Nigel Havers on Chariots of Fire, The Charmer and playing his grandfather, the judge in the Ruth Ellis trial. By Louise Flind
Anything you can’t leave home without?
My wife.
Is there something you really miss?
I’ve toured all my career, and I miss everything about being at home.
Do you travel light?
I travel light and my wife travels heavy. I once made a mistake of criticising how much luggage there was, and I’ll never make that mistake again. ‘Don’t you understand – I’m a woman...’
I like to take nothing, buy a couple of T-shirts, a shirt and a pair of jeans and when I leave, give them to charity.
Your earliest childhood holiday memories?
Harry Carr, a jockey who lived near us in Suffolk, told my father [Michael Havers, the Lord Chancellor] that his horse, Parthia, would win the Derby. Dad bet, and it won, and we leapt into the family Jaguar and drove to Italy. I was six, and just about to go to boarding school.
Did you act at school?
I did. Every summer at my prep school, we did a Shakespeare play in the grounds, a perfect setting for a play. I ended up in a grown-up production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playing Puck.
Do you wish you were a barrister, like lots of your relations?
I’m far too emotional. I would stand up and scream at the judge and behave badly if I felt passionate about something.
Did you always want to become an actor?
I did. There’s always a risk you might fall on your arse and never make a bean, but I, for some reason, stuck at it. When I wasn’t working as an actor, I worked in a wine shop and as a researcher for The Jimmy Young Show on the radio.
Might you have become a bass guitarist?
I wasn’t really good enough. I copied all the other bass guitars, and really loved it. I don’t know that you can make a living being a bass guitarist, if you’re not Paul McCartney.
You starred in The Charmer. What defines real charm and fake charm?
I don’t know about fake charm – either charm is in you or it isn’t.
What was the Arts Educational School like?
I was supposed to go to Slough Grammar, otherwise known as Eton, but I really didn’t want to go there, so I told my dad how much the drama school would cost and how much Eton was going to cost...
What was your first big break?
Nicholas Nickleby at the BBC.
Where was Chariots of Fire filmed?
Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cambridge, Kent, Newcastle, York and London. The beach was in St Andrews.
Did you actually film the hurdles scene? Did you spill any champagne?
We trained for four and a half months with an Olympic coach (unpaid).
I did spill some champagne, not because I touched the hurdles but because, as I went over them, the wind moved the glasses. So we sellotaped them down.
What was it like playing your grandfather, Sir Cecil Havers, the judge, in A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story?
It was great. They asked whether I wanted to do it and I said I’d rather I do it than have anyone else do it. I did say that I was worried I might be a bit too young. They said, actually, you’re 15 years older than your grandfather was...
Is there a role you’d love to play?
Hamlet, which would be a problem now I’m 73. Mind you, Ian McKellen did it at 82.
How did you prepare for The Bidding Room, the auction-house reality show?
I didn’t prepare at all. I just have fun. I knowmabout antiques. My wife won’t let me go into antique shops any more because I say, ‘I don’t think this is 17th-century. I think it was made a month ago.’
Do you prefer theatre to TV and film?
When I’m doing a play, I always wish I was doing a film.
And when I’m filming, I’d love to be in a theatre.
Do you still have Mick Jagger’s suit? [Nigel’s father represented Mick in court and they celebrated at the Haverses’ house. Mick changed into a caftan in Nigel’s bedroom.)
I wish I’d kept it. I’d have framed it somehow...
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Hang on. Let me ask my wife. She can’t remember [he laughs]. She says living with me is one big honeymoon.
What’s your favourite destination?
In the south of France, a little hotel called La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
What’s your biggest travel headache?
I just hate the airport. Travelling on British Airways to Nice recently, I thought, ‘F**k it, we’ll go club class because people don’t say, ‘Can I have a photo?’
At Gatwick, the steward says, ‘I’m really embarrassed but we’ve got absolutely no catering.’ A week later, on the way back, they had no catering again. So I emailed British Airways and got an automatic reply saying it will take 28 days to reply, and they’ve never responded. The stewards are really nice, though.
The Bidding Room is available on BBC iPlayer
