Ken Stott interview - Radio Times, October 2007

Features

Ken Stott interview - Radio Times, October 2007

Ken Stott as DI John Rebus in Rebus © ITV

Andrew Duncan stands well back as the star of Rebus climbs aboard his soapbox.

Ken Stott on… TV's quest for ratings success

"I'm still a cantankerous old b*****d. I don't want to return to values I found revolting when I started out, but I'd like creative artists to be given the opportunity to work with no intervention. All expensive cars at TV studios belong to accountants and marketing people whose only talent is counting. A traffic warden could do the job. The ratings war is the curse of quality. It's meaningless and depresses me beyond belief. They want popularity, not talent, and that's an insult to viewers."

…playing Rebus

"I didn't want to do it but, being asked several times, I thought, 'Why not?' There was the prospect of playing a character I like in my home town, Edinburgh. I've developed a fondness for him, but I doubt I'll do it again in this form. I might consider a two-hour special, but can't do four months of dead bodies any more."

…starring in gritty crime dramas

"I found them depressing, based on the number of dead bodies. It's almost as bad as the real thing. If you'd asked 20 years ago, I'd have replied, 'I'm an actor. I can put it aside and get on with life'. That's bravado. You're trying to impress, as opposed to playing the part. The older you get, the more sensitive you become. I'm no longer interested in impressing. I just want to play the part."

…claims he hasn't had the recognition he deserves

"I wouldn't know. That's the human condition - or maybe you have more than you deserve. We used to have celebrated performers like Olivier, Gielgud and Richardson, who elevated acting to an art form to which many of us still aspire.

"Today, we've trash TV celebrating people's inability to deliver anything artistic. Acting has been downgraded and no wonder, when soaps give themselves awards. Dignity has been eroded in our profession. I'm not dismissing my own work as such."

…filming Hollywood movie Charlie Wilson's War

"I was dragged into it kicking and screaming because it's a small part and I didn't want to find myself in that Hollywood morass where you're treated badly if you're not the lead. I told my agent if there was any of that, I'd be on the first plane home - but I had a superb time.

"Mike Nichols is one of only four directors in 30 years I'd like to work with again. Most treat your acting as something that can be chopped up and delivered in any way they see fit."

…playing dark characters

"I played Hitler [in Uncle Adolf on ITV in 2005] and the goal was to understand and make him seem human. I swiftly concluded there's no such thing as evil. We use the word for a situation we can't explain. If you call villains like Saddam, George Bush and Blair (well, he's just a puppet) 'evil', you abrogate responsibility for them being international terrorists."

**

Now take a look at our full Rebus guide.

Advertiser link