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Dexter Fletcher Q&A - Radio Times, February 2007 |
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The Hotel Babylon star talked to Ruth Margolis.
RM: Now that you've played Tony
[the concierge]
for a while, do you have more
sympathy for harried hotel staff?
DF: No, not really. They're doing the
job that they've chosen to do and
if they have to deal with a***holes,
then that's unfortunate. Just as long
as I'm not being one.
Poor old Tony's encountered
a few challenging guests, but
who's the most demanding
Hotel Babylon cast member?
Probably me and Max [Beesley].
When we're on set together, we
tend to show off and lark about and
demand everyone's attention. There
have been times when I've been
asked to settle down, which is a bit
embarrassing for a 40-year-old.
Do you think that most real-life
concierges get up to the
things that Hotel Babylon
would have us believe?
Look, if you're procuring
prostitutes, you're a pimp; and
if you're getting drugs, you're
a drug dealer. And surely you
wouldn't need to be a concierge
if you were doing that - it's one
life or the other. Maybe there are
requests for it. There may be a
few phone calls made, but on the
whole I think they're pretty clean-cut.
Maybe I'm being naive, but
I've never asked a concierge for
a prostitute or drugs. But then
I don't do that sort of thing.
A lot of people still know you
best as Spike, the American
kid journalist from Press Gang.
Did you want to act as a child?
When you're a child actor, it's not
necessarily always your choice. I kept at it for a long time
and I had a certain amount of
success. But then I got to the stage
where I thought, "Is this my choice as
an adult?" In the end, I decided it was.
Do you still get Spike fan letters?
Because, let's face it, you were
a bit of a sex symbol.
Well, naturally! And, yes, I do get
the odd letter about Spike. Recently,
I had one from Australia.
When you're stopped in the street
now, is it about Spike or Tony?
It varies. I get Hotel Babylon, Band
of Brothers, Lock, Stock and Two
Smoking Barrels - the lot.
One final question: you got to
work with Tom Hanks on Band
of Brothers, but is it true that,
as executive producer, he wanted
someone younger for the part,
so you had to lie about your age?
It's true, although it wasn't so much
a lie as not revealing the truth.
I did a very good audition and then,
just as I was leaving, Tom Hanks said,
"And how old are you?" I told him
that my age was on a need-to-know
basis and the casting director chipped
in with "You're 26." So I said, "OK,
I'm 26." I was 33 at the time.
**
Now take a look at our full Hotel Babylon guide.
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