Alec Westwood Interview for 25th anniversary documentary
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Alec will be giving an interview for the 25th anniversary documentary this coming Sunday (21st).
If you have any questions that you would like to be asked, please post them here in this thread and I will consider them for Alec to answer. They can be regarding Folly or Gibbet (the characters he played), or anything else about his time on Knightmare!
Questions are to be posted no later than Friday evening.
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Would Folly still beat Cedric in a battle of insults today do you think?
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How did you and fellow Scot Audrey Jenkinson (Gretel the maid) get on? (Alec may or may not be aware of Past Caring, the autobiographical book that Audrey has written since Knightmare.)
Gibbet had the makings of one of Knightmare's most chilling and menacing guards. Whose decision was it not to have the character return for Series 2?
Did you play any Knightmare parts besides Folly and Gibbet? (A dragon or gargoyle, possibly?)
Were most of your scenes straightforward, or did a free thinking dungeoneer ever surprise you?
Did you learn anything on Knightmare that has helped your career since?
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming actors within the Knightmare fan community?
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Nice work getting hold of him, it'll be great to hear from another original cast member!
I too would like to know why Gibbet vanished after just two appearances (and whether he enjoyed killing off a dungeoneer!). Related to pjmlfc05's question, it would be interesting to hear Alec's thoughts on the many changes in later series, if he saw them.
Some other questions that spring to mind:
~ Does he remember the show fondly? Is he surprised by how much it's still loved, 25 years later?
~ He was such a natural in the role of jester, I wonder if he had played any similar parts before? Did it take a while to perfect that laugh, or did it just come to him?
~ In the first Knightmare book, it's mentioned that Folly was once a wizard of a sort. Was Alec told anything about the character's backstory?
~ Memories of his fellow cast members, particularly those who are no longer with us?
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Was the performance as Folly modelled in any way on Timothy Claypole from Rentaghost?
What did you think of the jester costume, both how it looked and how comfortable it was to wear?
Did you have to do anything special to get yourself into a bad mood when preparing to play Gibbet?
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Were there ever times during filming where you couldn't be bothered and had to force Folly's enthusiasm?
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Sorry it's taken me so long to post the responses since I interviewed Alec last Sunday, I've been overwhelmingly busy with other things goings on since! That said, I had a great time meeting up with hin and well worth the journey up to Edinburgh - here are the answers to the questions I was able to ask him:
Members of the knightmare.com forum think you were such a natural in the role of the jester. Had you played any similar parts before, and did it take a while to perfect the laugh?
No - at the audition they just encouraged me to go mental. They wanted me to laugh a lot as Folly was a creative character and not a stereotypical jester. It was the most fun audition I've ever done and by the time I got home my agent called to say I'd got the role. The laugh is actually quite close to my own laugh, so no I didn't have to work hard on that one at all.
Would Folly still beat Cedric the monk in a battle of insults today?
Of course - Cedric was absolutely stupid and there was no way he could come up and match the wit and charm of Folly, no way!
What do you think of Motley who took over the role of the jester?
Unfortunately I didn't watch much of Knightmare after I left - I saw a clip of Motley on Knightmare.com and liked what he did, a completely different jester from mine. There was a kind of melancholy about him, quite comedic but very different and not a carbon copy of what I was doing, I really liked what he did.
Gibbet had the makings of one of Knightmare's most chilling and menacing guards. Whose decision was it not to have the character return for Series 2?
Don't ask me, it obviously must have been Tim Child's decision! I think they got a few complaints about that character, and I did play him in a Glaswegian accent which was a little bit too much.
How did you and fellow Scot Audrey Jenkinson get on?
I already knew Audrey as she had the same agent as me. We actually hadn't worked togther before Knightmare but we had met together with our agent and Audrey is just lovely.
What are your memories of your fellow cast members?
I remember Hugo very well, we had a close relationship and talked a lot which is necessary as actors. I also got on very well with John Woodnutt - I had a lot of respect for him as he was an older actor and done a lot of previous work, watching him was like an education.
Did you learn anything on Knightmare that has helped your career since?
Oh yeah, the very fact that we had to improvise and were doing it almost live was such an invaluable thing to learn when you're young. When that camera is on you, anything can go wrong so just keep going and make up something, it doesn't matter - then you don't waste anyone's time.
Do you have any advice for up and coming actors within the Knightmare fan community?
Just get out and do things - what's happening now is that there's so little funding for things to get made, and now technology being the way it is means you should get out there and do it. Get in front of the camera and learn what to do rather than just sitting at home and waiting for that phone to ring.
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Great stuff as always, James! I didn't know they actually got complaints about Gibbet, haha! Nice to hear his thoughts on Motley, too.
The laugh is actually quite close to my own laugh, so no I didn't have to work hard on that one at all.
OK, that's slightly terrifying.
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I think they got a few complaints about [Gibbet], and I did play him in a Glaswegian accent which was a little bit too much.
Simon, then, got a 'Glasgow kiss' goodnight. I wonder if those complaints were the ones that drew Mary Whitehouse's attention.
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