46 FEATURE Were you approached for this film as a pair?
It seems that there’s shades of Withnail & I: two dudes rushing out to the country and getting more than they bargained for? You’ve even got Paul McGann…
No, not for this. I’d been attached for quite a long time to this film and when you read it, it seems like it was written for us. It really does. If you are looking for two people who, I hope, understand comedy and look like best friends in this age range, probably, we might be the only two. I don’t know. Mat stands on his own as an actor and so do I, but there’s no denying that we work incredibly well together. We just do. It’s great fun. It feels like the right thing for us to do. I don’t think this a partnership that means that we’ll work together for the next 60 years but we might work together for the next six.
I’d never thought of that because I guess when you read that it bears no resemblance at all. But Paul McGann is a real hero of Mat’s and mine, and when we were told that he was playing the vicar we were so over the moon. I feel lucky enough to have worked with Richard Griffiths and I have met Richard E. Grant but I’d never met Paul so it’s nice to complete the trio! That film is very close to my heart. Isn’t it everyone’s? Yes, God! That film is a classic. Classic and genius are words that get bandied about too much, but never in regard to that film. Although when we get to vampire killing, our film couldn’t be more different!
What’s your character’s involvement as a Lesbian Vampire Killer?
Can you think of any touchstones for the film, Shaun of The Dead, maybe?
Me and Mathew [Horne] play two guys who go camping to get away from things that have been happening to them in London and end up, they think, coincidentally, in this town. When they get there, they end up being chased by lesbian vampires and they end up being lesbian vampire killers. Obviously, it’s very much an Academy Award film.
This film is without question in the same vein as that, although I wonder if our producer would like me saying that! Although I don’t think he’d see any reason for me not to! If our film were compared in a positive light with that film, then I would be nothing but proud, because that film for me is one of the best British films of the last ten years. And what’s amazing is that I didn’t realise quite how long ago Shaun of the Dead was, because it still feels fresh and current. It really does. But if we were going to stand this up and say, ‘This is Shaun of the Dead,’ we’re tits.
So are these vampires like traditional vampires, barring the fact that they’re lesbians? I guess their vampire traits are the same, in that they like to suck blood from people and they come out at night, but they are the most vamped up vampires you’ve ever seen! They can be killed in the same way, yes, with silver bullets, holy water, staked through the heart. We’ve got a great scene with holy water coming out from a shower. That’s a favourite.
Speaking of tits, is there much nudity? There isn’t really. In fact I don’t know if there’s any to be frank, but these are lesbian vampires so maybe…!