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'Odyssey' at Heathrow, England, 4-7 May 2001

All photos and text in this report are copyright © Rowan Green. Please do not link to them or publish elsewhere in any form without permission. You are welcome to download for personal use, and to link to my main page.

Tony Head and Robin Sachs

Once again everyone rushed to the front to take pictures. So once again I missed a fair part of what was said. I feel I should mention that these two are a great double act, though a little on the rude side… Also Tony gets the giggles constantly, totally doubles up, and is rather adorable… oh, I mentioned that.

First highlight was an audience member asking Tony what Giles wore: boxers or briefs. Tony said he really didn't know. But when she said her fan group had told her to get the answer or not come back, he relented and decided on the spot that it was boxers.

The audience also barraged Tony with requests to sing. There was even a guitar that was mysteriously produced. Tony failed to tune it though… and sent it away to have that done to it.

Q: About latex

Tony: You taught me there, Rob.

Rob: Thanks Babe.

Q: Favourite episode?

Rob: 'New Man', that was lots of fun.

I didn't catch Tony's

Q: Problems of latex.

Rob told us that often people have to be recast on the first day because they can't take being under the latex. Some people get claustrophobic and panic. Some people are allergic to it: people have been known to go into anaphylactic shock from it.

Q: Most frightening thing

Rob: Moving to America. It's a wonderful but astonishingly different culture. Also working with Tony.

Tony: Public speaking. 'But this is different…' because the audience asks questions which makes it easier.

Q: Saddest scene?

Tony: Telling (?) that Jenny Chandler had died. Though it was not shown, he was actually on the phone to help the other actor.

Rob: When he got drunk.

Q: Do they miss Britain?

Rob: Yes. Being able to walk around (Nobody walks anywhere in Los Angeles) He doesn't miss 6 months of cloud though. He'd like to come back more, but it depends on work.

At this point the guitar reappeared, having been tuned, and Tony sang for us. It was a softer song than the one he sang the day before. I think he said something about it being on an album?

There was a question to Robin which I didn't catch, but his answer was a reference to his father working in a music hall, and now they were going to be doing a music hall episode… To which Tony pointed out that it wasn't actually a music HALL episode…

Q: What do you miss about the UK?

Tony: Family.
Robin: Yes.
Tony: Though American beer is good these days.
Robin. I only drink champagne. Beer makes me fart.
Tony: mentions Americans have a 'funny language'.
Robin: Yes, like saying mobile phone 'mow-bill'.

Q: Where does the name 'Buffy' come from?

Tony said it was out of Joss's head. The questioner (from Holland) went on to explain that in Dutch 'Buffy' resembles the slang for oral sex. Apparently this was news to Tony and Robin. Tony totally cracked up…

Tony: I've just been buffied! Robin: Are you sure you're not talking about 'Muffin the Mule'?

Some one from the audience added the comment: 'Is that a stake in your pocket or are you just...'

Q: To Robin, about women.

He compared Kate Mulgrew in Murder She Wrote with someone else. Unfortunately I didn't catch who! Apparently Mulgrew is also terrific but shorter.

Q: Most inspirational person?

Robin: Tony

Tony: Joss is fairly inspiring, has a good way about him. He's clever, intuitive, astute, calls things the way he sees it. They argue, but he proves Tony wrong. Sweet, accommodating… it's very rare to care that much about the cast.

Robin: It's true, he gives so much leeway to do other stuff…

Q: What project would they like to work on, and would they employ each other?

Tony: Oh yeah.

Robin: They get on, they have the ability to shorthand together.

Tony talked about doing an acting class. The teacher got him to do Richard III with the brief that he should make him sexy. He started with Ian Dury and went on from there. His girlfriend Sarah suggested it.

Q: What's the dumbest thing they have ever done on set?

Tony: In 'New Man' the demon costume… the horns were attached to a skullcap under the latex. The stunt double kept getting a creased forehead where this had moved forward. Tony had Velcro straps inside the headpiece to keep the cap in place. One piece of the Velcro came loose, so that the horns developed a slant. Now, the costume was all one piece over his head, and right down the body. And it's not loose - it's glued all the way (apparently those scenes in films where people rip off a latex mask are rubbish - if you did that in real life you would take the skin off) so it would have taken hours to remove it all and then put it back again. So the makeup artist came up with a shortcut. They decided to unscrew one of the horns from the skullcap and go in through it's hole in the latex. So they did this, and the guy had one hand well inside Tony's latex hood, when Tony suddenly saw an image of what it must look like and creased up with the giggles. Of course, it spread, so there the two of them where, laughing helplessly, with this guy with his hand stuck down Tony's head…

Q: Heroes?

Robin: Looked up to Tony when he was young…

Tony: Alec Guinness

Robin: Spencer Tracey

(They got into a discussion of the relative merits of various stars including Chaplin and his ilk (Buster Keaton? Lloyd?), until one of them pointed out that they were beginning to sound just like a couple of old men at a buss stop reminiscing…and it was true!)

Q: Did anyone ever make them star struck?

Tony: Anthony Hopkins. Meeting him was a nightmare. He wanted to say he was his hero, but Hopkins just kept asking him where they had met before, which of course they hadn't. He did meet him again later, and he is a sweet man.

Robin: Once when he was doing a play with Rex Harrison. There was a knock on his dressing room door and it turned out to be Betty Bacall. He was astonished, but he doesn't really get star struck.

Tony: She did that to him once too… (I'm not sure if this was a joke)

Q: How do scripts get to you?

Robin: They send it… Usually via an agent or manager.

Tony: They meet. Sometimes read, sometimes not. It's a long process with contracts etc.

Someone in the audience (the same person?) then asked what it would take to get Robin to consider a film offer from him.

Robin: 'Feed me!'… 'We could have done this over dinner love… do beer. (Robin seemed to be taking the guy seriously… while also gently telling him off for not going through channels!)

Q: Who do you enjoy working with most?

Tony: Different people for different reasons. James, Sarah. He doesn't do that many one to one scenes. The scene with Robin drunk was good. It's an ensemble thing.

Robin: Very real people.

Q: Quickie for you Tony: are Gail Berman and Rick Berman related?

Tony: No.

More Pictures of Tony and Robin

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