. We met in 2002, on the set of Paul Abbott's [BBC series] State of Play. I played a very loose cannon who picks up a young boy played by Tom. I wasn't aware of him before that, but it was the launchpad for his career.

We got to know each other a little better again on [the BBC's adaptation of] Dracula in 2006 – he put a stake through my heart. We'd share journeys back to London after a day's filming. Cars can be a terrible place to have an argument – there's nowhere to go. But we got on well – we've never had a cross word.

We'd speak every now and again and a few years ago, when I was at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, Ian McKellen went on stage to collect an award and said, "I've been to see Tom Burke in a show; a star is born." I called Tom and told him. He was coming into his own then. I saw him in Only God Forgives [starring Ryan Gosling] and he's the best thing in it. And now, with [the BBC's] The Musketeers [in which Burke plays Athos], it's definitely his time. I respect him a lot: he's quiet and keeps himself to himself, which is the way I go about my business. Neither of us is that gregarious.

When Tom was shooting the first series of The Musketeers, in Prague last year, I'd taken seven months off to travel around Europe on my own. And when I ended up in Prague I said, "Let's have a meal." So we met up and he mentioned that there was a part in the next series – as [the villainous aristocrat] Rochefort, and I expressed an interest. He had a word with the producer and a few months later they offered me the part, and we spent several months together in Prague.

He'd turn up each morning floppy-haired and cuddly in his woollen hat and the next time I'd see him, his hair was slick and greased back, he was dressed in leather and on top of a horse: it was an incredible transformation.

Whenever we'd go out he'd make me laugh; he's very dry. Tom is very into tea and, once, when he took me to a tea shop off Wenceslas Square, he gave me this brew that was so strong I didn't feel well after we left. I'm never good with tea in the morning; I prefer coffee, which Tom thinks is the enemy of good acting!

If I was going to get involved in some heavy acting project, Tom is someone I'd like to go down the mine with. I always think that acting is like hitting a ball against a wall: with good actors, the ball comes back really hard and true, and I think you get that with Tom.

Tom Burke, 33

The Rada-trained stage and screen actor gained recognition after appearing in the BBC drama 'State of Play'. He has since appeared in TV series including 'Utopia' and 'The Hour' and in films including 'Only God Forgives' and 'The Invisible Woman'. He lives in London

I was always a fan of Marc's work: I'd seen him in a number of things such as Band of Brothers and How Do You Want Me?, which is one of my favourite sitcoms – I saw real anarchy in there; he's a versatile actor.

My first TV job was in State of Play. My character's main function revolved around Marc – his character was bisexual, and I'd slept with him. I didn't really get to know him, though, until the next thing we did together, Dracula: I killed him.

We were filming up in Bristol and we had some great chats, and one night he gave me a lift back to London: we talked about how we've had a similar rhythm to our careers, how we've both had more of a slow burn, rather than being thrown into the limelight as soon we were out of drama school.

We met up for dinner in Prague last year, while I was filming the first season of The Musketeers. I was telling him about the show and he was so enthused about it, we talked about the possibility of him doing it: I was aware that Peter [Capaldi, who played villain Cardinal Richelieu] would not be back and that a new villain would be needed.

In a way, filming that second season was when I got a real measure of who he was. Waiting around on set, you pick something stupid to talk about and riff on it for 40 minutes; when Marc laughs hard, there is a moment when he looks as if he's in pain, then as if he's going to expire!

We have a similar attitude to our vocation: rather than lurking around, trying to get the next job, we're happy to sit [and wait] a bit on the back foot. It's to do with how seriously you take it, and the fact we've both had a slower-paced career. Neither of us tweet either, because, while we welcome the idea of fans, what are "followers"? What does that mean?

I didn't know Marc in his party days; the side I see is instead incredibly curious and interested. I had a go at being a night owl, too – it's a more glamorous way to be. But the nature of filming – up at 5am – meant that I got pretty dull by 10pm, so now I have a tendency to shuffle around in my civvies or be seen hunched over a book in a tea house.

I talk to a lot of actors who are more into being interesting than interested – but Marc's an inquiring type. And there's his humility; I think that's what made me think of Marc as a friend now, and it was a lot of what we have talked about this year: when you're doing a series together, there's no space for anyone to feel as if it's their show.

Marc Warren and Tom Burke star in the second series of 'The Musketeers', which begins on BBC1 on 2 January at 9pm