Let’s get down to
PETER SERAFINOWICZ HAS A TALENT FOR VOICES AND COMEDY. MARION McMULLEN FINDS OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO TRANSFORM INTO HIS SPOOF BUSINESSMAN CHARACTER BRIAN BUTTERFIELD FOR HIS NEW TOUR
Brian Butterfield first appeared on your BBC2 series The Peter Serafinowicz Show. Where did the character come from?
There was an advert on TV about 20 years ago with this guy selling insurance – ‘Have you been injured in an accident?’ – and the first Brian sketch was almost a direct parody of this guy.
I thought it was the actual owner of the company who made the advert himself.
He’s in this office that looks really untidy and the whole thing had an unprofessional air to it.
So, me and James, my brother, wrote the Brian Butterfield sketch, taking that initial inspiration and making Brian full of enthusiasm and ideas, but these ideas are ridiculous.
He’s in his mid-60s and full of youthful vigour and relentless energy. It turned out the guy in the original advert was an actor.
What is it like taking him on tour? I tend to walk a lot but doing the Brian show is a workout in itself because obviously you’re in a huge suit for two hours a night.
Richard, my tour manager, got in touch with me about a month, or maybe even six weeks or so, before our first tour as he wanted to check I was mentally prepared for it because I’ve never done it before.
How did the first tour go?
During the early performances on the first tour, my suit was so densely packed with this duvet kind of stuff and I was sweating so much that prosthetics on my face were just flapping off.
Not only was it dangerous, it was also just annoying to have
The main man: Peter how he normally looks people laughing at this, which is funny, but they’re laughing at the wrong thing.
The suit is designed by Barry Gower who designed all the prosthetic make-up for Game Of Thrones. He’s a genius, but it takes two make-up artists around an hour to get me ready.
You have worked on Spaced, Shaun Of The Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy. How long have you been honing your skills by doing impressions?
Since I could talk I would copy people. I just enjoy doing it and I really appreciate it when I meet another mimic as I’m constantly dazzled by other people as well.
I love the craft of it and how people achieve certain things.
I was a skinny, lanky kid and I couldn’t stick up for myself... I got bullied a bit and it was always by kids who were not in my year, so I was the funny slightly weird one.
For me, it was always like a natural reaction, copying people and making fun.
You appear in Netflix series The Gentleman at the moment playing a gangster. How was it taking on that kind of role?
I’m from Liverpool, so my natural accent is from there, but it was never as strong as my character in The Gentleman. Those types of extreme accents are crafted over time to be as aggressive and threatening as possible.
I find all that fascinating.
I’ve always wanted to play one of these people who basically terrorised me when I was growing up in Liverpool, but what an amazing experience it was working with Guy Ritchie.
I’ve never worked with him before, but he gets into filming right away.
He reads the scene, he does all the characters, he looks again at the lines, and it’s like you can see the thought cloud above his head editing the scene.
He’s so collaborative and fun.
What do you enjoy doing most, TV, film, directing, writing?
All of those things are enjoyable.
Writing for me is the one I’ve had the most difficulty with.
That’s what I need to conquer and I suspect, that when I do, it will
Travelling
Actor Peter Serafinowicz
Brian Butterfield be the one I actually end up enjoying the most.
I’m fortunate that I can make a living by doing things that I enjoy.
I sing in this Call Of Now tour, I rap in the show, and in that moment, I’m thinking ‘Peter; people are paying money to see you sing and hear you rap, you’re a rapper!’
[Laughs] It’s cool. When you are doing stuff that is good, the material is good, the people you work with are good, that’s all you want to be doing.
What inspires you when it comes to a new character?
I think a lot of the time I want to be the cool cat. The funny thing is the characters that come straight from the heart are just like a pure beam of light.
What are your plans ahead of the tour beginning?
I come back from filming in North America on May 20 and start the Brian Butterfield Call Of Now tour the next day.
In the summer I’ll have some time off and will go on holiday with my kids ... and I’m also developing a game show with Brian Butterfield.
Brian Butterfield Call Of Now tours from May 21. Visit brianbutterfield.co.uk for tour dates and ticket bookings to theatres next year offering everything from the clandestine New York speakeasy to the glittering mirror balls of Studio 54.
Gorka says: “We’re going to immerse the audience in an undercover world of dance and I can’t wait.”
The tour runs from February 24. Visit speakeasylive.co.uk for details.
SPOT THE STARS IN 101 DALMATIANS
Steps star Faye Tozer (right) and singerturned-actress Kym Marsh (below) will be taking it in turns to play fur-loving Cruella De Vil in the UK tour of new musical .
Faye says: “I’m going into my wicked era with this dream role.
“It really doesn’t get much better than Cruella de Vil.”
The tour runs from June 22 Go to 101dalmatians.co.uk for ticket bookings.
NATIONAL GALLERY ON FILM
The suit is designed by Barry Gower who designed all the prosthetic make-up for Game Of Thrones. He’s a genius, but it takes two make-up artists around an hour to get me ready Peter on what it takes to turn him into Brian Butterfield
Claudia Winkleman (pictured), Sir Michael Palin and Princess Eugenie are among those featured in My National Gallery, London, coming to cinemas nationwide on June 4.
The film celebrates the British institution as it marks its 200th birthday. Head to seventh-art.com for screening details.
INSIDE NO.9 HEADING TO THEATRE
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (above) are to star in the world premiere of Inside No.9 Stage/Fright in the West End.
The new story follows their award-winning BBC comedy and will open for a limited 12-week run at London’s Wyndham Theatre from January 18. They say: “There’ll be something old, something new, something butchered and something… BOO!”
Head to Insideno9onstage.com for details.