Jack of all trades - stand-up comedian, theatre set designer, illustrator, and quiz show host - Paul Kaye is best known for his TV comic creation Dennis Pennis. Thankfully he left his geeky red wig at home to play the part of a lawn bowling maverick in Mel Smith's "Blackball".
Did you feel any pressure having to take on the lead role?
Every day I got a sense of, 'how did I get a way with it?' I was worried the first couple of weeks, and it was new and daunting. But after I saw the first compilation of rushes, it was really reassuring. I came across with this swaggering attitude, which was good, because the first note in the script says: "A guy turns up; a cross between Jesus Christ and Liam Gallagher."
What helped you adjust to movie acting?
I'm of the opinion that if you start acting at 32, you're a lot less frightened of failing. You've got to make the most of it. I watched James Cromwell all the time, and I watched Bernard Cribbins. Bernard's been amazing. It was great spending time with him.
What about Vince Vaughn?
He came in like a whirlwind. He only had ten days. What I loved about Vince was there was a bunch of my friends that used to play ice hockey on the PlayStation, wearing the team shirts, thinking we were really sad. But then we saw "Swingers", and it was like, "Wow! They do it as well! We're not the saddest people around."
What was the hardest part of making the film?
The West Country voice was a bit iffy; I definitely sounded cockney early on.
Did you have to go into intensive training to do the bowling scenes?
No, it took about two hours! They tend to use the second unit to film where the bowl ends up, so it didn't matter. But I was given a bit of a licence to mess around; bowl through my legs, and do my Maradona flick up.
Do you think the country is crying out for a film about lawn bowling?
Well, first of all it was a British film that isn't about gangsters, which is kind of refreshing. It's got all the sporting, and rock'n'roll clich茅s, and it's tongue-in-cheek all the way through. It seems like the perfect marriage.
"Blackball" is released in UK cinemas on Friday 5th September 2003.
