'I get recognised in the strangest places,' laughs Harry van Gorkum.

For almost 30 years, Harry lived in Los Angeles, working as an actor alongside running a photography business. He moved back to the UK during the pandemic and has made his home in mid-Norfolk.

His CV includes some of the biggest shows in TV - he's had guest roles in Seinfeld, 24, CSI, The Nanny and more - and has appeared in films alongside legends including Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan and George Clooney, so it's little wonder that he might seem familiar.

Harry exploring the Broads in his kayak. Photo: Harry van Gorkum But it's his role in Friends, a show that more than 20 years on from its last episode is still winning new generations of fans, which tends to cause people to do a double take.

Harry appeared in the episode The One Where Joey Tells Rachel, playing Monica's 'soul-mate' Don, AKA the Cheese Guy.

'During lockdown I was buying second-hand stuff for the house and I went to pick up a piano stand for my daughter,' he says. 'It was when we were all wearing masks and it was a porch handover. I get back to my car and my phone goes ping and there's a message from the seller saying "my husband thinks I'm mad, but did I just sell that piano stand to the Cheese Guy from Friends?",' he says.

'How did she recognise me? She only saw my masked face for 10 seconds!'

Harry explores the Broads in his kayak. Photo: Harry van Gorkum When Harry and his family were choosing where to make their new home in the UK, they wanted somewhere with the coast within easy reach - Harry enjoys surfing and being out on the water. Norfolk fitted the bill and was an area that he knew well, having holidayed on the Broads with his parents and siblings when he was growing up.

'I've always had this dreamy love of Norfolk as a place which is just one big holiday,' he says.

And since moving to Mattishall, near Dereham, he's been enjoying getting better acquainted with the county, photographing the coast - he's walked the North Coast Path, is a seal warden at Winterton and Cromer has become a favourite destination. He also loves to explore the Broads in his kayak.

Harry loves the textures created by the Norfolk llight. Photo: Harry van Gorkum 'I've never been happier anywhere than Norfolk, it's one of those very strange places that feels like, in the right way, you're living on an island off the coast........

© Norwich Evening News