Actor and comedian Rob Brydon has said it was difficult to stay in character while playing the role of a legendary actor portraying a man who was frequently too hungover to do his job.
He was speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme about his role in new radio drama, Peter O’Toole Is Unwell.
It encompasses O’Toole’s critically acclaimed stage role in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell in the West End in 1999, along with his universally panned performance of Macbeth in 1980.
Brydon, who grew up in Baglan, Port Talbot, said taking on the role “felt like a challenge once we got into the studio” and he battled “to stay on the saddle” to remain in character.
The 61-year-old, known for his role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin and Stacey, said he initially thought “I could probably get close to his voice but there were a lot of words” written by award-winning playwright Terry Johnson.
The title of the audio drama is a riff on Keith Waterhouse’s play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, in which O’Toole played the title role of journalist Jeffrey Bernard to rave reviews in 1999.
It is said to derive from the words used by The Spectator magazine when the journalist had missed the deadline to file his column.