The actor, 45, who grew up in Rushden, Northamptonshire, said the 1989 Irthlingborough Entertainment Society production of Oliver! was his first full-scale show, after he had been in talent shows and reviews.
“It was the first time I really had to learn lines and take direction. I just remember absolutely loving it,” said Tyler, who now lives in Olney, near Milton Keynes.
“It felt like it was the thing that started me off thinking, ‘I want to do this when I’m older’, as the attention was really fun.”
He went on to appear in many more shows in the area, including at the Sharnbrook Mill Theatre near Bedford and in a production of The Sound of Music at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
After finishing sixth form, he planned to go to drama school “but couldn’t afford it”, so he got a job working on a cruise ship.
He thought it would give him time to secure funding for drama school, but instead he kept getting booked for more theatre roles.
Tyler said: “I was in the dressing room in the West End in Grease when I said to one of the cast members, ‘I need to try and get into theatre school’.
“But they said, ‘You probably don’t need it now’, as I was already getting work in the job I wanted to do.”
