Johnny
Vegas makes Ideal return to ´óÏó´«Ã½ THREE
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Johnny Vegas plays Moz
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"My social status has gone sky high in St Helens
since doing all this ´óÏó´«Ã½ comedy and drama. I've just been invited
to join the local bowling club!" - Johnny Vegas
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It has been an exhilarating 12 months for Johnny Vegas.
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A second series of Ideal for ´óÏó´«Ã½ THREE has quickly followed
his appearances in two hit ´óÏó´«Ã½ dramas, which have introduced Johnny
to the very different challenges of both Dickens and Shakespeare.
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"2005 was the year of the classics as far as I'm concerned
and it really stretched me". Johnny played the part of Krook, an eccentric
rag and bottle merchant with a passion for gin.
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"Doing Bleak House was
terrifying. On my first day
on set I mistakenly tried to do a cockney accent and even the people
who love me no matter what, told me they hated it so I had to bin
it quickly.
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"Not a great start when you're sharing a stage with
talent like Charles Dance and Gillian Anderson."
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But even though Bleak House seems like a departure for
Johnny Vegas, it turns out it was the perfect example of type casting!
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As Johnny explains: "My
forte is playing drunks down the ages. When my
agent rings me about a role, I don't ask what the part is, but what
century it's in.
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"Now that they're making a second series of Rome,
I'll probably get a call asking if I can fiddle and drink at
the same time.
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"I actually had gout when I went for the part of
Krook. I limped into the audition with a bottle of cooking
sherry – a
'method' approach to acting that obviously
worked on that occasion."
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It also paid off for A Midsummer
Night's Dream in which
Johnny played Bottom in the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s modern remake of the Shakespeare
classic.
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"It's very different to doing stand-up. My problem is I always feel like an
interloper when I do serious drama. Don't
get me wrong, no-one ever makes me feel that way. It's my own paranoia coming
out.
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"But when I'm a comic, I'm in charge. I know what
works because it comes from the confidence of having been self-taught.
But I don't have that same self belief when it comes to classical drama."
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Since appearing in both dramas, Johnny's social status
in his home town of St Helens has risen dramatically.
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"I've
been invited to a lot more
dinner parties and the local
bowling club wants me for
a member. I've officially
arrived at the pinnacle of
St Helens society!"
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Working on Ideal was a welcome return to Johnny's comic
roots.
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"Ideal is a really
intense shoot
and I can be on set for hours at a time.
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"With the dramas, I only had
six minute scenes in ten hour shoots, so I spent the other nine
hours hanging around texting people who have real jobs and checking
the door to see if anyone was walking past - but no one ever was because
they had proper parts! Ìý
"I'm in 95% of the scenes in Ideal so the experience
is very different. It's a relentless
schedule. Three months of shooting, with 5.30am starts.
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"We had a week off in the middle of shooting this
time around but as soon as everyone stopped, we all went down with
six different types of flu and other unmentionable diseases.
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"I love working with Graham
Duff. He's very open to ideas… This means he hasn't actually
finished the scripts and needs other people to finish them
for him!" |
"Working on Ideal is a big
laugh and nothing is sacred. Everyone takes the mickey.
There's nothing vicious about it but no-one escapes either.
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"You forget how,
for some cast members, it can be a bit daunting. Ben Crompton who
plays scally Colin, who's always 'on
probation', was
really shy in the first series
but came into his own in this one, because he'd got used
to us all.
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"It was brilliant to work with writer Graham Duff again, who is very open to
ideas.
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"What this actually means is he hasn't finished
the scripts and is taking the organic approach. Roughly translated,
that means getting other people to finish it off for you!
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"Seriously,
he always asks for our suggestions and if he doesn't like them,
then he'll tell you. And if he does, then they get used. A dream scenario
for any actor."
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Johnny also has a genuine affection for the lead character.
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"Playing Moz [the
hapless dope dealer] is a very comfortable character to play. I've
got to know him really well now and I can predict how he might
react in certain situations.
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"I feel sorry for him. He's trapped in
his own little world which doesn't expand beyond the four walls
of his flat - yet he can't leave the flat because he would lose business!
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"He's in a prison and his customers are the only
visitors to his little cell and his only link to the outside world.
It's actually a very sad situation."
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"I think the cast of Ideal
is one of the best I've ever worked with…"
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The cast of Ideal is extensive and this time around there
are some newcomers
to add to the regulars.
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Says Johnny: "This series, we have Jo
Neary [playing Moz's new neighbour Judith] who is a brilliant
addition to the cast.
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"I
first met her
when she appeared in a film of mine called Who's Ready for
Ice Cream [Johnny's
pseudo documentary
on what makes good
and bad comedy]." Ìý
Johnny
found
himself in a cameo scene
with Jo where "I
managed to turn her
stomach by stroking
her hand and leering
suggestively. Exactly
the same approach
which was called
for
in Ideal!
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"It's really hard to pick out just a couple of cast members when they're all
individually strong.
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"I think it's one of the best casts I've ever worked
with – they're
all very talented and enthusiastic, without the cynicism that you
sometimes find with
people who've been in the business for a long time.
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"There are a lot of stand-up comics in Ideal which I
think shows in how the gags
are timed and delivered. Someone like Seymour Mace [who plays
both Craig and his twin
brother Steve] is a huge stand-up presence and someone I've been aware of
for some time.
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"All the cast are a lot of fun to work with but
this could be down to their individual drink problems. I'm the smokescreen
and, because I'm easily led, people think I'm the one with the problem
and it's simply not true."
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"I'm having a midlife
crisis – I get Elle Decoration every month, I'm learning
the cello and there's a vicious rumour circulating that I
play Swing Ball."
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With
all the acting work flooding in, it would be surprising if Johnny found
time to do anything else but he is a big fan of keeping his interests
alive – and
finding new ones.
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"I still get Elle Decoration every month and I started learning the cello just
before Christmas. In fact, my tutor thinks I've absconded with his antique
cello
because I haven't been able to get to the last couple of lessons.
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"It's a
very hard instrument to learn. I use very few muscles at the best
of times and this uses muscles I didn't know I had! I think it's symptomatic
of my midlife crisis. I can't afford a Porsche so the cello is the
next best thing.
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"I've already suggested to Damon Albarn that there
might be a role in Gorillaz for me when I get a bit better. I
was a bit upset that he didn't immediately take me up on this.
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"Also
I'm driving now. I passed my driving test at the second time of trying
so I'm exploring 'man' stuff like car navigation systems to help
me see the
world – and
get
out of
St Helens.
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"My first
driving test
was a
nightmare. It
was going
fine until
the test
instructor decided
to make
small talk
half-way
through.
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"Suddenly
she was
asking me
what films
I'd been
in and
I panicked
and said,
'Gladiator!'. I
think she
failed me
for impersonating
Russell Crowe."
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"I've seen the future
and it's a pantomime and Big Brother
9…"
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So what plans does Johnny have for 2006 and beyond?
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"I've been spending time
recovering from taking hundreds of Big Brother calls." (Rumour
had it that Johnny was to be in the recent Celebrity Big Brother along with
George Galloway and Michael Barrymore).
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"It
was all lies – I
wouldn't touch
it with a barge
pole. Unless my career
goes on the skids that
is. In which case I might
be combining it with bad
pantomimes in
Widnes.
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"The main thing is I'm getting positive feedback for
my acting so we'll see if
any other interesting parts come up. But I also want to return to doing stand-up.
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"It's got to the point where I've become frightened
of live audiences. This is a really telling sign
that I need to go back and earn my place on the comedy circuit again.
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"You can't be a proper comic unless you've been
out on stage and felt the fear."
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