Actor, comedian, broadcaster Rufus Hound, 47, has starred in the West End and presented primetime TV. Susan Elkin spoke to him.
When I catch up with Rufus Hound he is eating a bowl of noodles between the matinee and the evening show where he is appearing as William in Jack and Sarah at the Mill at Sonning. I, meanwhile, am sitting on a street bench in North Street, Chichester because I’m just out of David Haig’s new play Magic at the Festival Theatre and can’t find anywhere quieter. It feels a bit like a theatrical eclipse in which we’ve managed – briefly – to get into alignment. Because we’re both British we start by comparing weather notes.
Then, having seen Jack and Sarah a few days earlier I tell him I liked the patrician accent he uses for his alcoholic, rough sleeping antiquarian bookseller character. “Oh good” he says. “That was a last-minute decision. I played him as a Scot in the first three previews.” He adds: “William provides levity and it’s more efficient to do that if you play him ‘posh’ as Ian McKellan did in the film.”
I recall seeing Rufus as Toad in The Wind in the Willows in the West End which then toured. “Oh yes! That was enormous fun” he responds. “When you’re in the rehearsal room you simply become someone else – although there is always a bit of a bleed between you and the character you’re playing. And Toad is absolutely shameless, so it was a joy to do. And the rest of the cast were wonderful to work with.”
Read the full article in the April/May issue at https://bit.ly/IP165May26