Rufus Hound interview

We catch up with Rufus Hound, who has moved from being a stand-up comedian to stage and TV star. He discusses bringing the hit Royal Shakespeare Company production of Don Quixote to London's West End. Talking about the comic play, he says "there is no piece of art I am prouder of than this."

Hi Rufus. How has 2018 been for you so far?

Oh, it's been alright. I was part of trying to somewhat reinvent a problematic Noel Coward play (not wholly successfully) then played Dusty Springfield's manager for a bit. Went on holiday for all of August (longest ever holiday); saw Ben Folds & Cake play a show in New York; was a talking dog; was the voice of some elaborate cakes; drank a bunch. Which brings us to today.

Nice. How long has it been since you've performed stand-up? Do you miss it?

I've done various "bits" on live shows (principally for Robin Ince) but not stand-up since 2013, I think.

My last gig was at The Comedy Store - the only stage I ever dreamed of playing when I started out. I did my last bit, and walked to the dressing room (5 steps) thinking "Well, old son, there we go. You did it. You made a living as a stand-up comedian and ended by playing The Store. You're done and you're out on a high." In those three seconds I felt genuine serenity...

Then I opened the door and Eddie Izzard was sat there. An absolute hero of mine, but not a man I knew at all. After ten minutes I plucked up the courage to say to him "I have to tell you Eddie, in so many ways it was you who really inspired me to try stand-up and here I am, at my final gig and you're here. It feels like the universe is giving me a bit for a send-off." To which he replied "No. This isn't that. You're a stand-up. You'll always be a stand-up. You might be a stand-up who does other things, but you'll come back eventually. We all do."

So, even though I have no plans to do stand-up, I'm not going to argue with Eddie Izzard, who I'm certain knows better than I do.

When you started out, did you ever imagine you'd one day be the voice of a talking dog? Following the success of the last batch of Waffle The Wonder Dog, they're making LOADS more episodes now...

I've always had this idea that you never love telly more than the telly you loved when you were a kid. I know that's true for me. The first acting gig I ever had was on a kids show called Hounded. I could have done a few different jobs at that time, but a funny kids sci-fi TV show seemed about as good as it could be. Being a talking dog for pre-schoolers is much the same thing - plus I get to leave nice voicemail messages on mate's phones for their young kids which is profoundly lovely.

In terms of acting, next up TV viewers can see you back as Kevlar in Zapped, the man with many voices in his head. That role looks like a joy to play? We must admit, it took us a while to realise it was you, so different is he!

One of the greatest compliments - weirdly - that I've been paid as an actor is that NO-ONE messaged me to talk about Kevlar. Don't get me wrong, that could just be that no-one liked it, but in 2018, people are just as likely to tweet you telling you how shit you are as how good you are. I took the silence to mean that no-one knew it was me.

I love Zapped. The boys that write it, and the crew that make it, are just the funniest, greatest folk. When they offered me the part, I asked how far I could take him and they just said "Go for it, and if it's too much we'll tell you." So I did, and they didn't.

Your next project is playing Sancho in Don Quixote, for the Royal Shakespeare Company. What attracted you to the role?

I knew Angus Jackson (the Director), having worked with him on Neville's Island (Chichester Theatre). He told me it was for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which as a white middle class person was like being told I could go to Hogwarts.

Angus had already started working with Cal McCrystal (Comedy Director on the show), who is a GENIUS, so it felt like an offer too good to turn down.

Whilst the tale has been around for over 400 years, not everyone may know the premise. Could you fill us in on what it's about?

Cervantes' Don Quixote is the story of a book-obsessed man who wonders why people no longer live with the same moral fortitude displayed by the knights of old. So he decides to get a suit of armour and hop on his knackered old horse and be a knight.

Having been out on his first sally, he realises he needs a squire and enlists a stupid local farmer - Sancho Panza - for the job, and they set off on a series of adventures.

When Cervantes wrote it 400 years ago it was the first postmodern novel. The first book was a satire on how Spain saw itself in the world and the second book, written six years later, sees Don Quixote and Sancho living in a world where everyone has read the first book about them, and is taking the piss out of them.

That is a funny idea.

Do you think you might spend a lot of time over the next few months correcting how people are saying the title? "No, it's pronounced Don Kee-Hoh-Tee"...

Well, that's only how we pronounce it in England. In vast parts of Spain, it's actually pronounced "Donkey Schot", so I might be that the next few months are spent with Spaniards correcting me.

You're in rehearsals now. What's it like working with David Threlfall?

Well, we did the show two years ago at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and loved every second of it. David and I have spent the last two years desperately hoping a deal could be done for us to ride again, in London.

My last two years have been spent with literally hundreds of people who saw it begging us to do it again so they can come and watch it again. It's an incredibly special show.

Rehearsals this time give us a chance to really polish it up, cut some bits, speed a few bits up - all the stuff you'd love to do once you've got the play on its feet, but rarely get chance to.

As for Threlfall, I could tell you how much I love him but it would only scratch the surface and it would sound like I've suffered some sort of mental or emotional collapse. Let me just say I have never encountered another human being so good at what they do as I witness with him. He is, not to put too fine a point on it, the absolute business.

All I ever really tell people about it is this: if I had to pick one job to do every day for the rest of my life, it would be playing Sancho Panza next to David's Don Quixote as directed by Angus and Cal. I have made my living as an artist, and there is no piece of art I am prouder of than this. I want everyone in the world to come and see it.

You're going to be working with some quite unique horses again?

Don Quixote features endless equestria so working out how to do that on stage was a real challenge. Not only working out how to do it, but how to do it without looking like you've just ripped off War Horse.

The solution we concocted lead to enormous delights. In short, everyone in the show plays a horse/donkey at one time or other and they'll leave you in no doubt as to how they feel about that fact.

Wishing you all the best with the run Rufus. It goes through to February. Any plans for after that? A holiday perhaps? Or straight on to another project?

Everything's been left deliberately open at the moment. Who knows, as Don Quixote might say, what the next great adventure might bring?