David Warner plays Lenny
David Warner has been in the acting business for more than 40 years with
a varied career starring in Hollywood blockbusters like Titanic and The
Omen and TV classic dramas like The Choir and Twin Peaks.
So his next film project may come as something of a surprise to many.
"I'm going to be in The League Of Gentlemen film," laughs the Manchester-born
actor.
"They wrote a part especially for me, which is very flattering. A few
years ago they invited me to be in their TV Christmas special but I couldn't
do it as I was living and working in America at the time.
"However, I became friends with them and now they have invited me
to be in their film.
"Because I had been living in America, I hadn't seen the show when it
was on TV, so when I watched some tapes I couldn't understand what was
going on!
"They are really very clever and they are very good actors. It is
a strange show, but I really like it and now I've seen all the tapes I
am a huge fan.
"It is a real change for me too; it gives me a chance to be a bit stupid!
I like to do comedy but rarely get asked to do it so to have the opportunity
to do something like The League Of Gentlemen and hopefully make people
laugh is great.
"They haven't got me dressing up as a woman as yet but you never
know!"
In Conviction Warner plays Lenny, the father of Ray, Beth and Chrissie.
Lenny, who was once a brash, head-strong CID officer, is now suffering
from Alzheimer's and has to deal with both this distressing disease and
having to relinquish his role as head of the family to rely on his children
to look after him.
"I think Lenny was quite a tough nut when he was in the force but he
is also a family man and his family love him. He was the first cop in
his family and now his sons have followed in his footsteps.
"There are moments when Lenny lapses back into his old behaviour. One
minute he can be very lucid and at other times he's confused about who
he is and who his children are. At one point he regresses back into his
CID persona from years ago.
"However, although the whole situation is a very sad one, Lenny
and his family often find humour in the face of adversity."
The distress that Alzheimer's causes both the sufferer and their family
is played out in several incidents involving Lenny and his increasingly
worried children.
Both Ray and Chrissie are reluctant to accept their father's deteriorating
state and are determined to keep their father at home where they can look
after him.
But their sister, Beth, is well aware of her brothers' increasing commitment
to work and continually tries to convince them that Lenny is better off
in a nursing home.
Warner's scenes with his on-screen children are often moving yet punctuated
with humour.
However, Warner's vast acting experience has helped him learn how to
disassociate himself from the emotional drain of his characters.
"If I'm honest I don't find the emotional scenes difficult to do anymore.
I've been in this business a long time, so I don't take that stuff home
with me and I don't really feel I need to prepare quite as much anymore.
I've developed a technique to deal with that side of the job.
"I approach all the roles I play instinctively and Lenny is a challenging
role to play. You need to look for the colours in the character and try
to make it as real as possible.
"What you don't want to do is play it as a man wandering around
forgetting his keys all the time. You need to make him more real, make
the character someone people can relate to.
"Zoe Henry, who plays my daughter, works with Alzheimer's patients on
a charity basis so I asked her to keep an eye on me to make sure I was
getting it right.
"It is such an unpredictable disease that there's no one set way
of how a sufferer will act.
"In one way, for an actor, you can look at it as a blank canvas but you
also have to be very careful and compassionate in how you play it.
"But Conviction is not a series about Alzheimer's - Lenny is just
a character within the context of the piece."
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