(RI:SE is a British breakfast TV program, and the two presenters here were Richard Blackwood, who is also a well known comedian, and a woman named Edith)
Edith: It’s T-minus-17 days until Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets goes on general release, and to get you reaching for your wands we are joined by one of the most evil characters yet. Do you like that tag?
Jason: It’s alright, yes. It’s fine. It keeps me in work.
Edith: Jason Isaacs plays the man who puts the “sly” into Slytherin [she pronounces it “Sly”therin]. The nasty Lucius...
Jason: Slytherin [pronouncing it correctly]. You can tell she’s a big Harry Potter fan, can't you?
Edith: Sorry. I watched the first one.
Jason: It does say “Sly”therin so fair enough.
Edith: Exactly. So thanks for coming in this morning.
Jason: Thanks for having me.
Edith: Now, do you enjoy scaring the living daylights out of children?
Jason: Well, if they deserve it yeah...if they’re horrible little gits they deserve whatever they get, yeah.
Edith: For those of you who can’t wait, here’s a little sneaky peek of the evil Lucius in action.
[Shows HP clip]
Edith: Good mullet! [long hairstyle, popular in the 70’s]
Rich: His voice has broken.
Jason: His or mine?
Rich: Well your voice has definitely broken, but his [Dan's] voice has broken.
Jason: Yeah, he’s growing up. Well he’s meant to grow up. Some of the press are going “Harry Potter’s growing up!” He’s meant to get a year older every year, so if he was still that big [holds hand out] it would be different strokes wouldn’t it.
Rich: Yeah, exactly.
Edith: Nice hair.
Jason: Thanks very much.
Edith: Tell us about the character.
Jason: Well it’s all about the hair really. I modeled it on early Vanessa Feltz. I thought that’s always scared children.
He believes that the world should be kept full of pure wizard blood and that it’s polluted by Mudbloods and Muggles, which is a contemporary theme. He’s a horrible dad, you know, he bullies his son, and that’s why his son turns into a horrible bully at school, and it’s as over the top and hammy a performance as I was allowed to give. Unfortunately the director reined me in a lot.
But I watched it with children who love me, I think, the other day, all my godchildren, and they were booing hissing and spitting at me and they were thrilled when I fell on my bum at the end, so it’s just fantastic!
Edith: How did you feel watching it? Were you pleased with it when you saw it?
Jason: Well, it’s embarrassing to say this on television because it’s my job to say that it’s good, but I thought it was bloody brilliant! I was very excited. I thought it would be fine, and I mean, I don’t go to that many children’s films and me and all my grown up mates were ducking under seats and screaming and roaring with laughter and sweating when the action happened. I think it’s...um...I can’t say it’s the best film I’ve ever been in, because all my other mates will kill me...
Rich: No, say it!
Jason: Well it’s one of the best. I’ve only seen it once and I’m dying to see it again and that’s not just because I’m meant to be saying that.
Rich: Now...Daniel Radcliffe, the person who plays Harry Potter. I hear he gets a lot of naked stalkers, is that true?
Jason: I don’t know about a lot of naked stalkers, but certainly I chased him in the dressing room, yeah. [laughter]
Rich: I was going to ask is that the reason you play the bad guy — so that you wouldn’t get one?
Jason: No, no that’s fine. You haven’t seen the naked stalker.
Rich: Now I want to ask, what kind of riders do the kids ask for? Fizzy pop? Things like that?
Jason: Actually these kids are the most normal...I’ve worked with some American famous children and they are difficult to say the least...you know...they’re like fifty-year-old lawyers trapped inside eight-year-old bodies. But [these kids] their parents are on set and they are the most normal, humble kids, and although they’re the most famous children in the world, somebody comes to visit and they go — [great kids voice] “Oh! I recognize you! You were in an episode of The Bill!” and they go over and ask for autographs and I don’t think they quite get who they are.
Rich: I was going to ask you, have they changed since the first film came out?
Jason: Well, the only thing that’s different...I wasn’t in the first one, I arrived for the second one. I arrived just after Valentine’s day and this year was the first year they started sending each other cards, and I’m noting who got the most Valentine cards. [Edith and Rich “Awwww”]
Edith: Who did?
Jason: It’s not for me to say but I can tell you this, the boy who plays my son is a bit of a heartthrob off screen.
Edith: Awww.
Jason: Excuse me?
Edith: It must be weird for Daniel though, because after the first film, when he knew he was a wizard...
Jason: He’s not really a wizard, you know that don’t you?...Sorry.
Edith: Don’t shatter my illusions. Children must go “Oh my god, it’s Harry Potter!” I mean he must get that all the time now.
Jason: [laughs] I brought two of my goddaughters to see...I brought kids to the set every time I was working, every day, just a whole big sharabang of kids every day. And these two kids...I introduced them and said “Do you want to meet Harry? This is Daniel” and they went [brilliant kids voice again] “Where’s your glasses? Put your glasses on!” and he said [excellent impression of Daniel!] “I don’t actually wear glasses.” [E and R laugh] And they went “Yes you do, you do wear glasses! You don’t talk like that...do your voice!” So I’m not sure that everybody does recognize him in the street because he doesn’t actually look like Harry Potter. He’s not often on a broomstick.
Rich: Your character has a slave, a little slave called Dobby right?
Jason: I do, Dobby my house elf.
Rich: If you had a real life slave, what would you make it do?
Jason: I’d probably get him to get out of bed at the crack of dawn and come and do interviews like this one, and I’d be sitting somewhere with a bacon sandwich.
Edith: Have you signed up to do any more of the films?
Jason: I have. I’m in book four. I’m not in book three, which is lucky because I’m off doing Peter Pan.
Rich: Ah...you quickly threw that in there.
Edith: You’re filming Peter Pan in Australia at the moment.
Jason: I am. Well, not right now obviously...but I will be. As soon as I leave here, virtually, I’m going to the airport back to Australia.
Edith: And who are you playing?
Jason: I’m playing Mr. Darling and Captain Hook.
Edith: Both?
Jason: Well that’s originally what J.M. Barrie specified.
Rich: So do you get double pay?
Jason: I don’t, tragically, but I do work twice as hard.
Rich: That’s terrible, man! You need to speak to my agency.
Jason: Right! [laughs] I am with your agency! And if you’re watching, thanks for all your hard work!
Edith: I wanted to ask you about Richard Harris. Such sad, sad news last week.
Jason: It was kind of devastating. We were right in the middle of doing all the press for Harry Potter and people were asking how he was and we said, “He’s fighting back and we hear he’s doing fabulously well,” and then he died.
The thing about Richard, you know, there’s this huge hole there’s going to be, certainly in the Harry Potter family for a while. He was the most mischievous, naughty, hysterical man I’ve ever met and the last thing he’d want is people being maudlin about him. He couldn’t bear that kind of thing. He was wicked, and it was very difficult being on set and working with him because he’d keep everyone kind of rolling around with these stories, and he was a brilliant storyteller.
Edith: He loved to tell stories didn’t he.
Jason: He was a fantastic storyteller. You’d have to drag yourself to work. The thing I think about when I think about Richard is that for some odd reason everyone thinks, Oh Richard Harris, famous hell-raiser, and we know that he drank, and he drank a lot, and he caused trouble, he had fights and had various marriages and stuff, and we only know that stuff about him because he was a brilliant actor. Because actually there are loads of people who do that stuff who are sleeping on a park bench in Kilburn. He was a fantastic actor and when I had the opportunity to do scenes opposite him, and he’d tell stories and then the moment they’d call action he was Dumbledore and he terrified me, and that’s why we know about him. His legacy will be that he’s an amazing actor and what’s fabulous for him is that there’s a whole new generation of people who know who he is as well.
Edith: I remember watching him in a film called Orca the Killer Whale, years ago.
Jason: Not one of the artistic highlights of his career though. He did better work. You could bring up This Sporting Life or even Gladiator.
Edith: Everyone has their memories of him though.
Jason: He was great.
Rich: It’s not the first time you’ve been a tough guy. You portrayed the baddest of the bad Colonel William in Black Hawk Down.
Jason: I did...No...so sorry to correct you but that’s just wrong. I was Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot, Mike Steele in Black Hawk Down. Mike Steele might be watching and he’s seven feet three tall. I want to get his name right.
Rich: [indicating cue card] You see they’ve got it wrong here.
Edith: Shall we have a look at it?
Rich: Yeah...at the right clip
[Clip from BHD where the soldier is doing an impression of Mike Steele]
Jason: Now that’s a good haircut
Edith: I didn’t recognise you there.
Rich: You did that really well.
Jason: I had much less time in the make up and hair chair in the mornings on that film. Straight out of bed, straight on to the set, it was fabulous.
Rich: Now that was a very physical film. Was it tough to shoot?
Jason: Only because I was much older than all the other actors. So they sent us off to boot camp to train with the soldiers, and they all went “Well you’re playing the boss so we’ll put you in charge of all these actors. You’ve got to lead from the front.” And I went, “You don’t understand, I’m not in charge of Ewan MacGregor. He doesn’t do the things that I say.” But God love him, for a week he went along with it.
Rich: Now the thing is, I notice they use a lot of Brits for bad guys in films even though I know you played an American, I mean what is it with us?
Jason: He was a hero I’ll have you know.
Rich: Well of course he was a hero too.
Jason: Bald isn’t bad.
Rich: I would go that way, but I’ve still got the ladies to impress. But what is it with us Brits being bad guys?
Jason: I think we like to chew the scenery and we’re not frightened of camping it up and we love to play dress up in silly costumes, and we don’t need to be liked in quite the same way.
Edith: We’ve done quite a bit of research on your career...
Rich: Let’s hope it’s right.
Jason: Have you got any tips? What should I do next?
Edith: We’ve come up with some startling revelations, and we believe it’s our duty to clear a few of them up. So this is a little section called “Is it true?” Is it true that you had a cameo role cut from the Spice Girls movie?
Jason: Oh god...yeah well [laughs and looks embarrassed] See, I did this scene where I was meant to be picking Baby Spice up and I spent the whole time staring at her cleavage 'cause frankly it was on display. That was the main thing going on and I was told afterwards that it wasn’t quite suitable for a children’s film.
Rich: Nor was the film.
Jason: No.
Edith: Is it true that you’re scared stupid of Friday the 13th Part Three?
Jason: I’m scared of everything. I’m scared that I’ll have to resort to being in Friday the 13th Part Nine if they make the film. No, I’m a terrible, terrible coward. I mean I was under the seat watching Harry Potter. A lot of the sequences are far too scary for me. My five year old godson was fine but I was terrified.
Rich: Wow.
Edith: Big scaredy cat.
Jason: I’m quite scared of this interview.
Rich: Well I can understand that.
Edith: Is it true that you were challenged to an arm wrestling contest by the mayor of Liverpool? That’s a really bizarre fact.
Jason: Yeah, yeah it’s true.
Edith: Why?
Jason: Because I insulted Liverpool’s favourite son. I played a version of him in The Patriot and he got very upset about it. In fact I challenged him to an arm wrestle to sort it out and he was desperate to do it but his PR department thought that it was undignified for an elected official to have an arm wrestle. Just as well because I’m sure he’d have beaten me.
Edith: [To Rich] You up for it?.
Rich: Well I don’t know if I want to mess up his rep.
Edith: [To Jason] Fancy having a go?
Jason: What? An arm wrestle? You’ve got arms the size of my legs. Can I use both hands?
Rich: Of course you can use both hands, bro. I’ll use my left hand, it’s my weak arm. [leans on Edith’s leg]
Edith: What? Are you using my leg as a table? Thanks for that.
Jason: No, I don’t think so...we need to be a lot closer.
Rich: No, you’re actually a fan of my stand up, so [shakes hands with Jason] we don’t really need to do that.
Jason: That’s true.
Rich: That’s very true. So he’s been a beautiful guy...and when’s the film coming out?
Jason: This is the start of a beautiful friendship I think.
Edith: Seventeen days time.
Jason: The film’s coming out very, very soon. Seventeen days time, see it again and again and I don’t get paid extra if you do.
Edith: And if you’ve got any questions that you’d like to ask Jason, e-mail us or call us.
Jason: [looking very confused] 'Cause I’m staying here?
Edith: You ain't leaving.
Jason: Oh I see, right. Oh, I thought I was going home.
Edith: Thank you for coming in.
Jason: Thanks very much.
[They had other guests on the programme. Two actors from an award winning British comedy The Office and several news items and then Jason appeared again.]
Edith: Jason Isaacs, who plays the odious Lucius Malfoy. Thanks for sticking around. Now, you’ve already signed up for The Goblet of Fire?
Jason: Yes that’s right, the fourth one. So I hope they don’t mess up the third 'cause I’m counting on it.
Edith: So how much more evil can you get?
Jason: Oh...you just wait and see.
Edith: Can you notch up evil to ten?
Jason: I can speak through my nose and grit my teeth even tighter. You won’t understand a word I’m saying.
Rich: That’s evil.
Edith: Now back to Harry Potter. Kenneth Branagh’s received loads of credit for his role...
Jason: He didn’t get paid so it’s just as well.
Edith: Did he not?
Jason: No, did it for free.
Edith: Did he?
Jason: No, very sweet.
Edith: Why?
Rich: He said he was very sweet
Jason: Because he’s a lovely generous soul.
Edith: That’s interesting. Why would he do that?
Jason: He didn’t do it for free. It was a very poor joke.
Edith: Ooohhh.
Rich: And you fell for it. How deep is that?
Jason: This is live. You can’t put a laugh track in afterwards can you?
Rich: Now earlier you said you’re on-screen son Draco was a bit of a hit with the ladies, even more than Harry was, is that true?
Jason: Well, he’s in the Malfoy family. You know everybody loves the bad guy. He looks like all four members of a boy band, Tom, when you get him off screen. He’s not all slicked back and he’s not all sneery. He should have a spin off “Malfoys at Home” like the Osbournes.
Edith: What’s your favourite comedy?
Jason: [looking sheepish] err...The Office!
Edith: You liar! You’ve never seen it.
Jason: Oh that’s right...er...I haven’t ever seen it, and it’s very annoying, I’ve been away. I was just about to watch it last night for the first time because I’m in a hotel in London while I do the Harry Potter stuff, and a mate came round I haven’t seen for months and he went, “You’re not going to leave the telly on are you?” and I went “Well, I just thought I’d turn it down.” And he went “Oh switch it off.” So I’ll have to buy the whole set on video and watch it all in one go, which I’m looking forward to.
Edith: So what is your favourite comedy then?
Jason: My favourite comedy is The Larry Sanders Show.
Ewan [from The Office?]: Me too.
Jason: Which is not British but I think it’s genius and mostly because it’s partly improvised and loose, [to Ewan] like I think your show is a bit. You don’t really need scriptwriters in the world you just need actors and a camera.
[Question on e-mail about DJ’s body cast (in Event Horizon?) — missed this bit]
Jason: It was very, very real. They built a model of me, split from neck to navel with all my entrails hanging out and it looked exactly like me. I mean they did every mole and freckle.
Ewan: Good film by the way.
Jason: Thanks very much...and I went up and looked at it, but they wouldn’t give it to me at the end because they said they needed it at the studio and I was thinking, what do they need it for? It’s a model of me! With my guts hanging out! Anyway, my missus was quite happy.
Edith: We’ve got another one here for you Jason. What was it like playing Malfoy and would you like a house elf yourself?
Jason: Everybody would like a house elf and what was great about playing Malfoy was...the first scene I did...
Edith: Oh we’ve got to cut you off I’m afraid.
Jason: Oh. I loved it!
Edith: You loved it, great! Thank you very much for being with us today.