1995
MARY
REILLY…
Director:
Stephen Frears
Writers
Valerie Martin (novel)
Christopher Hampton
(screenplay)
Cast
Julia Roberts ... Mary
Reilly
John Malkovich ... Dr.
Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward
Hyde
George Cole ... Mr. Poole
the Butler
Michael Gambon ... Mary's
Father
Kathy Staff ... Mrs. Kent
Glenn Close ... Mrs.
Farraday
Michael Sheen ...
Bradshaw
Bronagh Gallagher ...
Annie
Linda Bassett ... Mary's
Mother
Henry Goodman ...
Haffinger
Ciarán Hinds ... Sir
Danvers Carew (as Ciaran
Hinds)
Sasha Hanau ... Young
Mary Reilly
Moya Brady ... Young
Woman
Emma Griffiths Malin ...
Young Whore Mary
David Ross ... Doctor
I had been
out of work for quite
some time and I heard on
the Grapevine that Tricky
Tringham was doing this
film at Pinewood so I
phone him up.
‘’Come down
Aitch, we’ll find a
few days for
you’’ he said.
Now as I’ve said I
haven’t worked for a
few months and I’ve
been sitting in front of
my word processor and
I’m near the end of
a script called, "If
A Picture"..
(I haven’t worked
and I haven’t
shaved.
WOULD YOU BUY A
USED CAR OFF THIS MAN
Now David Tringham was
pleased with the way I
looked and used me over
the next couple of
weeks..
I remember the first time
Julia Roberts saw me she
stood closer to her
minder, (Big Ben) (Ben
was a good pal of mine
from the old days.)
I was in half a dozen
scenes in the film and in
one of them Tricky wanted
me to hassle Julia and
was shouting
‘’Get in her
way Aitch, make her walk
round you’’
The two weeks flew by and
on the last day I thought
I’d have a swift
half in the Pinewood bar.
I saw a few faces I knew
and they were telling me
that they hadn’t
worked for months so it
was not only me that
hadn’t been working.
I only have one pint of
the black stuff as
I’m not holding and
folding (I’m skint)
and make my way back to
the 007 stage where the
sets of Mary Reilly are..
I bump into a 1st A.D.
(Chris) and he says,
"Love the beard and
long hair Aitch, I’m
starting on a film called
First Knight and I can
use you for a couple of
weeks. It’ll save on
the wigs and make
up."
(In sight in mind)
This just goes to prove a
point. If you’re
working in the studio
people see you and will
give you more work if
you’re not there
you’re history.
I go back on the set of
Mary Reilly and tell
Tricky what’s
happened and he says
"You should be
working all the time
Aitch, you’re value
for money."
David Tringham is one
nice man.
FIRST KNIGHT…
Director:
Jerry Zucker
Writers
Lorne Cameron & David
Hoselton
Cast
Sean Connery ... King
Arthur
Richard Gere ... Lancelot
Julia Ormond ...
Guinevere
Ben Cross ... Prince
Malagant
Liam Cunningham ...
Agravaine
Christopher Villiers ...
Sir Kay
Valentine Pelka ... Sir
Patrise
Colin McCormack ... Sir
Mador
Ralph Ineson ... Ralf
John Gielgud ... Oswald
Stuart Bunce ... Peter,
King's Stableman
Jane Robbins ... Elise
Jean Marie Coffey ...
Petronella
Paul Kynman ... Mark
Tom Lucy ... Sir
Sagramore
I make my
way to a place called
Ivinghoe Beacon which
sits on top of a big
hill..
(It looks more like a
small mountain than a
hill to us ex city old
boys)
They’ve built a
village on the top of the
hill and me and another
fifty Supporting Artists
are to be simple
villagers.
NO ONE TOLD ME
NOT TO SMOKE NEAR A
THATCHED ROOF.
It seems the bad guy (Ben
Cross) is going to send
his men in to rape and
pillage our village.
(That’s a sign of
old age when your not
invited to a good rape
and pillage party
anymore)
The scenes go like
this…
All the villagers are
scared when they see
twenty men dressed in
black (Bad guys) riding
down the hill towards
them. All of a sudden the
horses stop at the
entrance to the village
and one of the cast
members shouts to us,
‘’Why have they
stopped?’’
My old mate (now
deceased) Bill (hat and
coat) shouts back
‘’’cause
they haven’t had
their
Weetabix’’
This didn’t go down
too well with the
director but he carried
on.
As the horses come
charging in we all have
to flee in all directions
and try to hide.
The 1st A.D. Chris wants
to give me a bit of
business to do.
‘’Aitch, as the
horses come charging past
I want you to run across
the path and take refuge
in that barn. There
should be six horses
coming past you and you
run across after the last
one’’.
Six horses and run.. (A
piece of piss)
I take my glasses off (I
can’t see a thing
without them) and I start
to count the horses as
they fly by.
‘’Four, five,
six and run… BANG
I’m up in the air,
someone sent seven horses
past. Myself and the
horse didn’t get
hurt, it was just another
day at the office..
GONE WITH THE
BEARD…I DO SCRUB UP
WELL…
LOCH NESS…Director
John Henderson…
Cast Inc…Ted
Danson…Joeley
Richardson…
Got called down to London
History Museum for a
night shoot and met up
with a lot of old chums.
I must say hello to J.C.
(Johnny Clements) I hear
you’re still singing
on the cruise ships. My
Hobson’s Choice
(Voice) has long gone..
Ted Danson was a nice
chap to speak to and I
spent a lot of time
talking to all the
Supporting Artists about
old times.
OUR
FRIENDS IN THE NORTH…BBCTV…
Penny Bloomfield gives me
a couple of days work on
this production and we
film in a church in
Bushey Herts..
Great big cast and the
BBC production team doing
what they do best.
NEXT
- 1996
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