Whose idea was it for making this popular radio program into a Television
program and were you worried that by making it for television, it might not
have been as funny as it was when it was just audio only. Are you pleased
that the transition from radio to TV has paid off big time?
Matt: We always hoped the show would make it on to TV and it was always
conceived as both a radio and tv show. We were keen for the TV transfer to
be a show in its own right, though, and not seem like it was a show that
used to be on radio. The temptation is just to use your radio scripts but
actually you have a whole visual side to explore, so we always tried to make
the visual side as big a part of the TV show as the verbal side. I think the
TV and radio shows are actually pretty different.
David: We always wanted to do the show on TV but we knew we would have to
prove it could work on radio first. It was also as great way for us to find
out which sketches worked and which didn't. I would recommend that anyone
who wants to do comedy on TV to do radio first. I am pleased with the show
as I think it looks great. Steve Bendelack the director has done a great
job. The best of the radio show is out as a CD to buy in November if you
haven't heard it.
How do
you go about writing Little Britain? Who writes what? For example, does
David write for Des Kaye and Matt
write for Marjorie Dawes, just because you play the characters? Or do you
write for each other?
Matt: We tend to come up with ideas separately and then write them up
together.
David: We sit in a room for months trying to think of funny things. We write
everything together though one of us will normally have provided the germ of
the idea.
Seeing as a lot of comedy shows now have dubbed audience noise, why did you
decide to have an audience watching the show as it was performed? Matt: Much of the show was filmed on location and then we had five
nights when we filmed stuff in front of the audience (eg Daffyd in the pub,
the PM and Sebastian, Mollie Sugden's bridesmaid, Edward and Samantha and
Ray McClooney). We also showed all the location stuff to the audience. The
laughter you hear is their response (not canned). In fact, sometimes we have
to turn the laughter down, or it gets a bit intrusive. THAT’S how hilarious
we are.
David: I have always liked shows that have laughter in them and I think me
and Matt work well in front of an audience. The humour is quite broad too so
I think it suits an audience.
When the script is finally edited, who has the final
word on what stays in and what gets left out?
David: We worked on the scripts with our script editor Mark Gatiss and
producer Myfanwy Moore so it was always a group decision.
How did director Steve Bendelack get involved with the
show?
Matt: We used to do 'Little Britain' on radio and Graham Linehan heard it
and championed it, and wanted to direct a TV pilot, but was always clear
from the start that he had lots of other commitments and so he wouldn’t be
able to do a full series. Steve was the natural choice - we loved his work
on 'The League Of Gentlemen'. He’s a brilliant director and also just a very
nice guy, always warm and friendly.
David: I had worked with Steve on 'Ted and Alice' and always admired his
work on 'The Royle Family' and 'The League Of Gentlemen' so was keen to work
with him. He saw the pilot and liked it and agreed to do it.
Where do you get your ideas from? Do you both imagine
them all, or do you know some very strange people that you base them on? Matt: We have Barry Cryer tied up in the cellar.
David: Out of our heads, though lots are based on people we know or have
been told about.
Whose idea was it for making this popular radio program
into a television program and were you worried that by making it for
television, it might not have been as funny as it was when it was just audio
only. Are you pleased that the transition from radio to TV has paid off big
time? Matt: We always hoped the show would make it on to TV and it was
always conceived as both a radio and TV show. We were keen for the TV
transfer to be a show in its own right, though, and not seem like it was a
show that used to be on radio. The temptation is just to use your radio
scripts but actually you have a whole visual side to explore, so we always
tried to make the visual side as big a part of the TV show as the verbal
side. I think the TV and radio shows are actually pretty different.
David: We always wanted to do the show on TV but we knew we would have to
prove it could work on radio first. It was also a great way for us to find
out which sketches worked and which didn't. I would recommend that anyone
who wants to do comedy on TV to do radio first. I am pleased with the show
as I think it looks great. Steve Bendelack the director has done a great
job. The best of the radio show is out as a CD to buy in November if you
haven't heard it.
Who is your favourite character to play and why?
Matt: I like playing Andy because Dave has to push me around all day. I also
like doing Bernard Chumley, because that was the first character I ever did.
Both characters have very flattering costumes and make-ups too, so I know
that when people see me as Andy and Bernard they will write in and offer
their bodies.
David: For me Sebastian, it's so much fun working with Tony Head.
David, have you ever had a mad pash for any prime
minister?
David: Ooh where to begin? John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Ted Heath. In
truth I don't think we would have written the sketch if we didn't think Tony
Blair was a bit dishy.
Matt, is Marjorie just like anyone you know? Have you modelled them on her?
Would you like her as your real mother?
Matt: I joke to my mum that Marjorie is like her although she isn’t really.
My mum is a very nice lady and a lot better spoken than Marj too. But she
has entered into that culture of dieting, in that she’s one of those people
who goes to Slimming World even though they’re not actually remotely
overweight.
Matt.... Of all of the things that you've done in your career, what are you
most proud of, and why?
Matt: I think me and Dave did some pretty crazy stuff on stage when we
started working together in the mid-90’s. Quite anarchic stuff. We were
young and fearless. We used to perform at the Edinburgh Festival at midnight
and we had all sorts of hecklers but we always took them on.
There’s a sitcom that we piloted a few years called ‘Crazy Jonathan’s’ which
didn’t really work but I’m still quite proud of some of the writing we did
on that, actually.
I also enjoyed writing original songs in the last 2 series of Shooting Stars
and last year I played Leigh Bowery in Boy George’s musical Taboo, and I
adored doing that. It was so different to anything else I’d done.
Do you get recognised a lot? And what do you REALLY
think about your fans?
Matt: People do recognise me but they usually think I am Mark Lamarr. They
pass by and shout "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" at me, to which I usually
reaply "Yeah, never mind ‘em, they’ll be okay." Sometimes people tell me
loudly in public that I was the Tango man too.
David: I don't get recognised much, and am very happy with that. The fans I
have met have all been delightful.
Are
you now inserting 'award-winning' before your name?
Not really. You don't really think about it until you're nominated, and then
you really, really want to win it.
When they announced your name, was it a feeling of
humility or 'about bloody time'?
The Comedy Awards is a strange one because, as much as it's an awards
ceremony, it's an entertainment show on television. You're expected to bring
something out of the bag - it's more important to be funny than to win. The
biggest star that night was Ricky Gervais, who, while he was giving out an
award, proved he was the funniest person in the country.
You've been around for a while now
Yes, I'm not quite a newcomer. It's me coming into the public's attention,
so I'm not going to give it back [laughs]. It's not that exciting but I'm
not one of those people who says: 'Oh, I'm just going to use it as a
doorstop.' It's got pride of place on the mantlepiece.
How long have you and Matt been working together?
Our first Edinburgh show was in 1995. Then we did a live show for two years,
then bits and pieces on TV. Rock Profiles was the first thing we did
together that people took notice of, then we did Little Britain on Radio 4
for two series, and now it's come to TV, which makes it feel as if it was
worth all the beavering away over those years.
Do you and Matt miss working with one another when
you do solo projects?
Yeah. We spend a lot of the year together. To write a series takes about six
months, and then to film it takes about three months, and we're kind of
living in each other's pockets. When we're writing together it's just two of
us in a room, so it is quite an intimate relationship in a lot of ways. We
compliment each other quite well, certainly creatively.
What would you say Matt's best point is?
He takes a lot of risks. He will do some things that are fearless. He'll
push things that bit further than anyone else and not be scared of people
not thinking he's funny. He really goes for it. I've never seen him shy or
unable to bring something out of himself.
What would he say your worst point is?
I make him work, while he would rather sit and chat about Arsenal. I'm a bit
of a bully.
How do you come up with the characters?
Generally, we'll keep notes - all the time my ears are alert. Then we start
working together and we'll talk about it, and if we're enjoying it and
finding it funny, we'll write it together. It's only really if both of us
find it funny that it continues.
Do you ever get moody if a character gets canned?
It doesn't happen much. What we try to do is not make too many decisions
about who's going to play what. The characters have their own lives, so it's
not a case of: 'I'm playing this one and you're playing that one.' That can
be quite destructive at an early stage. I know there are characters that
I've done that haven't been very good. I once heard someone say the reason
the Pet Shop Boys have been together so long is because there are no egos in
that band. It's a good lesson to learn. What's important is the creative
partnership, not who's got the most lines or the best laughs.
Do you have a favourite character?
I enjoy Lou and Andy, when I'm the carer and he's in the wheelchair, and the
character who's in love with the Prime Minister, he's a lot of fun to play -
Anthony Head [who plays the PM] is brilliant to bounce off. He's such a
fantastic actor. I like the big showy ones, like Emily the transvestite.
When I interviewed Tom Baker, his monologues were
outstanding.
It's amazing. It's like he's talking in some sort of poetry. I'd like to do
a chat show where Tom Baker is the guest every week. I've never met a more
fascinating man. The thing is, are his stories real or made up? They're
always a bit of both. His contribution to the show is brilliant. I think he
enjoys the naughtiness. We put quite a lot of horrible things into his
mouth. One was: 'What drags Britain down is fat people. They're rude,
they're heavy and they smell.' Tom was absolutely relishing every second. We
wouldn't say it, so we put it in to someone else's mouth; and he hadn't
written it, so he could get away with it.
Is television a more restrictive or expansive
medium than radio?
I find it more expansive, because me and Matt always had a strong visual
sense. When we were doing the radio show we would be pulling faces, and
feeling a bit constrained. We're both funny looking as well, so I never felt
constraint going onto TV - that was the natural environment. It was good to
do it on radio first, because it made us sharpen up the writing. You need
that on radio, you can't just pull a funny face. The things I love in the TV
show are completely visual, but that's probably because they're new.
I suppose it gives you both a chance to get into
the dressing-up cupboard?
Yeah, we both enjoy that. I've always liked French and Saunders for that -
when they come on dressed as somebody, normally somebody they're spoofing,
that's the first laugh. I think that's glorious, to make yourself look
ludicrous, and we're certainly not scared of that.
Have you had any complaints from people you've
lampooned?
No. People tend to pride themselves on having a sense of humour - though I'd
be embarrassed meeting Gary Barlow, who got it royally on Rock Profiles.
Somehow, Matt playing Gary Barlow really took off in our minds. We spent
more time spoofing him than anyone else. I wouldn't want to meet him in a
dark alley.
What was Jamie Theakston like?
Great. He's a consummate professional - very, very funny and very, very
silly. The three of us made it work. A lot of the comedy is in his
reactions, and he placed them all perfectly. All three of us were in the
National Youth Theatre, but I didn't know Jamie then. We've all come from
acting, and it's good he's gone back to it.
You used to write scripts for Ant 'n' Dec. A dark
secret?
No, I love those two - God, I must stop being so over-enthusiastic! They
were marvellous. We were on the Ant 'n' Dec show - the first thing they did
after Byker Grove. I loved it, but I was always trying to get in the
sketches, and that made me realise I couldn't just be a writer. They're a
joy to write for, and brilliantly funny.
You had to change your name for Equity. Do you know
what the other David Williams is doing?
I have no idea. I imagine there were lots of people called David Williams
trying to get into acting. You can't have two people with the same name in
Equity. It's strange, but I suppose there's some reason for it. It doesn't
happen everywhere, because the composer of our music is called David Arnold,
who is a big film composer, and there's another David Arnold who composed
the music to Live and Kicking, and often they get each other's cheques. I
suppose it's for those reasons.
Have you had bank accounts, passports etc. changed?
No I haven't. I didn't really want to do that. All my cheques say David
Walliams on them, and I pay them in and my bank never says anything.
How was EastEnders?
Like stepping inside television. I adore Shane Richie, and I got to do most
of my scenes with him. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. I had a
great time, and got to watch myself on telly on Christmas day.
How about your family?
It's a bit of an ordeal. They have to sit there with big grins on their
faces like they're really enjoying it. I'm quite glad I was involved in that
storyline, but it feels a bit bizarre. I hope people said: 'There's that
bloke who dresses up as a lady in that sketch show. I didn't know he could
do that as well.'
There's all these rumours about the EastEnders cast
turning up to work drunk. Did you follow suit?
No. I'm going to be boring, but I've never seen people as professional as
they were. It's horrible they get written about like that, because it's
totally untrue. They work really hard. A lot of them said to me: 'How long
are you here for?' I'd reply: 'Four days,' and they'd say: 'That's how I
started, and I've been here ten years.' I didn't realise how famous they
were, and then I picked up the News of the World and not only are they on
telly but in there too.
Did you get a drumroll moment?
I actually got two 'doff doffers', as they're known amongst the cast. At the
end of the first one, I got: 'Is there anyone here present who knows why
these two cannot be joined in matrimony.' And the second 'doff doffer' was
just everybody dancing in the snow. Two episodes, two 'doff doffers'.
How much better than that can life get?
It can't. It truly can't.
Quick Stop Entertainment:
An Interview with David Walliams
I guess
you’ve had a long day of interviews… We’ve had a few this afternoon, but it’s been fun and we did some
photographs with Martin Parr. Do you know him? He’s a quite famous British
photographer. He’s great. So that’s from American GQ so we were quite happy
about that. We’ve had a few this afternoon, but it’s been fun and we did
some photographs with Martin Parr. Do you know him? He’s a quite famous
British photographer. He’s great. So that’s from American so we were quite
happy about that.
So the freight train has not slowed down at all…
No, it hasn’t. We’ve just come off a tour - we’ve just done a 140 day tour
of Britain. We’ve stopped that, but we’ve got loads of things to do. We’re
making a Christmas special of Little Britain for the BBC at the moment, so
it doesn’t stop for us.
When we last talked, you were in rehearsals for the
live show.
Yeah, so that must have been October then.
Now that the live show is over, were you surprised
by the reaction that it got? Because it was quite popular…
Yeah, it was great. And it kind of grew as we went along. We ended up
playing, like, arenas for 10 or 12 thousand people. So yeah, it’s been
extraordinary.
And that was the first time you had done a major
live show like that, right?
Yeah. It’s on quite a big scale. It was stunning. It’s kind of weird when
you’re in it, you know, for me, because you’re just dealing with each new
gig. But the first time we stepped out in front of 12,000 people in
Manchester was amazing. An amazing feeling. Our first gig was like four
people in an art center in north London, which was about 10 years ago. So it
was really only at the curtain call that it really hit me. ‘Cause that’s
when suddenly all the lights went on and I could feel the audience, “Oh my
god, we have actually come quite a long way and this is pretty amazing.”
Did you envision that it would get this far?
No, not for a minute. But then, you don’t… I never really think of it in
those terms. I always just think, “Oh it’ll be good to do a funny show and
make people laugh” rather than thinking, “I’d like to do a show that will
get this amount of viewers or do a tour and play to this amount of people.”
I’ve never been too worried by those kind of things. I just liked doing what
I thought was funny, and that I was proud of. And beyond that, it’s hard to
think in those terms. It’s a mistake thinking in those terms, as well.
When the lights come up and you see the audience
and the power that the show has, and the characters have, does that in any
way affect you, creatively?When you
went back after the success of series one to do series two, did that success
ever have a creative influence on you, knowing the popularity?
Not really. I mean, only that you know when you put the show in front of a
live audience you go, “Oh, this character’s more popular than we thought,
and maybe this one isn’t as popular as we thought.” And so it may be, you
know, just shock… maybe you think, “Oh, okay, maybe people would want to see
more of this or that,” but not really, no. It doesn’t. We can only sort of
do what we find funny. Do you know what I mean? You can’t think, “Well, I’ll
try and do what people find funny,” ‘cause it doesn’t’ really work that way.
Is there any character that you are surprised
didn’t get the reaction that you hoped it would?
I think it’s hard to say… and that’s always a negative thing to say, but
yeah. Some characters, we thought, “Oh, no, you know, they will go down
well,” but some we thought, “Oh, that went down better than expected.”
Were you in any way surprised by the backlash that
the third series got?
I was disappointed. Now people are looking for problems, you know, but it
didn’t affect the show’s popularity. We got nine million viewers on BBC 1,
which was kind of unheard of, and played to 800,000 people on our tour, and
as far as the reviews, it’s just what kinda happens, really. I think the
problem in Britain is that the show that people most hold in esteem is
Fawlty Towers. And the problem is that people think it’s amazing because
there are only 12 episodes. Now, I just think it’s amazing ‘cause it’s an
amazing program. Just brilliantly funny. And I could have watched it for
longer, but people kind of think… they’re almost annoyed with you for doing
more than 12 episodes. You know, people were coming to us all the time and
saying, “Don’t stop doing what you’re doing.” People want to see more, but
you can almost think you’ve done something wrong - like 12 is this kind of
magic number with a comedy show, and if you do any more than that you’re
sort of finished.
Do you think what Ricky (Gervais) did with The
Office unfortunately reinforced that idea?
Yeah, I think so… yeah. I think, again, that he suffered from the same kind
of thing, in a way, which was there was so much hype, that you’re almost
scared of… you’ve been so lauded, it’s become so popular, that you become a
bit scared that it’s gonna turn. But we’ve always just made the show for
kind of ourselves and for people who want to watch it. And so that was what
was guiding it for me. Not the fear of, “Oh my god, we might get a bad
review.” ‘Cause we’ve had bad reviews before. We’ve been to the Edinburgh
Festival and had bad reviews. That’s what happens. And by the time the
reviews are written the show’s done anyway and it’s out there, and in a way
it can’t harm you that much, because they’re not gonna take it off air
‘cause it got a bad review.
At what point do you look at it and go, “Now it’s
time to walk away…”? Not from Little Britain per se, but particular
characters?
When we’re not finding it funny anymore. When we’re kind of thinking, “Well
actually, this isn’t kind of getting our creative juices flowing anymore.”
That to me would be the time. And then it’s kind of when we’re ready to do
that. But I’d hate to think we don’t perform any of these Little Britain
characters again.
Certainly in the transition from series one to
series two were characters that were left behind…
Yeah, characters got left behind from series two to three, and then there
were new characters in series three. But I do think there’s a core of about
six or eight characters that people really like and really want to see. And
they provide a backbone to the series. You do see Marjorie as she’s with her
fat fighters group again, but I kind of think, “Well if something different
is happening next week, it doesn’t really bother me.” You know what I mean?
I kind of think, “Well it’s a good character and I want to see her again.”
What character is most comfortable to you at this
point?
Most comfortable to play?
To play or write for.
I like playing Lou in the Lou and Andy scenes. I feel that I kind of know
him quite well now. I enjoyed playing Carol Beer on stage because she
doesn’t move. So I can just have a sit down for a couple of minutes, which
is nice. They’re all enjoyable. I think in doing this show, the live shows
70 times, is that you find you like different ones on different nights. You
particularly feel, “Oh yeah, I was really on it tonight. I really knew what
I was doing with this character.” And then the character that doesn’t make a
big impact on the TV show, who’s in the first series, called Des Kaye… a
sort of failed children’s entertainer. And we do that in the live show. Get
people out of the audience. And I love doing that one, even though that’s
not one that people even, I don’t think, remember. But because it has a sort
of spontaneity to it and it’s always different every night, and ended up
normally with someone… one of the audience members with their trousers
around their ankles and me on top of them on the floor. Um, it’s always…
that’s always a joy to do. For those very reasons.
Is there a character that surprises you the most in
performance, in where the character will take you?
I suppose that character is a bit surprising because, in a way, it’s grown.
I mean, the first night I didn’t take their trousers down. That kind of
grew. And that’s become a bit crazier as he’s gone along, really.
Do you think it’s the audience interaction that
brings the energy to that?
Yeah, the real energy to that – because of that and because you never know
what people are gonna say or do. And that really grows. But yeah, some
nights you really feel you’re inhabiting it, which is very frightening. But
it’s a weird one because even in this live show we’re playing a different
character every three or four minutes. So just as you’re kind of getting
into it, you’re into another one, you know? It’s not quite like you’re
playing King Lear or something. You know what I mean? You really feel,
“Tonight I was King Lear.” ‘Cause each night we’re each about a dozen
characters each.
When is the show coming to the U.S.?
Well, at the moment there aren’t any plans to bring it to the U.S. We’d
really like to. We’re doing some touring in Australia next year, which is
great, but we would like to do it in America – but we really need an
American promoter to sort of fund it, really. So if you know anybody, can
you mention it to them? We’ll play anywhere. Australian promoters came and
saw the show in England and then said, I really want this show to come to
America, but we didn’t have anybody from America come yet. It may still
happen.
I’ll make that happen.
Thank you very much.
At this point, is there any comedic line that you
won’t cross?
Well, the line I think… people often say you can’t make jokes about this,
that or the other. But I don’t think there are any rules, because I think if
it’s fun, it’s kind of okay. And just because it’s humor doesn’t mean you’re
necessarily belittling an important subject like that. You can do jokes
about the most extreme awful thing, and as long as it’s funny, I think it’s
kind of okay. I think people think you’re making light of something when
you’re making a joke out of it, but I don’t think you are, really. I think
you’re getting to a truth of it with humor. And I don’t see why you could
watch a poem about something or make a film about something but you couldn’t
do a comedy sketch about it. I don’t see why you should make any
distinction. I think we’re quite lucky that we’ve always done the show in
front of an audience, the TV show – we record the sketches and then play
them into an audience, then we record sketches on the night, which means
that the audience will kind of tell us if we’ve gone too far. And if people
are just in shock and not laughing, we wouldn’t include it, because we’d
just think, “Well what’s the point of that.” We wanted to be explosively
funny. But comedy is… you know, you look at something like Monty Python’s
Meaning of Life, the man exploding and everyone getting covered in guts and
vomit in a restaurant – it’s amazing. It’s disgusting, yeah, but it’s also
brilliantly funny, and I kind of think as long as it’s both those… as long
as it still is funny there’s no reason not to do it.
Has there ever been anything put on the table in
the writing process that you refused to do?
Not really, no. Sometimes we think of ideas and go, “Oh no… Actually, it’s
funny to have it as an idea, but to actually see it would be a bit kind of
horrible.” But no, we have our own sensibilities and then we have those of
the audience. But I think it’s a weird one, because people often ask us, you
know, “Well, do you think this has gone too far?” But, I mean, there’s a
comedian in Britain called Chris Morris, if you’ve heard of him. Made The
Day Today. Well, he made an episode of his show Brass Eye…
This was the pedophile episode, right?
The pedophile episode. Now, obviously, to some people that was a big media
storm around that with some people shocked and horrified that anyone could
bring those kind of themes into what was a funny show. Other people
applauded the bravery that he was dealing with this subject that was a
taboo. I think we all have different kind of levels. We’ve all drawn the
line in a different place. It’s quite hard to think where the line is,
‘cause I think it’s different for each person.
Is there anything that you consistently draw the
line at?
I think we’d find it hard to do something like that about pedophilia,
because it really is shocking and… I mean, I applaud his bravery for doing
it, but I don’t think we could really think about doing anything on that.
But it’s weird, if you dance around the subject – like The League of
Gentlemen did, and have a character Herr Lip, who was a kind of pedophile,
but because the boys are older it sort of made it sort of not too
distasteful. It was still funny. It’s hard. It’s how you do it, really.
You’ve finished 3 series, you’ve done a live tour,
you’ve got a Christmas special coming up - are there projects right now
outside of Little Britain that are drawing your attention?
Well yeah, we were kind of thinking what the next move will be, and it may
be in different series for the BBC, or it could be a film or something.
We’ve just got to take it where our creativity takes us, really. If we think
of a great story for a film, we’ll make a film – you know?
Does that mean we’ll see the return of Mash and
Peas?
I don’t think we’ll ever do the return of Mash and Peas.
Is there anything you’re pursuing independently?
Not really at the moment, because apart from odd bit of acting, there hasn’t
really been time because we’ve been touring, and then we’re making a
Christmas special over the summer. So there hasn’t really been time to do
that, I’m afraid. But I’m sure I will, yeah.
I certainly hope you guys are able to bring the
show over to the U.S. …
Yeah, we’d love to do the show in America. That would be fantastic.
David Walliams lives in Belsize Park in north London and this is where we
arrange to meet, though not, alas, at his home (he owns what used to be
Supernova Heights, Noel Gallagher's old house, and has a plum-coloured,
walk-in wardrobe or so I hear), but in an empty pub. At first, it's just me,
a bored barmaid and a gospel choir (the gospel choir is on CD). Then
Walliams arrives. He pushes open the bar door, comes in and stands stock
still, hands on hips, gazing at the wasteland of chairs and tables,
pretending not to see me. Finally, he puts his index finger hammily to his
lips, like a small boy pondering the problem of how to arrange his teddies
and says in a loud, camp voice: "Now... where is she?"
It's really funny, though I must admit it dies a bit in the telling. Anyway,
the effect is that I like him instantly, which is a bit of a surprise. Read
about Walliams in the newspapers and he invariably comes over as strange and
creepy: the favourite cliche is that there is 'something of the night about
him'.
Also that his consonants are too sibilant, his modus operandi at parties too
oily (he has the temerity to own not one but two dinner jackets) and his
sexuality too fuzzy (he made the mistake of saying he is '70 percent'
straight, at which point all the lovely-looking girls he has dated instantly
became - at least in the minds of certain tabloids - beards).
His face doesn't help, of course: wide and impassive, in his work it's his
greatest blessing, the perfect blank canvas. But in life, it means you never
know what he is thinking and when he's not smiling, the combination of
close-set eyes, pale skin and rosebud lips contrives to make him look cross
or, worse, sinister.
Walliams has deployed this aspect of himself - he's perfectly aware of it, I
think - to quite brilliant effect in Stephen Poliakoff's new drama,
Capturing Mary, in which he plays the wicked Greville, keeper of the
establishment's secrets and destroyer of clever young women with
journalistic ambitions. The film is the usual Poliakoff vanity project
(except that the BBC pays him): like a very numbing and lavish dream, even
when it has finally limped to a close, you're still none the wiser as to
what it was all about (which is why, I'm afraid, my plot summary is so
feeble).
But Walliams is excellent, menacing to the degree that it's a shame Russell
T Davies didn't suggest him to be the Master, Dr Who's nemesis. I tell him
this and he looks suitably modest. He endured a pair of two-hour auditions
in order to land the role and was glad of every minute. 'Stephen is one of
those names, isn't he?' he says. 'He's so serious about what he does. I
think it's really important to audition because then you know you got it on
merit rather than because you're well-known for something else. I wouldn't
have felt right, not auditioning. I would have turned up on the first day
not knowing if I could do it.'
Does he feel that he has to work twice as hard just to shift people's
perceptions of him? 'I had to prove something to myself as well as other
people. We did a read-through with Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon and I
thought: God, do I dare think of myself as an actor? It was like starting
again.'
I think Poliakoff was lucky to get him. For one thing, Walliams is a grafter
and one who does not retreat at the first sign of failure. Last year, he
swam the Channel for Comic Relief and his time was in the top 50 crossings.
And while he's a very famous 'laydee' now, for years he and his Little
Britain partner Matt Lucas were either stuck out in the comedy circuit's
draughtier corners or producing pilot series that no one much watched (Rock
Profiles, Sir Bernard's Stately Homes - though I bet both of these do very
nicely on DVD these days).
For another thing, everyone wants him. 'Yes, I do get offers. But you have
to work out, once you're well known, whether you're getting these offers
because you're right for them. They'll say, "Does he want to be in this
film?" And I'll say, "Which part?" And they'll say, "Well, which part does
he want to play?" Which means that what I'm bringing to it is the notion of
celebrity and I feel awkward about that.'
