Christopher Fairbank Interview
These short interviews with the cast were done for Series 4
of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Christopher Fairbank talks about
Series 4 and a short bit about how Pet changed his life. The
following is copyright of the BBC.
Copyright: The following images, articles and text are
copyright BBC & awpet.com.
"Moxey has an interesting
time in Havana," admits
Chris Fairbank.
"He discovers a little-known
Cuban pastime – Guinea pig
roulette!" One of the locals
tips him off about it and he
and the lads pile down for a
night out. They're amazed at
this bizarre situation and it completely bowls Moxey over.
"Chris admits that filming in the Dominican Republic held
many other surprises. I'd never been before and it was
beautiful. I think the nearest I've ever managed was a trip
to the Cayman Islands which is further north and west.
"But the heat and humidity in the Dominican Republic was
extraordinary and unrelenting. It made each day very
tough. Apart from the extreme cold, I think that the
combination of heat and humidity is hardest to work in. It
just makes you want to lie down and go to sleep.
"Sometimes it helped as we're playing guys who get
seduced by the Cuban culture and way of life but you can't
allow internal lethargy to spill over on to the screen or
viewers would be asleep in three minutes! I admit that I
never got used to it. For six weeks it was an extraordinary
on-going daily challenge!”
"We only had one day off a week so there wasn't enough
time to travel about and see anything. It seems like quite a
small island but it does take hours to cross so we couldn't
stray too far from Santo Domingo."
But after a week of night-shooting we had a long weekend
off and I went to visit some of the bounty bar commercial
beaches which are stretches of lovely, white, sun-kissed
sand. Truly beautiful. "But they were a five hour drive from
the capital and driving in the Dominican Republic is awful.
Driving in Santo Domingo is a terrifying experience,
foreigners aren't allowed to drive but you wouldn't want to
get behind the wheel! Every time I got in the car I was fully
braced against disaster!"
Despite the trials and tribulations of filming in a third world
country, Chris admits that it was great to be re-united for a
fourth time."The success of the last series really surprised
me. I knew that we'd made something good but I didn't
expect the response that we got. It was amazing. So I think
we had less hesitation about committing to a fourth series.
"Now that the series is complete, Chris has been taking a
well-earned rest and spending time with his eight-year-old
son. "I'd been away for a long time and I was running on
empty by the end. So I needed to take a break and spend
some time with my family. I've just been popping out to do
the odd voice over."I'm happy spending time at home.
Chasing Hollywood stardom isn't for me," he admits
although he did have his big screen moment in Batman.
His five minute scene with Michael Keaton became part of
the movie's trail, fixing his face in global consciousness. "It
was shown round the world and gave me tremendous
exposure. "But an LA lifestyle wasn't to be. "A mate of mine
was working out there as an actor and our life centred
around the Hollywood Athletic Club because it had snooker
and pool tables. But you could never get a game finished
because everyone was constantly on the phone to their
agents!" I couldn't work out why I was so miserable every
night when I had it all going for me. When you're in work,
there is nothing they won't do for you. As soon as you're off
the picture, you just don't exist. So I decided that it wasn't
for me.
"Not that his decision kept him out of work - he has since
appeared in Alien 3, The Fifth Element and The Bunker as
well as The Scarlet Pimpernel and Spender and alongside
Jimmy Nail in two series of Crocodile Shoes.
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Auf Wiedersehen, Pet