How much fun was it playing Santa Clause?
It was fun because the children on the set - the elves - actually believed that I was Santa Clause. It was a tremendous amount of responsibility on my shoulders and I didn't want to disappoint them. I had to stay in character all the time so I couldn't swear or get mad. The elves would gaze at me all day long and ask me ridiculous questions about Christmas. The older ones, who were 13 or 14, would say "that's not Santa, that's an actor". I'd say "Are you sure I'm an actor? Are you sure you want to irritate Santa?"
Why did you do a sequel?
It's been a long process, like ageing a wine. Once we got all the original characters, who were still interested in doing another movie, I had to be convinced it wouldn't just be a sequel. I fought this from four years ago because the original was too important a movie to me. It made people happy about the season again. No one had done a good Christmas movie but it's tough to make one that people latch onto, one that isn't silly. This is a comedy but it keeps the character integral to the myth.
What's so special and different about this film?
We didn't set out to do anything except make that first movie, but what happened was that we handled the Santa Clause myth in such a responsible manner that it seemed plausible to the older kids, and adults could see it too. What we did this time was to make a movie for adults that's OK for kids to see. Really it's a story about four adults, set in Santa's world, and what would happen if Santa had to deal with the same problems that most adults go through.
What kind of Santa - or Father Christmas - are you portraying in the film?
If you mixed up all the myths and metaphors of Santa all over the world, this is a melting-pot rendition of those. It sounds so cheesy but essentially it all comes from a Coca Cola ad, that鈥檚 what this image is, in the red coat and white beard.
How difficult is it being in the fat Santa suit?
I didn't want to be in that outfit and fat suit more than 25 days, I knew I couldn't physically do it. Instead I ended up being in it 55 days. I didn't want to do it again, all the make-up. It's very difficult for me to sit still for four and a half hours a day, I'm so energetic and fidgety. I was able to get a masseuse to do reflexology. They couldn't touch much but she could work on my feet (which I've become addicted to!). I couldn't eat so I had to eat with a straw. During the last movie I didn't take care of myself, this time I did.
