There is nothing more reassuring to an actor’s ego than to be recognised for a part. But then, I suppose it depends what sort of role you have played. If it’s a villainous beast of unprecedented naughtiness, then sometimes people will cuff you about the head and say ‘you and your undersea base. Shouldn’t be allowed’ and walk off. Playing the bad guy is never easy; the public sometimes cannot differentiate between the persona you portray and the person you actually are. Charles Dance was once invited to a dinner party shortly after appearing in The Golden Child. Poor Charles was mistaken for being a demon by the other guests and chased around, finally being pinned down while a visiting priest exorcised him and helped himself to the Hors d'oeuvres. Poor Charles hasn’t had a role that evil since, and to my mind he is the poorer for it.
I once spoke with Arthur Lowe, who, as Captain Mainwaring is almost embossed on the nation’s foreheads as that particular character. Chants of ‘Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler’ and ‘Stupid boy’ kept on interrupting the flow of his story, and eventually he told me to shut up.
When I played Fingers McFadden in ‘These walls that bind us’, I did fear that the role would taint me in the minds of the great unwashed as a convicted sheep rustler, but it didn’t happen. In fact, quite the opposite. I remember at a party held by the Producer and writer Garry Struthers, not one guest mistook me for my character. The fact I was left pretty much to my own devices to observe conversations and character interplay was actually a mark of respect, I felt, for a job well done. Even Struthers seemed to treat me as someone he could not talk to, simply pointing out the buffet on my arrival before shaking hands with Gordon Wellbeloved.
Of course the best thing to be recognised for is a heroic role. When I played Sandor, the lost Prince of Eternitia in the film ‘Gladiators of The Fifth Realm’, people did comment. The role involved a soldier who stole the Magic of Ke’logs, and the curses it brought on him, his family and those who tried to help him. In the end he saw the error of his ways and, begging for mercy, handed it back to the Prince. “Your soldier was the worst I have seen” said one friend. “Awful. I could not watch” said another. The character was obviously so convincing. Oh, and before I forget – Mr Times Theatre reviewer – He was supposed to be bad! If you had stayed until the end you would have seen him repent in a scene which many said – and I use the exact word here “harrowing”.
And so to my latest engagement, which I am thrilled about. It’s a tale by a new writer, Dave Noise, about a dying man looking back on the love of his life. It had everything. Pathos, drama, heartbreak, comedy, romance and sound effects. We record tomorrow, and - Thespis willing – listeners will savour this latest venture. It’s to be broadcast after the watershed to everyone except those on the Maternity wing.
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