Steve Wright in the Afternoon

BBC Radio 2

June 6, 2007

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Steve Wright: Anthony Head is here.

Old Woman (that's actually what she is called on the show): And he's sitting next to the Old Woman. Oh, aren't I lucky?

Anthony Head: You're gorgeous.

Steve: Because you two know each other from before, don't ya?

Anthony: Yeah.

Old Woman: Yes, when you was on the coffee commercials.

Steve: When you "were" on the coffee commercials. (everyone laughs) Sorry to correct you. Anthony narrates a 2 CD BBC audiobook Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery. You heard the music just now. Which is just out in the shops. Who played Paul Temple before on the radio? We think it was - who do we think it was?

Tim Smith: We thought it was Francis Matthews on telly -

Anthony: He did the telly but no, no...

Tim: Yeah, telly, but we couldn't remember who did it on radio.

Old Woman: I remember Paul Temple being on the radio before the war or maybe just after the war, but I can't remember his name.

Anthony: My mum and dad remember it as well.

Old Woman: I can' t remember who it was.

Anthony: He was famous. It was quite a well known actor

Steve: If someone said to you, Old Woman, "Who was Paul Temple?" what would you say?

Old Woman: I would say he was something like James Bond but on the radio. A good man and he sorted out a load of problems for people.

Anthony: He said "By Timothy" a lot.

Steve: How did you come to be involved with this project?

Anthony: They asked me.

Steve: Thanks for that. Thanks for coming in!

Anthony: They said "Would you like -" and I done a - I mean, BBC audio books, amazingly, are based in Bath which is where I live. I did a Gerald Seymour thing called a Line in The Sand years ago which was incredibly hard names and things and it was the first one I'd ever done and I said "Audio book? Yeah, sure I'll do that." Then of course you have to come up with all sorts of voices and in fact this Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery I'm extremely proud of because there's loads of lovely voices. Cuz it was written by Francis Durbridge originally for the radio and the books he then adapted into novels so there's loads of characters. (deep sigh)

Steve: Great. How is -

Anthony: It's nice, it's a test, I tell ya.

Steve: And you do it in the old style. What's the voice?

Anthony: (in a very posh voice) It's like that. Come on Steve. Oh yes, I'm quite well educated. Sort of a bit butch.

Steve: And heroic.

Anthony: Quite heroic.

Tim: That's kind of a marina voice. I'll save you!

(Everyone laughs)

Steve: Now what about the Hollywood days?

Anthony: The Hollywood days?

Steve: Your Hollywood days and you think, oh was that a long time ago or was that just a few years back? I mean your life must be -

Anthony: {...} given up on it. I was there this year. I did a test for HBO but last year I did a pilot for Disney coproduced by Elton John. So I go backwards and forwards every year I go back and dip me toe in the water because once you've got in the marketplace, you don't say that was that.

Janey Lee Grace: What's the thing you're doing that stars Johnny Depp? The Sweeney Todd thing, you doing that?

Anthony: Ahh, ooh, well, a) I've signed a secrecy thing but also -

Janey Lee: You could tell us if he is really as good looking when you get close up.

Anthony: Well he's absolutely lovely. Such a sweetie. I ended up doing one day with him. I think it's going to be really interesting film. Johnny's just enchanting, such a nice guy and Tim Burton is really lovely as well.

Steve: That's all you can say.

Janey Lee: Do you know when it's coming out?

Anthony: Next year sometime.

Steve: But it's Sweeney Todd, yeah? We can say that, can we?

Anthony: You can say that, yeah.

Janey Lee: You can say anything you like.

Steve: ...Barber of Fleet Street

(several people talking at once)

Anthony: There's a move that I did last year, that's coming out in August that's called Sparkle. That's fantastic and it's costarring Stockard Channing and I play Stockard Channing’s brother. And Bob Hoskins. Yeah. Sensitive Skin, that's coming out at the end of June.

Old Woman: Oh, you're on the go all the time then, aren't you?

Steve: You just work non-stop, don't you?

Anthony: Yeah. I'm very, very fortunate that I've had a varied career. I mean, it takes a lot of work, you just can't accept everything you just have to be discerning about what you say yes to.

Steve: If you look at your career, it's interesting isn't it because you've beavered away in the theatre and television doing lots of things and then coffee commercials changed your life around didn't they?

Anthony: Yes, what the coffee commercials did for me was it gave name recognition in America. It didn't close doors here but it cemented people's idea of what I could do here. They just thought I was the romantic smoothie and so I had to change people’s perceptions.

Steve: We should remind people that you went over and did the same ads but they were - it was what Taster's Choice.

Anthony: Taster's Choice.

Steve: So then you get seen and then from that you get Buffy.

Anthony: Yeah and I did lots – well not quite. I mean I did a thing called VR.5. I did a series of that and then that didn't go for any more so I came back, then I went back again and did a pilot for something called She which didn't get picked up. It's one of those deals where -

Old Woman: You're yo-yoing, aren't you?

Janey Lee: What do you prefer? Are you literally one of these actors who likes everything equally or do you prefer doing movies or telly or audio?

Anthony: Well that's the beauty of the game, it's the fact that you -

Janey Lee: A variety.

Anthony: You get the chance to do so much and thankfully I sing as well so I get to do musicals and things occasionally. There was a movie that was supposed to be starting right now which isn't at the moment. The money has fallen through but I was going to be singing opera -

Janey Lee: Really?

Anthony: Yeah, yeah. It's the variety that I absolutely adore. And the fact that each element of it is such a buzz. I mean I love doing live theatre and I love doing movies, I love doing TV. I mean everything has got its own little buzz.

Tim: It's a nice variety.

Steve: And being kissed by David Walliams, that's okay?

Anthony: That's great! Especially if you get kissed by - I got to kiss Joanna Lumley.

Everyone else: Oooohhh.

Anthony: I was her love interest except I was a bit of a ne'er-do-well She's moved on.

Steve: Just take a breath. We're going to play a tiny bit of Paul Temple and then we're going to come back with Anthony Head. Don't go away!

clip of Paul Temple followed by a song

Steve: Back here with Anthony Head. When you were first asked to play the Little Britain character, the Prime Minister, what did you think and then when you were told about the other characters?

Anthony: I had no - basically I'd just got back from the States and my agent said "Look, you've been asked if you want to do this", and they sent through the scripts and at that point I hadn't heard it on the radio at all but my agent knew it. it was about four sketches for the pilot and I kind of went "uuuuummmmm".  Well, I get the joke but it's the same sketch isn't it pretty much. Of course it's not, and ultimately she said "You're gonna do it. Go meet the guys" and she said they're really, really lovely and the radio show is a huge success. So I went and met them and they are adorable, they're such nice guys and so we did the pilot and I didn't really get the show until I started to watch some of the bits they had already recorded and went "Ohh my". So this is either going to die like a stony death or this is going to be huge. I was...at the time I was doing a musical, I was doing Pirates of Penzanace at the Savoy and all the cast were coming in and they all had BBC 3 and I didn't have BBC 3 and they were all coming in and doing the voices and quoting it already. This is huge!

Steve: You knew then.

Anthony: It was the first time that a show had been created on BBC3 and it was brilliant because it created this whole audience. It was already subversive before it got to BBC2.

Steve: And interestingly enough, like with Buffy and some of the other things you've done memorable - the character Sebastian grabbing your leg, the Prime Minister and you're dragging him along -

Anthony: That was my gag! Cuz basically it was supposed to finish when he just grabbed my legs and I couldn't get out the room and I said, "Couldn't we get one of those little roller boards and I could pull him out?" There is a ....you mean like this? I said "Yes!" And it worked so I mean people say how much input do you get? I'm always suggesting things and quite often they say "No, that's very-"

Steve: Would you do more? If there's more?

Anthony: In a flash. I mean they are such, such lovely guys and I just did some of the live show, I did about eight gigs out in Australia. They are so generous and such - I mean they are completely - they are really fun and they are untouched their success.

Steve: And with a global thing like Buffy. That is global. I mean it's on in France and Germany and Australia.

Anthony: That's amazing and that has a resurgence here it's bizarre. I mean I suddenly get - there's a whole new young audience so I expect when they recognize me I think it's from Little Britain and they're saying "We know you from Buffy" and one of the things that's great about going backwards and forwards to LA is there's a whole generation of producers and writers out there who were raised on Buffy because Buffy was such a great writing show. I mean the writing was beautiful. They are huge fan of it. So now I walk into an office of these very influential people going "I love your work, I've been watching it for..." It's like "Great. Fine.. Fabulous." But you know, it's the best..

Old Woman: You're enjoying everything, aren't you at the moment?

Anthony: I am. Can you tell?

Steve: "Everyfink". Can I ask you an impertinent question? I mean, please don't tell me how much, but if you do a series like Buffy, does it make you a rich man?

Anthony: Well, a) you're paid in dollars, which at the time I was doing it -

Steve: Exchange rate not very good?

Anthony: The exchange rate was better than it is now I tell ya. But yes, you make much better money than you - because it's 22 guaranteed episodes a year. It's consistent work and that's something that every actor - it's a ludicrous job. Both my daughters want to do it and every time I'm out of work, I think I'm never going to work again.

Steve: You’re in an acting fraternity aren't you, here in Britain and it's kind of different in LA I would imagine. It’s not quite likely the club that it is here.

Anthony: It's weird. I mean, bless them, I don't know how they do it. Every time I go for a test it's bizarre because a) you have to sign a contract before you go in and do the test. You know, you're signing away seven years of your life before you've done the test. If you get and inkling that the like you then you might come in and say I want more. So you've already done the deal. They're handing you -

Old Woman: Before they accept you?

Anthony: Before they accept you. They're handing you sheets of your contract coming off the photo copier that's coming in from your agent -

Steve: It's an option. It's not a contract as such.

Anthony: It's a contract. No, yeah, it's just an option -

Old Woman: On their side.

Anthony: It's all on their side so basically if you say yes, they've got you for seven years.

Steve: Oh my goodness.

Anthony: So you're going through all that and you're trying to work yourself up for the part and then you go in and - it used to be - you used to go into this office and they'd all be all around ya, I mean they'd fill an office sitting on the windowsills and all over the place.

Old Woman: What the suits, you mean?

Anthony: Yeah. Now they do it in a preview theatre which is a - that's a very good word because they are all suits - but now they do it in a preview theatre which is completely dead. it's got no atmosphere at all and, last couple of times I've done comedies and things and thankfully the head of the network wasn't there because when he's there, he tells them not to laugh because if they laugh -

Steve: It gives you too much confidence?

Anthony: No! It's nudging him, it's nudging his decision making. So they all have to sit there in stony silence while you're trying to do - it's insane! So talking about the acting community, I mean, yes there is an acting community but I mean, they put themselves through this every year. Luckily our stuff just rolls on and you just, you know, pick up stuff here and pick up stuff there, or not as the case may be.

Steve: Well, let me just pick that up from here, rolling on with the BBC audio book Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery is narrated by Anthony Head here and is now in shops. Also the Joanna Lumley thing that you're doing, that's on?

Anthony: Sensitive Skin BBC 2, I think it's 10 o'clock Tuesday nights and that's starts 26th of June, I think.

Steve: Very good.

Anthony: I'm in two episodes of that.

Steve: And anything else?

Anthony: Bleak Expectations

Janey Lee: Is that not enough for you?

Anthony: Nooo. Bleak Expectations which is incredibly funny and a spoof Dickens and it's got Richard Johnson is the narrator and it's got a wonderful cast, very funny. And then, yes Sparkle is coming out in August so, um -

Old Woman: Is that all?

Anthony: I think that's all for now

Old Woman: This year like.

Steve: He's got to go now and go and get his Oyster card. Anthony Head everybody!