Here's the interview with our beloved Julian from this month's Eve magazine. I tried to post this last night but the forum wouldn't load for some reason, so here it is now
His Green Wing character has elevated ginger men to sex-symbol status. Lorien Haynes meets up with the adorable Dr Mac to assess his bedside manner.
Peering through his long, carroty fringe with his liquid blue eyes, Julian Rhind-Tutt is advising me that although there is definitely a small creature crawling through the chicken, avocado and endive, it is only a salad bug and will do no harm. This is exactly what you’d hope for from a lateral comic: the ability to make you fancy him
and laugh at him simultaneously. He’s on edge today though - reaching for his vibrating Blackberry, full of apology - as he’s exchanging on a new flat and trying to persuade his 80-year-old dad to move in too. “He’s doddery and fun and could do with a bit of care, if he’ll let me.”. So funny, attractive and the kind of guy who’s prepared to look after the elderly parent…This is going to be good.
So, how does it feel to be an inadvertent sex symbol?
I don’t even know if I am a sex symbol, but if I am, I can assure you it’s very inadvertent.
How far removed is your sex-symbol status from the way you were treated in the school playground?
As far as Pluto is from the earth. I was treated with an immense lack of respect in the playground until I managed to make someone laugh and was good in the school play. I was occasionally greeted with chants of: “Gay, gay, gay.”
Would you describe yourself as ginger or strawberry blond?
I try not to describe myself ever. If pushed, I will err towards strawberry blond. It’s not the kind of description you can say without a heavy dose of irony. Especially as a man.
How like your Green Wing character, Dr Mac, are you?
I’m effortlessly charming and easy to get on with and I share Mac’s toleration for Steve Mangan (Dr Guy Secretan). No, I don’t share many qualities with Mac. I have a higher metabolism and get worked up and worried about things. So I’m not laid back at all. If anything, playing Mac forces me to relax - it’s been therapeutic and saved me a lot of cash on analysis.
But can you ride a motorbike naked, like Mac?
I can and I have, but I try not to make a habit of it. Particularly not around north-west London. I have ridden a strimmer recently - one of those eco-friendly scooter-bike things. Very odd and not one person gave me a second glance, so I could probably ride naked through Maida Vale and no one would notice.
Have you ever done anything brave to impress a lady?
I jumped out of an aeroplane once in Argentina, wearing just my cords and a jumper. Oh, and a parachute. I was travelling with my girlfriend when her dad said, “Now we go parachuting!”
This was your rite of passage, was it? If you can do this, you can have her?
Well, I’d had her, but nevertheless…He used to be a racing driver, so he’s pretty clued up on the ways of the world.
A racing driver? That’s a tough act to follow.
It is, but she’s very understanding about my many shortcomings. And there was this challenge to jump out of a plane and I thought it was something I should do. So I went up in this old banger with a lot of very, very macho men and sat squashed in the corner. Then I got up and waddled to the door - I was heavily pregnant at the time - and I jumped and it was an extraordinary experience.
More on your girlfriend, please?
Can I brilliantly deflect that and say no? My agent has advised me not to discuss my personal life at this point because it may affect my fan base.
Well, tell us what you look for in a woman…
I like someone who makes me laugh. Who I get on with and who may happen, accidentally, to be extremely beautiful. Funny that. How very un-male.
Do you have close girlfriends?
Yes, I do, actually. Close friends whom I’ve known a long time. And it’s often good to get relationship advice from a member of the opposite sex. We each have a deeper understanding of our breed. Except with men, it’s usually more simple and crude than you could ever imagine.
Are you good at giving advice?
I can never resist offering my opinion on something. If you ask me which shoes you should wear, I’ll give you a strong opinion. I take an interest in women’s fashion. I like to keep my wardrobe well-stocked.
With women’s shoes?
Well, it’s not as big as Steve Mangan’s collection. Just the size 11 red patent stilettos…
What do you do with your time out?
The trouble with being an actor is that you’re always at someone else’s beck and call. You don’t control your own destiny. So you have to invent ways of controlling your life. I seem to do that through knowledge. Knowledge is power, right? So I’m either reading or pondering - putting the world to rights.
What are you reading?
I’ve just finished the new William Boyd novel, Restless. And The Trumpet Major by Thomas Hardy. Superb novel. Let me recommend it. It’s female-centric, tragic, romantic and very beautiful.
And what music do you listen to?
I was brought up listening to classical, but I have a passion for rock, hip-hop and folk. And I’m currently in the middle of the laborious process of reorganising my own music library.
Oh no, High Fidelity alert!
Men enjoy doing that, don’t they?
So tell us what’s different about you? What sets you apart from other men?
Aside from the red patent high heels? Well, like all men, I’m into organisation and compartmentalisation of my practical, rather than my emotional, life. What sets me apart is that I choose male friends who counteract that side of myself. All my best friends are people who complement my personality, rather than reinforce the worst bits. I also have great knowledge of my own ignorance. I admit my own shortcomings and I have a rudimentary understanding of woodwork. Now, has that bored you into submission yet?
***********************
The lion's mane truly is the king of beasts
I've always known what you've meant
