005_LH391_Close_up
9/18/08
11:01 AM
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INTERVIEW
Close-up Photographer Diana Frangi meets actor Jake Nightingale
YtÇàtáç W|ÇÇxÜ ctÜàç Actor Jake Nightingale Which seven people would you invite and why? Are you ready? John Cleese, Peter Cook, Morrissey, Russell Brand, John Lennon, Chris Morris and Robert De Niro, because they are the people who inspire me, make me laugh. They are people who I am also in awe of. Okay it'd be a bit of a stag night but as I'm marrying Nat in three weeks that's appropriate. Where would you hold your party? It would be Terre a Terre, the vegetarian restaurant in the Lanes. My favourite restaurant.
What food would you serve? It would be a vegetarian spread, I'm vegetarian and so are Russell Brand and Morrissey, the others would just have to deal with it! What sort of music or entertainment would you have and why? The company of my guests would be plenty of entertainment for me but a little improvised jazz from Dudley Moore might just top the evening off. What would you talk about? We would talk about spirituality and the meaning of life. I imagine I'd get some very varied and challenging ideas. Is there anything you want to ask any of them? Yes, I would like to know from each guest who inspired them the most. Which one of your guests would you go home with and why? It would have to be Robert de Niro, I would want to see him doing mundane things, making tea or washing up, maybe ironing a shirt. In fact, I couldn't imagine any of these guys doing stuff like that.
I literally bumped into Jake Nightingale in the park – well, the Level if you must know – and before long had my notebook out and my camera primed, for here was yet another Brighton original, a great actor with a great story to tell. After nearly twenty years in the business with a host of TV and stage credits to his name, he is starring as Lancelot in the acclaimed West End musical Spamalot, the Monty Python spoof. Quite a change from his last big role, as Harold in the stage version of Steptoe and Son. How did you get your big break? I dont feel like I had a ‘big break‘ as such. I have just gone from job to job and the parts gradually got bigger and more interesting. That's probably how it works for most of us. What would you be doing had you not become an actor? I would be a singer in a band, but I dont think I would have been very successful, so I would probably still have the day job. Which famous actor would you like to be? I would like the financial security of say Jack Nicholson but I would not want to be him. it is more important for me to be myself, which I can assure you is quite a challenge. What is your biggest regret? Smoking! I smoked from the age of 12 and I sometimes worry about the damage it has done to me, I managed to give up nine years ago. I blame the tobacco companies, they have no integrity. Which song do you like to sing when you are in the shower? ‘Hey little rich girl‘ by The Specials. If I gave you £20,000 tomorrow, what would you do with it? I am getting married in three weeks, to my lovely partner of 19 years Natalie, so I would love to buy her the ring she wants rather than the one we can afford. I would also give some to my kids to spend on what they want. And because the money was given to me I would also give some to a charity that deals with rehabilitating drug users and alcoholics. If there was any left I'd use it to finish off my loft conversion!
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