Timothy Spall interview: ‘People seem to relish the prospect of having an enemy’
Timothy Spall came to prominence in the comedy drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He has appeared in some of the most acclaimed British films of the past two decades, including The Damned United, The King’s Speech, Spencer, five of the Harry Potter films and, most prominently as Mr Turner in a biopic about the life of JMW Turner. His latest role as Jimmy in Bolan’s Shoes sees him playing a lifelong T Rex fan, which Spall is himself. He lives in south-east London with his wife, Shane Spall, and has three adult children, including fellow actor Rafe Spall.
Best thing about being an actor?
The natural education you get from it. Over 45-odd years I’ve played so many different characters and I have always done a fair bit of research. You have to find out how they live, their psychologies, and work out the maps of their hearts. It’s always a fantastic learning process and best of all you never have to grow up. It’s always something new and fresh.
Best role you’ve ever played?
People have been very kind about The Sixth Commandment on television recently, but for me the biggest challenge was playing JMW Turner. It took two or three years. Working with Mike Leigh, you start with nothing – the stories and scripts are made up during the process. You get to be very fundamental to the creation of the film. I had a responsibility to learn a lot about the period and the man himself.
I learnt to paint and have had a solo exhibition and I’ve got a second coming up in November. I still go into the crypt of St Paul’s cathedral and ask Turner if I got it right. Hopefully I did. He is a sensationally brilliant painter, a real trailblazer. I adore his work. Even when he painted horrible subjects – that wonderful painting, The Slave Ship: where all the dead and dying slaves were thrown out into the sea in a storm because the slavers were worried about its insurance. A horrendous story, but the painting is a vision of horror and beauty – Turner’s forte.
Best musician of all time?
An impossible question. How can you compare Handel with the Bay City Rollers? I was and I remain a huge fan of Marc Bolan and T-Rex (it was Tyrannosaurus Rex when it was first introduced to me). That whole period was my period - early 1970s - but much as I love Marc and his music, David Bowie will always be the king for me.
Best encounter you’ve ever had with a fan?
After I’d done Harry Potter, I was in a very fancy hotel in New Mexico, and I got in the lift with this incredibly handsome, sophisticated couple, around my age. I assumed they were politicians. The guy turned to me and said, in a voice like James Earl Jones: “Were you the rat dude from Harry Potter?” He was the last person I’d have expected to have seen it. But my personal favourite was while Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was on television. I was in south-east London where I grew up, sitting in my car – a little, slightly old family hatchback – and somebody came up to me and said: “Bloody hell! What are you doing here?” Once I explained that I lived there, he said: “What? Can’t you afford a better car than that?”
Best thing that you own?
A little tartan shopping bag. It was given to me by my eldest daughter as a joke but I adore it. It’s remarkably ugly but it has a magical capaciousness to it. You could get a sack of coal in there if you needed. I sometimes lose it and feel very aggrieved when I do. It has become a great friend of mine. I feel especially annoyed if I go to the shops without it and have to buy a carrier bag. Especially one of those “bags for life”, which cost about £17.
Best celebrity encounter?
Gérard Depardieu. I did a film with him 23 years ago, a big costume drama, called Vatel. He was lovely, really kind, and a lot of fun, a very funny man, kind of wild. Such a character behind the scenes too. I thought he was bloody brilliant so I became a bit nervous of him. One day I had to come back to London from where we were filming in France for a cast-and-crew screening of Topsy-Turvy, a film I’d done.
I kind of over-indulged myself a bit then I had to go straight back to the set with a terrible hangover. It was a boiling hot day and I was sitting on the steps of some chateau, sort of quivering, waiting to film my scene. I saw Gérard coming towards me with his arms folded and I thought, “he’s coming to tell me off!” He came up to me, then from up his sleeve he revealed two tins of beer. He gave them to me and said: “There... I know the pain...”
Worst object you have at home at the moment?
A blank canvas. I’ve got to get on with some more paintings for my next show and the thought of it is haunting me right now. Normally I overcome the block by just getting on with it and hoping it’s going to work. Eventually, you just have to go at it and refuse to be intimidated. It’s just graft. There’s nothing romantic about the process. You just have to do it, you want it to seem effortless. You don’t know how hard it is until you do it.
Worst modern trend?
People’s desire to be outraged by things that aren’t really outrageous at all. I fear that it might be titillation masquerading as outrage. Some people seem to be looking for a scintilla of something that can be pulled out and turned into something inflammatory. I find outrage-bait unpleasant. It leads to division and people relishing the prospect of having an enemy.
Where does that actually leave outrage? What do you do when you’re faced with real injustice? It’s never been easier to discover different views on things and form an opinion. People are unable to process all the information available to them so they’re distracted by the fight. The argument beats the resolution for some people.
Worst role you’ve ever played?
A public information film I did in my 20s, back in the early 1980s. It was called Say No To Strangers and it was made for schools about being careful around potential abductors. I played this obviously dodgy character who was giving sweets to children. Shortly after I filmed it, I went to pick up my eldest daughter from school and they’d just shown it that afternoon. It didn’t do my reputation much good; obviously all the kids were quite young and they’d been quite affected by it. Everyone was terrified of me.
What has been the worst experience of your life?
Being told that I had leukaemia in 1996. I had just finished a film called Secrets & Lies, which was about to go to the Cannes Film Festival (it ended up winning the Palme D’Or). I had my suit ready to go and then I was diagnosed. The horror of what was going to become of me was terrible. I was watching the red carpet the first day I was having chemotherapy pumped directly into my heart. The absolute horror of what would become of my family if I didn’t make it was vile. I try to put it behind me now. These things help you understand the sensitivity of the human condition.
The absolute worst
I’m not keen on being filmed in the supermarket when I’m paying for my crumpets. Why are you looking at a shot of yourself above the self-service till? Why do they film you while you’re buying your crumpets? It’s bad enough having to buy the food and be the person who checks yourself out; you’re practically working in the supermarket. Maybe it’s a form of guilt, you see yourself about to chuck a Terry’s Chocolate Orange in with your crumpets and not scan it, and then you’re shamed by your own face. I’m mostly intrigued rather than annoyed.
Timothy Spall’s new film Bolan’s Shoes is in cinemas now
