MeeVee Exclusive! Interview with The Riches Star Eddie Izzard
Winner of numerous British comedy awards, Eddie Izzard knows how to make people laugh. Now, after many years of comedic success, Eddie has finally crossed over to the world of drama. In the new F/X series The Riches, Eddie plays Wayne Malloy, the head of a family of small-time grifters who assume the identity of an upper-middle-class suburban clan in the Deep South.
MeeVee’s own Steve Czarnecki sat down with the cross-dressing, edgy comedian to get the scoop on this hot new drama series.
Over the past decade, we've seen numerous shows from the UK being remade for American audiences and become a part of US culture. Why is this phenomenon happening?
I'll tell you why it's happening -- it's actually always been happening for decades. Sanford & Son? British! Three’s Company? British! They are all just remakes of British TV. I think there is some zeitgeist thing for America, because they will never get the cast of the UK Office over to promote the hit shows from Britain. It’s impossible -- it probably will never happen -- so they have to do an American version of it. In the translation, it’s tricky. Overall, the best of your country goes to us, the best of our country comes to you. I mean, humans have the same DNA, monkeys are only 1.6 % off, so really any good drama will work anywhere.
In The Riches, you're the head of a family of Travellers. For those who don’t know, who are the Travellers?
Travellers, or Tinkers, they're like Gypsies -- Irish Gypsies. In fact, Gypsy is a name for roaming people. They are nomadic. Back in the old days, they would sell wares and offer services, but as things became more settled and civilized, it turned into slightly more criminal or nefarious activities. Now, they would be called con artists. Travellers are from Ireland, and after the potato famine they came over here and now there’s like twenty or thirty thousand in America. Some are entirely legit, but the ones you do hear about are illegitimate. They are very tight-knit, they have their own dialect, just like Americans, but they’ve been here six generations and have acclimated with the change of times and society.
What sort of research went into finding the inspiration for these characters?
The producers actually talked to real Travellers as much as they could, and gathered up as much information from them as they could, to make it seem as close and authentic as possible. Essentially, it’s about a family that is of the Travellers, but it’s not a story about Travellers -- it’s about a family who pretends to be someone they’re not. The family has moved into the gated community, pretending to be these people who have died on the road, and they remain there. That is part of the conceit of the show.
We were speaking about American TV, do you have any favorite US shows?
Since I’ve been doing this drama, I’ve so got my head in this, I just don’t’ have time…I went to bed at 3am got up at 7, so, yeah I don’t watch much TV.
Coming from a comedy background, do you prefer working in TV or film?
I wish to do films. I’m doing everything I can, I’m mounting a profile, I love films. But I also love TV, which nowadays is basically film on a smaller screen. The bridge between film and television is at a level playing field now, really. My Super Ex-Girlfriend was fun -- I liked playing the evil guy. I’m sort of playing a good-and-bad guy in The Riches, which is really fun to do, and we’re just getting started. I hope you like it -- it’s just the best stuff I’ve done.
What drew you to doing television, and this TV series in particular?
I just didn’t like what people were offering me for film roles, so I thought I’d try American television. I grew up with a lot of wonder and joy about America. I always wanted to do films in Hollywood. Then I happened to be here in the States and had a meeting over at Maverick Television, and they said, "By the way, we’re doing this thing about this Traveller family." And I said, "Can I do that, please?" They said, "All right," and that was it.
I heard that you were slated to play the lead villain in the recent season of 24. What happened?
Yes, and I love 24, and I would have loved to have done it, but it would have come out right now. I had this series offered, and it just would have been too similar, and just too much of a scheduling conflict to try and do both.
A lot of your early career was doing some very edgy, very profane comedy. Do you feel that the restrictions of TV are holding you back from your normal stand-up material?
No, no, this is pretty hard edge. The Riches is a very dark drama. No real swearing, though maybe some -- we’re on at 10 p.m. It’s an adult show, good drama, and people will think it’s funny and edgy as hell.
We were speaking about American TV -- do you have any favorite US shows?
Since I’ve been doing this drama, I’ve so got my head in this, I just don’t have time. I went to bed at 3 a.m. and got up at 7, so I don’t watch much TV.
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I hope he didn't ask him the same question twice. It's bad enough every journo asks the same thing. Still, love any interview with Eddie. Can't wait for tonight's episode! =D
Posted by: Meghann | April 09, 2007 at 01:34 PM