Exclusive Interview With ‘Vicious’ Star Philip Voss

The ITV sitcom Vicious, in which Sirs Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi played a barbarous, elderly gay couple, was a surprise hit. The recent Christmas special was equally well-received and work has already commenced on the second series. One of the stars of that show is Philip Voss, who plays one of Freddie (McKellen) and Stuart's (Jacobi) oldest friends, Mason. Voss is a face that's popped up all over the shop across the years, from Doctor Who alongside William Hartnell to Octopussy, and is a regular face in Richard Curtis movies such as Four Weddings... and About Time. But he is first and foremost a theatre actor, having received plaudits for his portrayal of Shylock in the RSC's 1998 production of The Merchant of Venice, arguably one of the definitive portrayals of the character on stage. Having an admiration for actors both on stage and on-screen- especially as a young boy admiring Marlon Brando's turn in On The Waterfront, Voss is a seasoned veteran with more spark and vivacity than most performers working today. Voss was kind enough to grant WhatCulture a brief interview about his lifelong ambition to act, his thoughts on today's young performers, his desire to get back in front of the camera, and an update on the next series of Vicious. Why did you decide to get into acting? Was it a desire from a young age? Or perhaps it was a certain performer or performance that inspired you? Well, it's both of those things. I was born in Leicester and my mother didn't want me to have a Midlands accent, so I had elocution lessons from the age of four. As a result of that I went in front of an audience at that age to do a couple of monologues and that gave me the bug. When I was at school I joined the dramatic classes, where an actor called John Turner was playing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Really, it started at the age of four and it was concrete by ten or eleven that I wanted to be an actor. Do you have a favourite role or play from Shakespeare's canon? Do you look back on one particular production you were in as being a truly great one? Although it's not PC, I had the most wonderful time playing Shylock. I'd been in a production of The Merchant of Venice in 1960- before it was known as The RSC- as a walk-on. That was when Peter O'Toole was playing Shylock. Then many years later in 1997 I was asked to play Shylock myself- it was a terrific production and I absolutely loved it. Do you believe that theatre is more of a forum for you than TV & film?Yes, it has been for me- I'm very much a theatre actor. I admire actors that can do it all in front of a camera, but my forte is really Theatre. The size of me, the energy that I have, is far more suited to it than a camera. You can't just make that smaller , it's an art to be in front of it. If you just cut down, it's boring. Whereas in the theatre I know my way around the stage; I know how to command an audience and control it. So that's where I'm at.
How does it feel to be a small part in big films like James Bond or programmes like Doctor Who? Particularly now that I'm 77, I love doing it. I've just done one line, repeated twice, in About Time! I find it all fabulous. Doctor Who, which I did years and years ago, still lives on! People still write to me about it, which is extraordinary! And Octopussy was an absolute joy. was shot in 3 days in Pinewood Studios, and that still lives on as well. I've just signed 1000 photographs of me as the auctioneer! I would love to do more in front of the camera. Perhaps as I get older I'll conquer the medium... Be it with a director of Film like Richard Curtis or with theatre directors like Trevor Nunn and Peter Hall, what do you look for in collaboration with a director? The thing you have to do as an actor is to find out your objective, what you actually want in each line. You want a director who's going to enable you to find that- you don't want to be bullied! I want a nice atmosphere, of course. But it's lovely if a director is on your side and you're searching for that objective together. I've longed to work with a director who'd take time out and give me advice- which I've always had in the theatre from people like Peter Hall and Mike Alfreds, but never in . As a seasoned actor who's been part of the industry for years as it's evolved, what are your thoughts on the evolution of the Leading Man in film? As our culture has become more obsessed with youth, we've gone from the quirky anomalies of Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman, for example, to the case where it seems handsome young actors are plucked straight from Drama School to head up major franchises. Is the day of The Movie Star coming to an end, or does it feel just the same to you? I am full of admiration for young actors- Colin Morgan, James McAvoy, Ben Chaplin... I just marvel at them! People like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are brilliant, but they became a little bit of a parody of themselves. Marlon Brando was a revelation to us all, but now you look at and it seems a bit mannered. Whereas nowadays with the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, there's no barrier between them and the camera; you can just read what they're thinking. What advice would you give to aspiring actors looking to forge a career? Find out who you are and be truthful to that. Find out what it is that you've got, but don't try and act- just find the truth in yourself and sell that. Are there any upcoming projects you can discuss? Is there another series of Vicious on the horizon after the recent Christmas Special? I'm about to do another nine episodes of Vicious. We've all met up to discuss it with the writers (Gary Janetti and Mark Ravenhill) and we're shooting this year. Philip will return in Series 2 of Vicious, which will be broadcast on ITV next year.
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Aspiring Director, Screenwriter and Actor. Film is my passion, but I indulge in TV, Theatre and Literature as well! Any comments or suggestions, please tweet me @IAmOscarHarding