That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Jim Broadbent

Episode Date: February 28, 2022

In this episode Gaby chats face to face with national treasure, Jim Broadbent. He speaks fondly about his childhood and how it was his dad who encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. He recalls some of his most iconic films including 'Moulin Rouge!', 'Bridget Jones' and 'Iris' for which he won an Oscar. They also discuss his new movie “The Duke” in which will be in UK cinemas from the 25th February 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to that Gabby Rosin podcast, part of the Acast Creator Network. Jim Broadbent is a true gent. What an actor and what a career. I can't begin to tell you what a thrill it was for me to sit face to face with this talented, charming man and have the opportunity to talk about his life. He speaks so fondly about his childhood and his caring parents. We discuss his excellent new movie, The Duke, which in my very humble opinion is one of the greatest British films of all time. He really is a very special man and I so hope you enjoy listening.

Please can I ask you a favour? Would you mind following and subscribing please? By clicking the follow or subscribe button. This is completely and utterly free, by the way. And you can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts, which is the purple app on your iPhone or iPad. Simply scroll down to the bottom of all of the episodes. I know there have been quite a few now.

And you'll see the stars where you can tap and rate and also please write a review. Thank you so much. I was watching, of all the things, I were going to talk about so much, Jim, but talking about Brian on the Magic Roundabout. I don't know why. When you suddenly said hello, I thought,

oh, that was a moment yesterday, listening to you being Brian. Oh, really? Well, that's not often mentioned. Not that, and the trumpet in teletuffies. Oh, right, well, yes, it's all age-related, isn't it? Well, I don't know what I was. You know what it was? It was nostalgia from my childhood watching The Magic Roundabout.

Because it was one of those shows that we would say good night and we'd go upstairs. Yeah. It used to come out just before the news, I think. My father used to watch Magic Roundabout and he just got a telly, I think. It was a while ago. It was a while ago when it first came. I think it was black and white when it first came out, but you've revoiced it. But actually, if I may, I'd love to talk about your parents because they say,

sound incredible. So they were both sculptors, artists, and amateur-dramatic. Yeah, a bit of all of that. My father, he'd trained in architecture and in London. And then just prior to the war, my mother at the same time, they met at Leeds Art School. Then they both came to London. My mother went to the Royal Academy Schools to do sculpture. and my father went to the court hold and the architectural institute didn't finish either course. Then the war came and because of their pacifist feelings and ethics, they decided to go into agriculture in Lincolnshire and to help the war effort as pacifists. And my father with a bit of private income and along with another man who also had a young man

I had a bit of private income. They rented this farm in Lincolnshire and set it up as an educational, agricultural education or community for other pacifists who wanted to find what they could do to help the war effort without going to the war. How wonderful.

What a way to be brought up with people? It must, was it a very, I'm sorry for sounding tripe, but was it a very peaceful, loving? Well, it was really. I mean, because it's an awful lot of, young people went to this community and did their training and a number of them stayed. And so that was the, and then I wasn't born until 1949.

But that was the group of families that I grew up with, really, had all gone to Lincolnshire in pursuit of this education in agriculture. But they were sort of vaguely, or pretty much liberal, left-wing, artistic group of agricultural and artistic people, really. So where did the amateur dramatics come into that? Well, part of a number of the members of the community were very keen on drama, including my father. And probably he might have been the prime mover on this. so they wanted to set up an amateur-dramatic company

which put on several plays a year in an old RAF building and became the Holton players. They did things like Chekhov and Ibsen and Shaw. Isn't that what you started doing? Didn't you start with Ibsen? Well, I did. I did. I was a child in the Doll's House. But I didn't do any other theatre for 20,

years really. Not a way to start, but I mean, if you're going to start, start with Ibson. Yeah, yeah, started with Ibson. But I just did a lot of sort of comedy sketches at school, but didn't really do any plays until after. So then I presume your parents were very

supportive of your choice of going off to Lambda. Yeah, yeah. In fact, my father suggested it. I went to art school first for a year. And then, but I all my free time I spent going to the cinema. I interested me far more than art and going to galleries and pursuing that. And it was always going to be one of the other art or acting.

So in the end, I did a year at art school. Then I thought, no, if I'm honest, it's acting I really want to do. But you said it was your dad. Yeah, my dad said, yeah, we were, while I was at art school, he came down to London and we were having a meal. And we sat next to two quite loud. young people who became clear that they were drama students. And we were sort of listening to them for a while.

And my father said, why don't you go to drama school? So it's actually his suggestion. How wonderful. And I said, well, I was thinking that. I was thinking that. So it all just timed in. So, yes, far from the usual. No, not on, over my dead body, no, go and get a proper job.

That wasn't the case at all. It was actually suggestion. It's very interesting, though. Because a lot of actors, when they go off to train, there's this been this pool for years and years and years. But for you it was that wonderful, I have that sort of that wide-eyed innocent thing of going to the cinema and thinking,

wow, this is what I love. That's where it came from then. Yeah, and but also at school doing, we did a lot of sort of review type things and wrote our own sketches and things. and I was always the Joker in the class, you know, and so came out of that as well. But we went to the theatre an awful lot as a family,

and the local rep in Lincoln. We used to go a lot and see all the, as a very regular company right through year after year, it seemed. And I loved going and seeing all the different plays, sometimes very unsuitable ones, because I couldn't get a babysitter, so they took us as well. Brendan Behan and, you know, sort of strange pieces

and Tennessee Williams, things I didn't understand at all. But I loved seeing the actors coming back every week transformed into some other character. And that is what intrigued me. You know, like one week it'd be the Jew of Leiden, and next week he'd be a sort of stuttering policeman. Or, you know, sort of, it was a... I think it was the character-acting aspect

that really fascinated me about... the old rep theatre system. It's a shame that's not there anymore. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I don't know what the actual, I can't remember what the actual quality of the work was. But to you it was wonderful. Yeah, it was absolutely.

And then I got into the fringe theatre, which is, I mean, for the 70s, 80s, the fringe theatre and the rep system both worked together and influenced each other and supported each other. So, but even that, It's gone now and not to the same extent at all. But there are so many wonderful little venues and little theatres.

And I think the past two years in lockdown and everything, it does worry me that because it's such an important part of a community and that they don't get the funding and that so many of them are turning into, I don't know, wine bars or whatever. I just think it's a shame because bringing theatre into the heart of a small community, I mean, when you talk about it, your eyes are lighting up and you remember it as a child. Yeah, yes.

I mean, it's a very different world. Young actors or young people who want to become actors say, oh, how do I do it? I haven't a clue now. No, the system has changed. It's a different route. Yeah, a lot of people just want to be famous these days. It is, it's true.

Strange old thing. So we have to talk obviously about the Duke. I'm going to embarrass you. So there we go. There's the warning. Embarrassing thing coming. I think that the Duke, is up there in the

in the top five British films ever. Really? My husband and I watched it twice. So we were sent a special link. We watched it and then we watched it again the next night to show our

15-year-old daughter. And we both have not stopped talking about it. We love, love that film. Oh, brilliant. That's not embarrassing. It'd be embarrassing if you didn't like it. Oh, we see. If you hate it.

No, we've got you here. Now, let me just tell you, Jim. No, it's just it's got everything. It's beautiful. It's poignant. It's passionate. You love him so much

when you're watching it. And you're cheering him on. And because it's a real story, I then went and did all the reading about it as well. So, okay, so some people may not have seen it. Actually, it should be a law that everyone sees it. That's how I feel about this film.

You have to see it. So for people who don't know, this is a true story. It happened in 1961, didn't it? Yes, in 1961, the nation bought Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington for 140,000 pounds, which is the highest they'd ever paid for a painting. And it was shown in the National Gallery, big event and Kempton-Bunton

took exception to the fact that the government had spent £140,000 on this painting and he was a sort of bit of a chance had numerous jobs in Newcastle, a working class chap, but he was

passionate about various causes one of which was that old age pensioners should have free TV licences and he had made this a course for some time and then when the painting was displayed and it was the announced that it cost 140,000 pounds he took exception to this

and thought that this was iniquitous and then the painting was stolen and big headlines everywhere and Kempton wrote letters to the newspapers in the old way of cutting. No, he didn't cut out the letters from newspapers. He actually tried to disguise his handwriting

and said he'd give it back if the nation gave free TV licenses to war widows and old age pensioners. And so it went on. And he wrote a lot of letters, and his letters were published in the Daily Mirror. And finally, this story was going to come out, so he gave it back.

and he went on trial. And the trial is just, I mean, everything about it is beautiful. And there's incredible touches. I mean, I actually felt that, because the way it's been intercut with real footage as well, and you feel that you're there in those times. But the trial is just what, I mean, we were sitting there cheering and clapping. Films don't often do that to you. I love a film too, and it's not always the case.

I love my own work. But the writing was so deft, so subtle. I mean, turning on from drama and family drama to this courtroom drama, and every aspect of it is beautifully written. And then we had just the most wonderful director. and Roger Michelle, who sadly died. Oh, I'm so sorry about that. Which is just dreadful.

But one of Roger's great things was casting. He was, every single character. I love watching the film to see all these other actors. They come in for a day or two, but just impeccably cast and impeccable. I mean, the people who come around the TV licensed detector van. people. I mean, just exquisite bits of acting right across the board and Roger

was responsible for that, apart from everything else. Roger was a superb, wonderful director and we had such a great time. I interviewed him a couple of times actually over the years and what a gentleman. Yeah. He was so lovely. I'm so sorry. I mean he died

far, far too young. It was only last year. And I wish I hope that he's up there watching now as people applaud this magnificent film. Brilliant. Well, thank you. I really do. I really do. So playing real people, and I know everybody always says this to you,

but you, you know, you've made a career of a lot of real people that existed, not just fictional characters. Is that more fun? Is it more interesting to do? I love that, yeah. You do? Real people are so good. complicated and so interesting, so contradictory.

I mean, very often in the fictional characters, they're there to play one aspect of a character or a couple. But real people are so extraordinarily interesting. And it's a real. And it's depending if they're sort of 20th century and you've got recordings of their voice and the film of them moving around, that's a real help. for the actors. So do you do that? How do you do it? Do you think, okay, I'm acting as that

person or I'm going to get under the skin and do their voice and... Well, a bit of... There's something like Lord Longford and John Bailey in Iris, Iris Murdoch's husband I play, where there's voice recordings and to listen to it. And the voice particularly, you try and get the voice right. And that reveals so much. and then you get under the skin of it. But having that sort of surface information can then let you get right inside and under. How do you do that then?

Do you listen to your recording and then repeat it and look in the mirror? How do you get the first right? No, no, just listen to it really. No, don't look in the mirror particularly. But you just get the voice. And there was another character I played years ago and he was kind of.

Manil Wintel. He was a very eccentric man. And the voice was so informative. And he had been on Desert Island days because he was extraordinary. But the voice was so informative. Just get that. One of his lines was it was only one war with the Germans. It lasted 30 years with a lull in the middle while they regrouped, you see? No, just getting him, getting his voice. It just sort of have informed the whole character. And it's such a lovely voice to capture, you know, sort of. But what happens if that person is alive in your, are you more aware then that they're going to see you being them?

I don't know if I've done one. Anyone who's actually alive, and certainly, I mean, with Lord Longford, all his family, that was a responsibility to be taking on. You know, sort of well-known figure and his children and grandchildren all still very much with us. But in the end, you're making a fiction. You know, the script is made up.

You're not really being them. You're being a version of them from known facts, but most of it is invented. And however I play it, it's going to look more like me than it does like them. Well, there's some of the Lord Longford, you looked extraordinarily like him. I mean, that was some good makeup.

And prosthetic chin, I think. Chin, yes, prosthetic chin. Maybe nose as well, I can't quite remember. But, yes, there's a lot of time in makeup and weird hair. That helps. But we did go to a, we filmed in a lot of prisons because he was always, every week he'd go to some prisoner in the country. And we went to one prison and one of the warders was heard to say,

oh God, I thought we'd got rid of that. Because he was obviously a pain in their sides. But Dennis Thatcher as well, of course. Didn't he play Dennis Thatcher? Yeah, yeah, yeah. With Merrill. With Merrill. With Meryl Streep.

Yes. Oh, yes, that was an event. She's amazing. It was a slightly strange one because I was playing Dennis as a figment of her imagination rather than being in sort of naturalistic. Sometimes you can really get into it and identify with the character and feel you're getting it to your own satisfaction anyway.

But Dennis was a tricky one, I think, from just physically I didn't feel I had that look in the same way. I think you're fantastic. Merrill, I mean, the people, there you are saying, talking about Meryl Streep and Dame Judy, and oh we'll get on to Moulin Rouge in a minute because that is my go-to I think I watch it twice a year

but all of these magnificent people they all they all say Lindsay Duncan when I interviewed you and you were there with Lindsay as well they all say they all feel the same sort of people they all there's the kindness and do you think that's important when working on a film or in a theatre show

and our mutual friends Sam Spiro, all these people, they all just, they speak so fondly of you, I have to say. They all say that you're kind and a gentleman and you're warm and it's all about making this together. Do you think that's very important? Is that the way you've always been? I think it's the way everyone I like working with works.

It's such a sort of privileged job to be doing and there's no time. or reason to be moaning and being difficult. And it doesn't help if you moan are difficult. I think, oh, we won't have him for this next job. He's a bit of a moaner. You must have worked with moaners, though. Not too many.

I mean, because I'm quite picky. And most of the people, directors I've worked with, a lot of them I've worked with a few times. It's because you think, oh, yeah, they're good to work with and they understand the business and they know how to cast people who aren't difficult. Generally, all the work I do is it's a very happy atmosphere and very easy because we're all coming from the same place, really.

Sometimes it does a job which is slightly out of my usual sort of realm and think, oh yeah, this is a little bit trickier. I've got to work harder at this, and it's a little bit frustrating. It does get frustrating. Sometimes filming's awful. Is it? Overrun and you're hanging around. But I'm quite good at hanging around and not driving myself mad.

Some people just can't stand them hanging around and waiting, so they get a bit grumpy. What do you do when you're having to hang around? read crosswords gnatur if there's somebody else to hang it around with but I'm quite good at that doing nothing it's very interesting you say about how lucky you are and that people shouldn't moan I do

you know I get frustrated by people who are I mean I'm living my dream job you're obviously so happy with what you do but when people just think about all the people that do the jobs that they really hate No, nothing annoys me more than a moaning film star. Somebody who has all that luck, really, and it's hard work as well. But to be in that position, you get praised and prizes and stroked

and people looking after you and running around, picking you up from home, taking you back, you know, and bringing you anything you want at any time of the day. And there was absolutely nothing to moan about it and you get paid a lot. And then you get prizes. I was watching your Oscar speech. Oh, God. I've never seen it. Thank you very.

Oh, well, I know. Congratulations. It was very good. But, okay, this is the most, this is, think of me as a six-year-old child asking this, what's it like to win an Oscar? Because we all dream of it, even if we don't want to be actors. Well, it's absolutely extraordinary. Is it?

I mean, you can't, I mean, the build-up is, because it doesn't come out of nowhere, you get, you know, the build-up comes for months, I suppose. So how does it start? I can't remember the sequence, the Oscars, the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. And Golden Globes certainly came before the Oscars, and I got a Golden Globe. So then I was suddenly much more in the frame for the Oscars when, after the Golden Globes. So I suppose after the Golden Globes, It was, there was a lot more attention and it was, and I was in L.A. for quite a long time doing all that, that sort of press. And so you just, right, it's in your, in your head and every day people do interviews and I think you might get it.

You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so it's full of all that. But, you know, as an actor, you start off from the word go, oh, I'd like to get an Oscar, you know. So the reality of it, when it comes close, you think, oh, God, this is extraordinary. You know, the, and then to actually win an Oscar, it's bizarre. Is it as, is?

I mean, just think, it seems so unlikely that something that is just a dream, you know, sort of fantasy, silly fantasy, could actually become reality. It's really hard to get your head around. And it took quite a long time. Several times a day, I think, oh, I've got an Oscar. I love that.

That's weird. I've got an Oscar. And then, thank God, finally, that faded into the background. But it was a very strange thing. When you got up to make the speech, are you aware that it's you and you're in that moment?

Or is that one of those times that it's just like, whoa. Sort of, but I forgot to mention two of the producers, you know. I'm sure they've forgiven you now. Just about. It becomes very important, you realise afterwards. But who you mentioned in Oscar speeches. I'm sure they've forgiven you.

You can say it now if you want. Dear Robert Fox and Scott Rudin, I should have mentioned. Well, there we go. Now you're telling it. It's fine. done. The other thing everybody always talks to you about is only fools and horses and there's

the lovely story about they wanted you originally to be Del Boy and I know you've said the story before but it's so interesting that young people today who weren't brought up on only fools and horses are watching it all

over again. It's as popular to sort of two new generations. It's quite something that. It's weird. I mean it is. I mean it's not It's not weird because it's really quality writing and performing, you know, and people identify with their boy so. And the whole relationships for all those family relationships, Rodney and Grandpa or Uncle,

beautifully drawn characters and contrasting. And just they all fit so well into this comedic structure. and you know, you care about them and you laugh at them and with them all the time. And it's very special what John Sullivan did, putting it together. When you were in that, was anybody aware that all these years later it was still going to be? Did you think that, do you know when something's got that special touch of gold glitter? They did. I mean, I only went in for three episodes. You're never allowed to forget it.

Never have to forget it, no. And I saw one the other day. I just, class reunion, every said, I thought, and it was on, I was sort of hovered by the sofa. And then I sat down and watched it right through it. Oh, how lovely. It was extraordinary. I mean, it's quite non-PC, some of it now.

It's sort of, oh, it's 30 years ago. But still, it's by far the most recognition I get on the street. really? Because it's interesting, I suppose you, do you know if somebody's coming towards you? I don't know, I suppose you've explained that it's fools and horses, but when somebody's coming towards you, do you think, oh, they're going to mention Harry Potter

or they're going to mention... Nobody mentions anything generally. They don't. They don't. Occasionally I've been hijacked by a hen party. Thank you. For Bridget Jones, his father. So, but, no, it's,

where do they take, do they actually physically take you somewhere? No, no, no, they've, they've, the hen party's been passing and spotted me and then, oh no, it's Bridget Jones's father. She's getting married tomorrow and then can I have a photograph of selfie with the hand? But very, very rarely do people, people just sort of smile generally. I don't know why they're smiling, probably just because. They're smiling because it's you, Jim.

Because they love all the things. Let's talk about Moulin Rouge. That film is just... It's mad in the most beautiful way. I mean, as I said, I watch it twice a year. It's my go-to. I love it. It makes me feel good.

Do you have fond extraordinary memories of that? It really was, yeah. We had a... It was very exciting to be part of. It was all filmed in... Fox Studios in Sydney and so it's going to Australia and it was

it was such a passionate piece of work from Baz Luhrmann's point of view. He had such a vision and he was so excited and exciting so we went out to Sydney

for a month's rehearsal a lot of reading of the script and working on the workshopping the script a bit but mainly doing rehearsing the dancing and the singing and all that, then came home and so that Ewan and I were the main Brit-based ones, so we came home for a month or so and then went out and filmed it. But it was, he was,

Baz had such a strong vision for it all and he was so excited. And it was a thrill and it was colourful and it was strong and we were dancing and singing every day. I was quite a challenge for both of those departments to. I did say, I'm not really a singer, bass, I'm not a dancer. Oh, now we can work around that. We can work with that. And obviously, so they did.

And so I sang a lot. Fantastic. It was a real group, the whole group of the bohoes, you know, with Ewan and Nicole and all of us. And it was a, so in that rehearsal, we bonded a lot. It was a great, it's a great group feeling. It was a very, quite, I mean, it was a theatrical event in a way. It felt very as if we were part of a theatre company as much as a film company.

See, I'm so pleased to hear that because watching it, that's what you, I think as an audience member, you want to hear that. When you talk about what you do, and it's wonderful to be face-to-face seeing you, because when you talk about it, your eyes light up about each time you talk about all of the different jobs you've done. done. And I know you use the word lucky. I use the word lucky. I'm lucky that I'm born when I was born and was a white male. You know, that's luck. You know, it was privileged from the word go, really. Sorry, I interrupted you. No, no, no, please. That's what I want exactly what I want to hear. That you, I get the feeling that you're, you feel that you're incredibly lucky. But also that you really love what you do.

don't you? Oh, I do, yeah. And it's part of being in a position to choose. You can choose things that you really appeal. From the word go, leaving drama school, always had a sort of, right, I will do a job if it's going to teach me something I've never done before. Or a character I've never done before or working in an area, never done before, a big theatre, a small theatre, film, a big film, a small film.

to just broaden my experience all the time. So I get a huge range of things, characters, that comes my way. It's not always the same thing. So I can find things that are going to entertain me. And I think, you know, I've got to enjoy it if I want other people to enjoy what I'm doing. It's really, it's much easier to do it if I love it too. Do you say no?

I do say no quite a lot. is sort of the strongest thing you've got in your armoury really to think, no, I won't go down that route. You can't always choose which route. You can't say, I want to go down that route, but you can say, I won't go down that one. So you have very strong political beliefs and obviously got that from your parents. Is it, would you say no to something that you, I mean,

I get the feeling, obviously, with the Duke, it's very much, you're just as passionate as he is about about old people having free TV licenses and things the way you talked about it. I hope I'm not putting words into your mouth. But would you not do a role if you felt, no, this is against everything I believe in politically and fundamentally? I would think so. It wouldn't. I'd probably think, no, I don't like this script.

It doesn't really work for me. I don't understand it. I don't know how I could make this real. Acting is only about making it sound, it's a false thing, but you've got to make it sound real. And if you think, I can't make this. I don't know how I could make this real, really. So that might be for all sorts of reasons.

Maybe I wouldn't believe in it, or just the writing doesn't sound as if it's playable. I've been one or two occasions, and I thought, oh, no, I don't like this. This is politically alienating to me. One of the two things where the violence was so extreme, I thought, oh, I'm quite uncomfortable.

Sometimes that's necessary, you know, part of a good script. Do you ever think, what would Roy, your dad, what would he think if I did that? Does that ever come into your head? He'd love my career. Oh, that's wonderful. He had been very proud of it, I'm sure. It's his idea.

And him having been a... He'd love to have been an actor, I think, really. Do you think he would have loved the Duke? God, he really would, yeah. Adored it, yeah. As I do. I'm not your father, but I love it. You're also a graphic novelist now.

Well, I wrote a film script years ago called Dal Margaret about a sort of witch woman who lived on the marshes and I was going to play Margaret who was the initial idea and I couldn't get anyone to fund it really. We've got people

got creatives interested in doing it the directors and designers but couldn't get anyone to fund it and I got too old to play Margaret who was splashing around in cold water so it sort of went on the back burner for a bit

And then I thought, there was this cartoonist I'd seen in The Guardian called Dix, and I loved his work. And I thought, I wonder if I could email, if I'd get his email and send it to him with the idea of making a graphic novel and introduce myself. I did, and we got on famously, and he leapt at it, and he started sending me pictures of his ideas he had for Margaret and her world. He'd do it about his working hours was about three in the morning so I'd get up in the morning and there would be on my fax machine or was it a fax then?

I can't quite remember anyway there would be or emails were stacks of these different images for Margaret and there was a really exciting time and he captured my vision of Margaret beautifully really Any more dull Margaret's around? No, no, that was a one-off I think When I'm not acting

I find some creative outlet and sometimes it's been writing and sometimes it's more laterally it's been sort of sculptural creative work more going back into art Oh goodness me So what do you work with?

All sorts of different materials and it's making characters really in it sometimes carving in wood and then modelling in clay or modelling in this stuff called Sculpi

which is like plasticine but you can bake it hard and paint it and it's a... So just all sorts of different but they're always people they're just different different extreme characters Oh I love that

So where do you do to I'm or have you got to studio? Got a studio space in West London which I go in and do it How wonderful! My wife's got... She's a painter and she has a studio space in the same building so I've sort of climbed in there. So while she's busy painting, you're in the corner with your, what was it called?

The plaster scene stuff? It's called Sculp-y. Sculpy. I quite like the sound of that. Yeah, it's good. It's good. Sounds fun. And then you just bake it in the oven for half an hour and it's rock hard.

And then you can paint it and chisel it or whatever you want to do with it. So are we going to be seeing an exhibition of your work soon? Well, I've shown a bit of it in open studios. once and I've got and then eventually I've I mean I've got quite a stack of stuff now I'll have to show it properly at some stage Oh do

Well you say you say that you like to do things That you learn new things or you're pushing yourself That's the next thing That uses up my creative energy When I've not got any acting I want to do But I can imagine that you don't have much downtime because I suppose it's nothing to do with you of course

But how it's scheduled So how things come out And I know you did film You filmed the Duke a while ago now Because of COVID it had to be held back and held back And it was Venice as well Wasn't it at the first show? We filmed it just before lockdown

So that was finished filming in February 20 2020 Yeah In March I think March 2020 So we finished filming just before lockdown And then we opened up and went to Venice and it was a huge, Roger and I went to Venice and Nikki Bentham, the producer.

And it had a great success in Venice and then opening was delayed and delayed, which is very saddery. Roger died before he had a proper opening. He went to Telluride with Helen, they were in Telluride together. I couldn't go because of COVID and another job coming up.

And that was successful there as well. He got a taste of, of how, we knew how popular it was going to be and he died suddenly so. It's just awful, just awful. I'm so sorry, I know that it's very hard for you to talk about that because I know how close you were

but as I said he'll be watching down it is a beautiful film and and I honestly I want to now go and watch it for the third time because just talking about it again

I think it's something very, very special. So thank you. Thank you for bringing us that film. Thank you for bringing me that man because I didn't know anything about it before I was born and now I just keep reading everything I can.

So thank you for that. But also, we always ask everybody in this podcast, what makes you belly laugh. But I wonder, are you, are you a giggler? I get the feeling that you're very, you like to sit back,

you watch everything going on. But I sort of imagine that there are times when you, I can see it in your eye when I said that. Yes, sometimes it's the most delicious experience is when you're laughing and you just can't stop. And you're out of control with laughter. It doesn't happen as much as it used to, I suppose, as you get told. But it does still happen occasionally. And it's a delight. and there's a friend of mine, Patrick Barlow,

and we were the National Theatre of Brent, a long time ago now, 30 years ago, but we used to do create plays together, which became quite cult and popular at the time. Big epic dramas, the Bible, or whatever, just performed by two inadequate men. And Patrick was the driving force. But working on those shows,

sometimes we would be, weeping with laughter with our director, Martin Duncan. And we've just hold up rehearsals for about half an hour while we just laughed. And it's still one of the most

glorious, glorious memories I have. You know what, Jim? You just bring so much joy through all of the films, but each time I've met you, I think you really are somebody so incredibly special. So thank you

so much. And when you just talked about that laughter, You had that twinkle in your eye and may it carry on forever, Jim. Thank you. Thank you very much. That was lovely. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. Coming up on the next episode of the podcast,

I'm going to be chatting with TV star all-round fabulous actress Jill Halfpenny. That Gabby Roslyn podcast is proudly produced by Cameo Productions. Music by Beth McCari. Could you please tap the follow or subscribe button? And thanks so much for your amazing reviews. We honestly read every single one and they mean the world to us. Thank you so much.