Robert Lindsay interview
Sitcom acting veteran Robert Lindsay is playing Jack Whitehall's father in his latest role.
You play Nigel, dad to Jack Whitehall's character, Barnaby. Can you tell us about him?
When Jack offered me the part of Nigel, my first instinct was, what a very strange character. He is a sort of a loner and a wheeler dealer. Jack's character is a middle-class boy and from a very middle-class family but I thought Nigel might have been a bit of a lad in a previous life.
He's in all sorts of deep do-do. He has various contracts on him from all sorts of dodgy characters, as well as the Mafia and ISIS, and he is on the run. All six episodes, I seem to be on the run from someone.
Did you enjoy the part?
I had a lot of fun with it. I really got into it with Jack and the lovely Charity Wakefield who plays my daughter, and Rosie Perez, who is absolutely fantastic to work with. We had a really good rapport. She's a theatre actress and we had a lot of conversations about that and also about boxing, which I love.
It was one of the nicest shoots I've done in a long time. I didn't get the bonus of going out to film in Seville though. I always seem to get the Streatham and Clapham shoots... and Tooting.
Of course, as during your Citizen Smith days...
Yes. My sons saw it for the first time a few weeks ago. They really liked it. They thought Dad was cool, you see. I used to be cool.
Was there much chance for any improvisation on set or did you stick to the script?
Freddy was quite strict with the script.
I did ad-lib now and then though. I have worked with people like Alan Bleasdale who are very strict with their script and I am now working with Terry Johnson on Prism at Hampstead Theatre. He is a brilliant playwright and he doesn't like it if you start ad-libbing. You have to be careful with some authors.
Jack was absolutely on song with the script. I have worked with a few stand-up comedians who would veer off quite easily but Jack stayed with it.
Did you enjoy the action scenes?
Yes. There are antiques which various gangs are chasing and Episode 5 in particular becomes a real action thriller and is all shot at night. I am supposed to be playing an old dad who can't run and is gasping for breath. I haven't reached that stage yet though...
I am quite fit. I have done so much stage work and singing and dancing and musicals that I tend to be. I also love sword fighting, which I have done many times in Shakespeare. I love a bit of action but I seem to be playing grumpy, dysfunctional fathers on TV at the moment.
Why did the project appeal? Was it working with Jack?
Yes. It's usually my kids who instigate something. I get a script and they say, "You've got to work with him or her", or, "Wow, he's fantastic, can I meet him?"
They also loved the scripts. "Yes, a perfect character for you, Dad", they said. "A really horrible person." So I had full approval from the family.
Goodie or a baddie: what's more fun to play?
I've played a lot of baddies in my time.
I always try to find the nice side. I think people always present a nice side even though they are bad. I am pretty good at playing dysfunctional fathers. I played one for almost 11 years in My Family. I used to get the most amazing mail from kids saying that they would love me to be their dad or that they thought I was great, which I found very disturbing.
Really? Because Ben Harper seemed a horrible dad...
He was a really objectionable human being. I am pretty good at playing objectionable people. I don't know how I have got into that sort of thing because I am actually quite a good dad. I like being a dad.
Well, most of the time.
When do you not like being a dad?
When I went into my 17-year-old's bedroom this morning and it was like a sewer. I had a blazing row with him about that. When they get to 17 I think it's maybe time for them to go - My Family seems to be haunting me for real.
You are having a dinner party: which three comedians from TV history would you invite?
That's a good one. Eric Morecambe, Lee Mack and Tommy Cooper.
Do you think they'd get on well?
I don't know, I'd be interested to see what would happen.
What would you cook for them?
I'd make an Italian dinner with lots of red wine.
You've got one hour to trolley dash around a museum or art gallery. Where would you go and what would you take?
The Tate Modern. There are a couple of statues there I would love to get my hands on, including one I'd love to put in the garden. That would definitely be in my trolley. We spent three days chasing around the Tate Modern filming Bounty Hunters.
I have never been there before and it was the most amazing place.
What's your favourite joke?
We're practical jokers in my home. When my poor daughter comes to stay, the boys usually do something to her bedroom or put cling film over her toilet seat. I can never remember jokes. I once tried to do a joke with a very famous person on a set and he looked at me and said, "I've heard that". I thought, oh God, I'll never ever tell a joke again.