For a detailed Filmography see the Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/

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Stainforthonline Interview

Adge Covell, - Jason Flemyng (Martin / Faith)

Adge: Right Jason. According to my notes you were born on Twenty fifth of September nineteen sixty six
.
Jason: Twenty fifth of September nineteen sixty six; that's correct.

Adge: You just missed a good world cup then.

Jason: Yeah just. (Laughs), Just, but at least I was born in the same year.

Adge: You were born in Putney, London.

Jason: That's me.

Adge: Errrm, what about your education?

Jason: I did normal primary school, and then Wandsworth state school, so I couldn't get out quick enough really and start acting. That's my thing.

Adge: So you've wanted to be an actor all along?

Jason: Ever since Primary school, when I kissed Alice Hoovery, who played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and I thought, oh yes, I'll have some of that! I was the scarecrow, and she ended up running off with the Tin Man.

Adge: Did your father influence you in those days?

Jason: Yeah, Dad was a director. He made a film actually, about the miners' strike, called "Scab". Which was a great film, and he was one of my biggest inspirations. We never got to work together, because I never wanted to be the Governor's son, do you know what I mean. And… he.., erm…, but the year that I got to a place where I could work with him without people mumbling about being the Governor's son…, he died that year. So that was a shame. But, I know he's up there, watching down, so…

Adge: I reckon he'd be really proud of you. You've done a lot of work, and have appeared in around fifty TV dramas and movies.

Jason: Yeah, that's right. This is the forty eighth film, so I'm very happy about that.

Adge: Yeah, you're very prolific.

Jason: Yeah, very prolific, though cheap is the word I think they use.

Adge: I've got one of your quotes here, where you said acting was a way of getting to talk to girls without being cool

Jason: Yeah, well that's…, well I mean, it all started when I was younger with Alice Hooverey, but erm, it was just both politics, when I was young, and acting were ways of meeting girls. I had ulterior motives in both of them, so….. I was in the National Youth Theatre and the Young Socialists, and my time on the soapbox didn't prove to be quite so successful as my time in the theatre, so I stuck with the acting, not the politics.

Adge: I understand that you speak French fluently?

Jason: Well I don't speak it fluently, but I speak…, I've done three films in French. The last one was called "The Return of James Battle", which comes out here next summer, but I speak well enough to get away with it, but as soon as they start improvising I can't…., I don't know what they're talking about.

Adge: Was French something you did well at school, or………

Jason: Yeah, I mean I spent a lot of time out in the south of France when I was young, about sixteen or seventeen, selling donuts on the beach, and so I just picked it up there really. So it's very bad schoolboy French, but good enough to get away with in a film.

Adge: I see you performed as Dr Henry Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Jason: Yep

Adge: Is that a reflection of your own character?

Jason: I think everyone's got a bit of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in it., so I think everyone's got that side of them, but, it was an amazing job, because they had…., the people who've seen it will know, they had an amazing eight hour prosthetic, so….. Actors always want to look in the mirror and be someone else, and so with the help of prosthetics it's really cool looking in the mirror and seeing something like that.

Adge: Who would you say you most admire as other actors?

Jason: Well, I think, most of my inspiration, or most of the people I admire that are of my generation are people like Ian Harte, and American actors like, obviously the greats, De Niro and Pachino, but over here, people like Paul Bettany, Dave Morrissey. There's a lot of British actors who are doing really well and who are really inspiring at the moment.

Adge: Yeah, OK. I see you've worked with some really well known actors, and your acting is really very diverse. You've done "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", and then classics, like "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

Jason: Yeah, I mean… I think my… If I've got any success at all, if there's anything I've done that sort of, you know, that's been successful, it's that I've managed to stay away from being typecast, stay diverse, and, you know, do the gangster flicks. And then I did a film called, which I'm also really proud of, called "Alive and kicking", which is about a gay dancer, living with HIV. I think if you can keep it…, if you can keep it prolific, and you keep keeping them guessing, then that's my success. I love doing the character work, and that's what I enjoy most.

Adge: The list of some of the actors you've worked with includes John Cleese, John Hurt….,

Jason: Yep

Adge: Jeremy Irons

Jason: Yep

Adge: Victoria Beckham and the Spice Girls…

Jason: (Laughs) Yeah, I did the Spice Movie. That was…., my niece and nephew were really into the Spice Girls at the time, and so I did it, and then I was the favourite uncle, you know, because while we were filming the gig…, they were obviously…., you know my little Ella was at Baby Spice's feet when they did it in the film, but by the time the film came out they'd gone off them of course, and they were like, "It's so embarrassing. Can't believe you made us do that!" So you can never please the kids.

Adge: So…., about your character in this…. film…, this TV drama…..

Jason: He's called Martin and he's a political agitator. He works for the Social Services and he comes up to Newby, which is the fictional town, where the pit head is, and just keeps them all going. He keeps them all…, well I won't tell you what he does, 'cos there's a twist in the story, but, you'll have to watch it. But, he's a politically motivated young lad, who's not so young I'm afraid, thirty eight now.

Adge: How do you motivate yourself to play this part?

Jason: Well I used to be…, in the…, mi.., well I was never in the Militant, 'cos we were never an organisation, but I sold the Militant newspaper, and was thrown out of the labour Party in 1987. So, I was actually…, as a very young lad I was actually, you know, collecting for the miners down south, and in the Labour Party Young Socialists. So, it's all very familiar, and it's great to sort of relive it, as I'm sure all the ex-miners feel as well.

Adge: Do you have any mining background in your family?

Jason: No. None at all. We're all south London. My dad was a film director, which was, well…., but I didn't really grow up with him. My mum was a social worker and a shorthand typist.

Adge: Well, that's about all I've got to ask you really.

Jason. Aw, bless you mate. Well, listen, I'm glad we had the time. I used to date a Yorkshire lass, called Lena Heady, who's gorgeous and who lives out in Huddersfield, and it's such a small community up here, a couple of the supporting artistes, who used to be coppers knew Lena's dad, 'cos he used to be a copper. So, I hope to get over to Huddersfield and see her mum and dad in the next couple of days.

Adge: Are you still courting Lena?

Jason: No. We're not together any more, but we're the best of friends, and I know Huddersfield's all very proud of her, so… it's good.

Adge: Thank you Jason.

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