December 2001

The REGiment got together for yet a third time and emailed REG another bunch of probing questions, which he very kindly answered for yet another exclusive REG Temple interview.

Hi Richard, hope you and yours are well…the play with the ego boosting cheers sounds wonderful…wish I could join the chorus…but alas…Queensland is warmer than London and much cheaper!

REG – No doubt. I am on again tonight and then three more bursts on 17,18,19th December and possibly a few in January.

OK…here they are:

1. Jolie would like to know: What was it like performing on stage again (in the Branagh play)? Do you intend to do more theatre work?

REG – An absolute ego massaging blast. Brannagh could not be a better director if he tried. 40 carat charm. The play is a pastiche Morecambe and Wise tribute in which the celeb surprise guest is willingly ‘roasted’. Plus I get to sing and dance, wear a dress, wig and have my head chopped off. Oh and the audience have been known to yell ‘marry me’ when I first appear which is balm to an ageing ego.

2. Your 15th wedding anniversary’s just passed hasn’t it? What did you & Joan give/do for one another on that special day?

REG – You are VERY well informed, but thanks for asking. As the fifteenth anniversary is crystal, we bought an 18th century Italian chandelier that is sort of on the operatic scale. A bit like marriage itself. Spent the day together and went out for dinner and some horizontals. But perhaps this is more detail than you care to know?

3. Has Olivia had her first teenage crush on a male celebrity yet? If so, who is he? What advice (if any) have you given her regarding teenage crushes? (I vividly remember the day my dad came into my room, saw the posters on my wall, shook his head & said: “It’s a passing phase”.) :-)

REG – Send a s.a.e. for the list. It changes week by week at this stage. What is clear is that all of her crushes have bigger muscles and more hair than I’ve ever had, They all look about 16 and are mostly pop billionaires. A cab driver once advised me, that no matter what a father thinks of his daughter’s choice of boyfriend, make it a rule to say they are wonderful. I will do my best to stick to this dictum…….

4. Maria asks: Did Richard wear contact lenses to enhance his eyes in the B2 ad, did they enhance the eyes in post production or are they really that blue in real life?

REG – The sun in the Bahamas was so bright, and various cameramen on films have told me that because my eyes are so light coloured they look more intensely blue on film as a result. Only time I’ve worn contacts – blind white eyes at the end of “Hudson Haw”‘ and a black ‘red eye’ in Dennis Potters’ “Karaoke”. But my holiday snaps always return with contact blue coloured eyes. So blame the chemicals.

5. Denise asks: Following the recent terrorist attack and the decision of NY actors not to attend the Emmys in LA. How do you feel about flying at the moment?

REG – Will and have flown wherever. Suspect the spirit of the blitz must be somewhere in my system. Send me a ticket and I’ll fly anywhere.

6. Given that you have read Harry Potter. Which role (apart from Lucius Malfoy) would you select for yourself?

REG – I think they have all been taken, so would prefer not to dwell on this in case I burst into tears and flood your laptop.

7. Jyll asks: Did Richard have a favorite childhood toy?

REG – Pelham string puppets which I collected assiduously. Still have my whole collection and buy old ones whenever I come across them at antique markets or fairs.

8. Does he own any pets?

REG – My daughter has a King Charles cavalier spaniel.

9. Does Richard have any “Mischievous Teenager” stories to tell about when he was a teen? ( I think everyone does..)

REG – Of course, but suspect it might be best if we met in a cyber chat room to exchange the gaggy details in case a four year old “Little Vampire” fan logs on.

10. Nicole would like to know: Does Richard know how to speak Afrikaans, being born so close to South-Africa. I also would like to know what he drinks, if he’s allergic to alcohol and also doesn’t like milk. Only water/fruit juice?!

REG – Never learnt Afrikaans as it was deemed the language of apartheid and therefore the ‘enemy tongue’, but learnt Siswati and French. drink every kind of fruit juice in vast quantities and combinations. Especially cranberry juice because people assume you are drinking red wine and leave off hassling.

11. Emma asks: Would REG like his daughter to get into acting or would he be against it seeing as he knows how hard it is?

REG – Whatever she wants to do I will wholeheartedly support.

12. Who is Richard’s favourite actor/actress?

REG – Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, Jack Lemmon, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Russell Crowe, Diane Keaton, Dianne Wiest, Faye Dunaway, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Jeremy Irons…. you get the idea? I have a very long list.

13. Grace asks: Do your feet ever get cold without any sox?! lol

REG – Have to wear them in the winter. Permanently numb in fact.

14. If Richard had a choice of recurring part in (no particular order)
1. The West Wing
2. Sopranos
3. Ally McBeal
4. Sex In The City
5. Eastenders
which one would he choose?

REG – The sopranos, But I don’t think the Mafia has any openings for skinny English guys – But let me know if you hear otherwise.

15. Sue asks: It’s been reported on a reputable website that you have been offered the starring role in the upcoming London production of Contact which is scheduled to hit London in April and that you are definitely interested but there isn’t a set deal yet. Is this true? (I hope so!) and tell us more!

REG – It’s true. However there’s a catch. The£2 million mounting costs have meant that the original backers have withdrawn and they have decided to import the American touring production instead. As they did with “a chorus line” in the mid-seventies.

16. Gina wants to know: Favorite quote or saying is.

REG – “I want the finest life available to humanity and I want it here and I want it now” with apologies to Withnail for the variation.

17. Sarah would be interested to know if you enjoy watching your own films – seeing yourself on screen. Because I have read about so many actors who hate that!

REG – It’s like hearing your voice on a tape recorder. Pretty gruesome. The doing of it is all. Watching the finished result – you have no power or chance to change anything. Fixed forever. Plus you tend to only dwell on the faults and short comings. To be avoided at all costs.

18. Would you consider doing a film with Eddie Izzard? :)

REG – Definitely. We are also friends, so it would be a good laugh. They broke the mould with him. A real one-off.

19. Jen asks: What do you think of Hollywood’s chronic casting of Brits as villains? Do you think this will change in the future?

REG – A sign of political correctitude. But who knows, now with the Taliban and Bin Laden, they might give us a break and decide that it’s alright to demonise Taliban Afghanis. I think that Brit actors are unafraid to play unsympathetic roles, hence all the villainy, that perhaps mainstream American stars are less inclined to.

20. Pat asks: If you could play any character from literature, classic or modern, (excluding one from Harry Potter or Vyvian Cork) who would it be?

REG – Hamlet, Beardsley, Mahler, Dali, Dracula, Don Quixote, any Martin Amis anti-hero…any suggestions?

21. Do you have a favorite comfort food, one that makes you feel better when you’re down or anxious?

REG – Fruit cake. Christmas pudding. In fact anything with raisins.

22. Once when discussing Hugo Guiler, you said that passivity is not one of your virtues. What do you consider your virtues?

REG – Enthusiasm, energy and ceaseless curiosity. Oh, and having a good chortle.

23. Rosemary asks: Did you learn to play an instrument either as a reluctant child like me, or after that just because you wanted to? If so, which one, and do you still play? Does Olivia learn any kind of music or dance?

REG – Learnt the piano as a child and teenager. Then took up the flute when I was unemployed for nine months in 1985. My daughter gave up the piano and now does guitar. Dances whenever and wherever she can.

24. Why wasn’t “How To Get Ahead in Advertising” featured in “With Nails” at all? I enjoyed the film and would have thought that a diary of the goings-on whilst filming that would be hilarious. The only plausible reason I could think of, was that maybe you are saving it for a book all on its own?!?

REG – My editor and publisher thought that as it involved the same team that made “Withnail” it would be better for the length of the book to exclude the chapter on it’s making.

25. Would you like to play Sherlock Holmes if the right opportunity presented itself?

REG – Have just played his drug addled brother, Mycroft in a film shot in Bucharest opposite James d’Arcey as a young Sherlock and Vincent d’Onnofrio as Moriarty.

26. Were you as famished as you looked when you appeared on “The Kumars at No. 42” and polished off that plateful of samosas?!

REG – A fantastic show to be on and very funny as all of it was improvised and the food quite delicious. Big big fan of “Goodness Gracious Me” especially Meera Syall and Sanjeev Bashkar.

27. And my last question: How do you feel about being the reason for loads of people making new friends via the Regiment?! You’re a star! Thanks!

REG – THANK YOU! it’s a wonderful phenomenon that never ceases to surprise and thrill me. My father advised me on his deathbed, that if I had five true friends in life, I should consider myself a rich man. The wisdom of which has become more profound the older I get.

28. Caryn asks: Did you take any of the clothes or props home with you after doing SP?

REG – All the clothes were made and then owned by the costume company, but I did get to buy and keep some of the props. Do so whenever I can as I am an inveterate hoarder and collector.

29. Can the REGiment be extras in Wah-Wah when you start making it? (Okay, this is just dreaming, but it never hurts to ask!)

REG – Of course!! If you can get down to Swaziland that is.

30. Djoeke asks: Which character that you have played ’till now looks most on you own character?

REG – I am the last person who could answer that question properly. Perhaps my wife and friends would give you a better clue. Or you?

31. How many languages do you speak?

REG – Stumbling Siswati and fragmented French and of course filthy English.

32. I still cannot make out the words of the song a group of you sang at a party in France in the first episode of Scarlet Pimpernel. Can you remember what they were, I would love to know?

REG – I have no recollection of ever singing in the “Pim”‘ so please forgive me this bout of early Altz.

33. Phew…and now two standard questions that lots of people ask: Any progress to report on Wah Wah?

REG – YES. Watch this space. Will hopefully have a clearer idea in the early new year. But very positive so far……

34. And can we still make donations to Waterford? Is this still the correct address?

Waterford School Trust,
13 College Lane, London NW5 1BJ.

REG – Yes please! Good of you to ask.

Thanks Richard…I know it’s a whopper…but hey..it’s been a while and lots of new fans since the new Pimps came out!

REG – Chin chin to all the REGimentals and happy yule tidings!