|  | Hugo Speer, star of 'The Full Monty', is on his way to Bath this month for The Peter Hall Company Season at the Theatre Royal Bath.
Working alongside Janie Dee and Aden Gillett Speer will be making his professional stage debut in Noël Coward's Design For Living and Pinter's Betrayal.
We caught up with him for a chat about stripping for a living, hanging out with Eddie Izzard, hugging Prince Charles, dinner at Courtney Cox's house and of course 'The Full Monty'.
How did you land your first job in 'The Bill' straight out of Drama School?
Well I got an agent when we did a showcase, in the last year of school, at the Comedy Theatre in Panton Street in London. An agent picked me up from that.
On the very last day at school we were having a sort of wine and cheese, civilised luncheon thing with the teachers and I got a call in the office from my agent saying that I've got this job in The Bill.
You must have been the envy of all your classmates?
I think they were all delighted for me…I like to think.
After playing Guy in 'The Full Monty' - do you mind being remembered as the one with the lunchbox?
It could be much worse couldn't it?, really lets face it, if I was called the maggot then I'd have something to worry about.
Did you know before you took the part of Guy that you would end up in your birthday suit in front of 350 women and a camera crew?
Yes which is obviously the scariest part of the whole thing.
But the script was too wonderful to turn down and the other actors, who were on board at the time, were too good. I knew the project was too good to do that, to turn down, so yes and it was fun anyway scary but fun.
How did you prepare yourself for the scene?
We drank lots of brandy.
So you probably wouldn't consider stripping for a living?
Oh good God no, no, I'd rather eat my own head.
Do you think there will be a sequel?
No, no remarkably unlikely. There was obviously much talk bandied around all over the place but it never came to fruition.
But it's a little late now I think there's nowhere you could take it. It was kind of a lovely little whole story in itself.
'The Full Monty' shot you to stardom and you became a sex symbol. How did it change your life? Did you get inundated with long lost friends or ardent fans?
I suppose there was all that yes. But when you say 'Shot to stardom and became a sex symbol' I wasn't really aware of any of that you know I didn't feel it.
It's difficult to know what other people think and what goes on around you but I just got on with my life really.
There were people who called up mostly to say 'congratulations' or 'it's good to see you doing well' or something but it wasn't as drastic as one might think.
So it didn't turn your life upside down?
Well, I mean, if I'd suddenly got great big Hollywood movie roles and things then it probably would have done but I didn't, you know, I had quite a lengthy period out of work afterwards.
I thought coming out of that you'd be swamped with offers...
Yes, that's what I thought but I didn't. I didn't take anything for granted. I thought I'd actually just work, maybe a slight improvement in the amount of work I was getting, or just keep working at least. But I actually had my most barren period which is sort of a weird irony.
 | | Amanda Holden and Hugo Speer in Hearts and Bones |
What was the strangest offer you received after 'The Full Monty'? Did you get any really strange offers?
Not especially I mean the ones you can expect like friends say 'Oh come and take your clothes off at my party' 'I don't think I will' ... but there wasn't anything really bizarre I don't think.
After that you went off to America and you were mixing with all the stars. And you were invited to Courtney Cox's house?
Yes, she invited us to dinner, around her house, and she cooked us a lamb chilli which was lovely. It was great she had a beautiful house in the Hollywood Hills.
What was the whole Hollywood experience like?
OK, I mean, it's a bit bizarre really. You don't see people unless you go to the big events like the Golden Globes or the Oscars, which we did, and that's when they all sort of come out.
But otherwise they're all hiding away in their mansions behind their big walls so you don't really see that many people.
And you appeared on the Drew Carey show?
Yes he's lovely.
One of Drew's favourite nights for unsuspecting guests is that he hires a private jet and we flew over to Las Vegas for the evening or for the night.
So it was all the guys from the show, it's a boy thing very much a boy thing, and so the guys from the show like Ryan and a guy called Sam Simon, he's the creative supervisor in the Simpsons, as well. It was just basically a bunch of very funny boys.
And we went - in fact none of the Monty boys went apart from me and who else? oh good God I think it might have been just me. I think everyone else went 'Ooh I'm not gong on that' they all got scared.
So we actually flew into Vegas and had a monster, monster night and then stayed up all night and flew back in at about seven in the morning back to Los Angeles and went back to work it was quite hectic.
And you've also hugged Prince Charles?
Yes, I wasn't sure whether that wasn't a slightly over large display of affection really but it certainly got me going against royal etiquette.
Well anyway yes I did that and I don't think he minded too much.
Prince Charles is quoted as saying "He never changes'' about you…
What he said that about me? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe I ought to change.
Moving on to TV you were in the Channel 4 drama series 40 with Eddie Izzard. What was it like working with someone so new to acting like Eddie?
Well he started off as an actor, he wasn't really in comedy to start with, that is what he intended to do anyway.
We were supposed to be Bristol boys and he was supposed to be a Bristol City fan, and a bit flash, a flash adverting exec.
So we did a bit of research for the accents and the football thing. He and I hired a convertible Jag and drove down to see a Bristol City match and he had his Dictaphone with him and just stopped everybody who said 'Excuse me are you like Eddie Izzard' and he's like 'Yes, yes I am yes. Would you mind talking into my Dictaphone?' so he could get the accent sorted out.
You're starring in two modern plays at the end of the month in Bath. As an actor do you feel more at home on the stage or in front of the camera?
Well this is my first professional theatrical engagement so I won't feel at home yet.
I've got to say though the whole rehearsal process, which we've nearly finished now, has been fabulous really refreshing actually.
It's a wonderful sort of journey really just discovering these plays and these characters and having the time to actually fine tune them you know.
With a film you might have a morning to rehearse and then go in - you bring your own thing and do it. But this is a different process and it's fabulous and I'm really enjoying it.
How are you feeling about the opening night?
I'm not thinking about it. If I did I'd be a nervous wreck. I'm just making sure that I'm working really, really hard covering all my bases and making sure I know exactly what I'm doing so that when I do start I will feel, I mean, I know I'm going to be absolutely terrified but at least I'll know what I'm doing.
So you won't be touching the brandy before hand?
No not this time, I don't think, not unless I suddenly feel like I have to take my clothes off in the middle of it.
 | | Hugo in Green-Eyed Monster |
In both roles you are playing characters involved in a sex triangle. Why did you choose these roles?
I didn't really I was just offered them. Sir Peter Hall asked to see me, and I've not really had any theatrical contact at all, so when he asked to see me I was like 'Wow but why?' I didn't think he'd know who I was.
I saw him and went back to see him again and he offered the parts of Otto and Robert and so of course I said yes I'd be a fool not to.
What else have you got in the pipeline?
Well there's things coming out still to be seen on TV. There's a three part drama series called 'The Debt' on BBC with Warren Clark and others. And a thing called 'Boudica' which I did with Alex Kingston, all about Queen Boadicea and the Roman invasion of Britain, and I was playing her chief warrior and lover.
I saw a screening of that, the other day, and it's pretty good. That'll be the first two weeks in November, on ITV, that's going to get screened. So that will keep my profile up while I'm doing this job.
After the theatre, I suppose, I'll want to get a descent money job maybe a movie or something. But I fear I may have to go to the States to get work because the movie industry in this country is shocking.
How do you feel about moving to the States?
Well I don't know really I suppose it's all right. I've put together a show reel and that's going out there and hopefully there will be some interest when I've finished this theatre job.
It's OK, at least the weather's good, full of Americans unfortunately. But you know they're very professional, they've got budgets, they've got high production values and professionally I'm sure it will be fabulous.
How do you tackle Hollywood? Is it all contacts and who you know?
I'd like to think it's because I'm good at my job maybe I'm just being incredibly naïve. I do have contacts now, there are people obviously, but I've always been awful at schmoozing or pressing the flesh.
I have been to those things before but, you know, I just feel like an idiot and I can't do it really.
I just want to do my work and I want to have a body of work that people think 'Wow, OK let's employ him because he's good.'
I think my reputation, as far as how I am work wise, is very good in this business and I've got a great agent and she'll be pushing for it.
So probably if Sean Bean can't do something they'll say 'Oh what about Hugo Speer stripper guy?.' |
Theatre Royal Bath Theatre Royal, Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET Tel: 01225 448844
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