Entertainment
Rafe Spall recalls very unfortunate incident with a reindeer’s antler on the set of Get Santa
The actor, 38, on season 2 of Trying, heading back on to the West End stage, and a very unfortunate bottom-related incident with a reindeer on the set of 2014 festive film Get Santa.
Your parenthood drama Trying is back – what’s going on with couple Jason and Nikki now?
The first season is all about them being approved for adoption and the second season is about them trying to be matched with a child, which as an experience turns out to be a little bit different. You literally look through pictures of children and go, ‘Well, they look nice.’ Then the quite serious business of being matched kicks in.
Had you heard of an Adoption Activity Day before?
No, never. All of this is totally new to me. So yeah, one of the things they go on is an activity day where you get a group of kids at a sort of party and you’ve got to turn up and mingle with them and make yourself appealing to them, which is both funny and heartbreaking at the same time. That to me encompasses the whole tone of the show, really. They are given the fancy dress party theme of ‘who do you want to be when you grow up?’
Who was that for you as a kid?
Prince. I’ve always loved Prince. I still want to be Prince when I grow up.
What Prince look would you go for?
Purple Rain, for definite. That sort of no shirt and a bolero jacket is very strong.
Do you enjoy fancy dress-themed parties?
No, I get dressed up for a living. I spend my life wearing other people’s clothes with foundation on. There are a lot more dignified ways to make a living but, alas, these are the only skills I can exchange for cash.
What is the worst fancy-dress theme you’ve had to negotiate?
I have a great theme if I ever have one. It’s a fantastic open-ended theme — feathers, leathers and tethers. Make of that what you will, my friend. Don’t tell me your heart wouldn’t drop if you got that through the post.
Jason has a big style dilemma in episode one: are canvas shoes acceptable footwear for a godparent at a christening?
I am literally wearing canvas shoes as we speak. So, hell yes they are. They are practical, comfortable and offset any fine suit.
Do you and your wife Elize always trust each other’s judgement when it comes to clothes?
My sartorial arbiter is definitely my nine-year-old daughter, Lena, who says yes or no straight away whenever I come in with something new on. I trust her. She calls it in a second.
Why do people say never act with animals or children? Is it because they are scenestealers?
They’re a pain in the arse. You can get a great kid or one that’s bloody annoying, much like you can a grown-up or, in my experience, a reindeer. I once did a film, Get Santa, where I had to lead a reindeer about. I stopped and its antler went up my bum. That’s the truth. Thankfully, on Trying all the kids were fantastic. Eden [Togwell], who plays Princess, is a charming girl and brilliant.
You’re playing Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre next March. Will you be emotional getting back on stage?
I don’t think we can take lightly the absence of live performance. We’ve had two great losses recently in my community, Paul Ritter and Helen McCrory. As a young actor I went to see a play called Christmas by Simon Stephens. Paul Ritter was in that. I was 20 and I was just blown away by him. It’ll stay with me forever in a way that films don’t. The same with Helen McCrory in a play called The Last Of The Haussmans at the National Theatre, her incandescent energy coming at you.
It feels quite emotional seeing Camden bustling with people…
That was all extras. Through smoke and mirrors we were able to make it appear like it was a 2019 utopia.
How was filming on location?
It was Hope Cove in Devon doubling as Cornwall. It was lovely, beautiful. It was the tail end of the summer and it was just nice to be back at work.
Congratulations on one of the big TV hits of the first lockdown, The Salisbury Poisonings.
If you’re telling a story where the people you are representing are still alive, your prime objective is to do it properly, not take liberties. [Ex DS] Nick Bailey, who I played, sent me a lovely email afterwards about how pleased he was with the result. Nikki tells Jason nobody wants cool parents.
What were the coolest things about your mum and dad when you were a kid?
Well, my dad’s a famous actor [Timothy Spall]. I suppose that’s pretty cool. My dad’s a national treasure!
■ Trying Season 2 is on Apple TV+ now
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