Neighbours star slams US sausage Actor Alan Dale is still best known to British viewers from playing Jim Robinson in Neighbours. He left the show in the early 1990s but has recently become a ubiquitous presence on US dramas, including The OC, Ugly Betty, 24, The West Wing, The X Files and Lost. The 60-year-old former milkman started a stint in Spamalot at London's Palace Theatre this week.
Is doing comedy more difficult that doing straight acting?Yes, you have to find where the comedy is. It’s not me that’s funny, it’s the show, so it’s up to me to deliver the funny bits the way they should be. Whether I succeed remains to be seen. My character in Spamalot, King Arthur, is closer to my own personality than the ones I usually play because I’m a bit of an idiot.
Why did you want to act?My parents built a theatre, so I was around acting from an early age. Television didn’t come to New Zealand until the early 1960s, a long time after Britain and America, and ten years behind Australia, so my parents had to find things to amuse themselves. They joined the local amateur dramatic society. My mum used to do the wardrobe and paint the backdrops, while my dad used to act and stage manage. The theatre they built with their friends is still going.
Were you on stage as a child?Not really, I impersonated an American comedian called Shelley Berman, who was big at the time, at the school's annual talent show. I enjoyed the applause so I suppose it all started there.
What show do you get recognised most from?I get recognised a lot from 24, which is really popular and has a large fanbase. And, of course, Ugly Betty, which has been a hit.
Why are you suddenly on every American TV show?It was a matter of choice. I could have stayed in Australia in my lovely house and made a living from voiceover work. I ended up doing some American shows that were made in Australia for budgetary reasons and one had a premiere in Los Angeles. I’d never been before. I was 51 and decided to go for the fun of it. I liked LA so much I moved over there to see if I could get more acting work. It’s all gone really well.
What do you miss most about Australia?I don’t spend a lot of time missing things, but if there’s one thing I regret it’s that I was away from New Zealand for so long. I’d go back to visit but my mum kept asking when I was moving back. I lost both my parents in the past 18 months, which was devastating and I regret not spending more time with them. I don’t have many regrets though. Australia is a wonderful country and it’s been great to me – it’s given me a beautiful wife [Tracey Pearson, a former Miss Australia] and I own a lot of real estate there.
Do you ever get sudden cravings for Vegemite?No, but I was amazed you can’t get a decent sausage in America. You can’t get a pork or beef sausage, they fiddle with all of them – low-fat and all that bulls***, they do something fancy with all of them. You can’t find a meat pie either. I’ve been making up for it since I’ve been in Britain.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?The worst thing I ever worked on was an appalling film called Houseboat Horror – I had my head chopped in half. The worst experience was working for Grundy, who made Neighbours. They practically forced us to be miserable. It paid me enough to get my boys through their teenage years, but I wasn’t happy and we parted on bad terms.
What was the problem?We got paid nothing. They sold Neighbours around the world and that wasn’t reflected in the money we got. One of the great things about working in America is we get residuals – we get paid every time the episodes get repeated.
Did the Neighbours producers stitch you up on your last day?Oh, yes. Jim died of a heart attack – the first of many I’ve done [his characters in both Ugly Betty and The OC died in the same way] – and they left me lying on the floor all day. They enjoyed themselves.
What are the highs and lows of being a milkman?My friend told me about it, he seemed to be making good money. The worst bit was working from 11.30pm to 8am. I only did it for six months.
What's been your most extravagant purchase?My E type Jaguar v12 convertible. I've had two now. I got the first in 1988 and bought an American one, with the steering wheel on the correct side for LA, last year. I've only driven it three times.
Metro
