Carlton preview of Kevin & Perry Go Large

Carlton Preview

Preview: Welcome to Preview Kathy, can you tell us about the film?

Kathy Burke: It’s basically about Kevin and Perry wanting to go to Ibiza, where the DJs are and where everyone “gives it large”. They want to be DJs so they think Ibiza is the place for them.

It’s also got lots of girls?

Lots of girls for them to ogle at!

Is it difficult making a film length version as opposed to the series?

Well the only thing I was concerned about was, would it work? It’s okay doing a five-ten minute sketch, would it last and work over an hour. I was just worried that Harry and I would be extremely irritating and some people might find us irritating, but when I saw it I was pleased that there was enough of the other characters – Mr and Mrs Patterson and the girls. There were enough of them in it to help us not be as irritating as we could be. When I got the script I was really pleased with it, I thought Harry and Dave Cummings had done a very good job. It read as a proper film it had a proper story, it had a beginning a middle and an end, and a very nice little rights of passage tale.

Is it difficult for a woman to acts as a teenage boy?

It had its strangeness, because I had to have my bosom’s strapped down and having to wear a weird contraption in my pants for a short period of time. But other than that, I’ve been doing Perry for so many years now, that once all the gear’s on and the camera’s rolling you just get in to it.

Must be easy to get bored with the character if you’ve been doing him for so many years, but is Perry different?

Yeah, I think now I’ve had enough of him, but Harry and Paul would come up with such good sketched for the series that he was always the one that I enjoyed playing the most, out of all the characters. I’ve got great affection for Perry.

Why?

Just because he’s quite nice to play. He’s so silly and innocent and sees the good in everybody. His love for Mrs Paterson I find quite endearing and I always have a good laugh with Louisa Ricks – who plays Mrs Patterson – we both find it quite hilarious that I’m there as Perry flirting with her. He’s just very close to my heart really.

It sounds very odd to hear you in your normal voice saying Mrs Patterson in a normal way.

I know!

Now, Perry is the polite teenager and Kevin is the stroppy one, which one were you as a teenager?

Oh I was a mix of both really, I was very stroppy with my own dad I was very much the Kevin with my own family as I think most teenagers are. But the minute I went to someone else’s house I was full of manners and politeness and smelling of roses. But in my own home I was very grumpy, and had the bedroom door shut all the time and was playing jam records at full blast.

You must have been good to live next door to! Now, 2-3 years ago you won the Best Actress Award in Cannes, did Hollywood come knocking on the door?

Well, they didn’t come knocking, they wanted me to go over there you see, that’s the way it works in LA. You have to go over there and spend a lot of time out there and go to meetings and let everyone know who you are. Actually there was pretty interesting stuff going on over here that I wanted to do, so I haven’t actually found the time to go over to LA and scare them! I don’t know whether or not that will happen, I mean obviously I’d love to work out there at some point, just for the experience, But I’m much more interested in working in New York if I’m going to across the water at all. I’d love to do a play on Broadway, but that’s usually quite tricky because of the green card situation, but if someone wants me I’ll be over there like a shot.

Now you do keep people on their toes, you’re very difficult to pigeonhole because you do a lot of serious stuff, you’re not just Perry all the time. But they are all very earthy characters, not so much downtrodden as just very real and struggling really.

I suppose that’s just the way it is when I get to read a lot of scripts – which is quite a lovely position to be in – and everything I end up doing is just the better scripts that I get sent really. I never really read the script looking at the character, to be quite honest, I will look at the script and look at the whole piece. It doesn’t matter how big or small the part is, if the script is good then I’ll be a part of it if they want me.

Do you never yearn though for a posh part?

Posh? Well, I played the Queen of England in something, which I think is as high status as you can get really! But she was a little bit nuts! I’m really happy to represent my own class actually, so I’m still waiting for Ken Roach to give me a part.

What’s Harry like to work with?

Oh, He’s a nightmare! Absolute nightmare! And this was his first film so it was really difficult, I really had to let him know how to do it and tell him about lenses and framing, all stuff like this. He was very tricky, but the boy caught on quite quick and when he got going I though he was quite splendid.

The film’s a hoot and it looked amazing to me, can you have good laughs or is it just hard work?

Oh no, you can have good times and whatever job you’re doing really it all depends on who you’re working with, whether the job is going to be good fun as well. It can’t always be like that, but I’ve been fortunate enough to work on many jobs where I’ve been surrounded by quite brilliant people who have great senses of humour and not too up their own bums. I’ve yet to work with anyone that was woosy and kept themselves trapped in the trailer.

Have you got one good memory from the Ibiza trip?

I’ve got so many good memories from that trip actually, but I suppose my favourite is doing lilo races with Rhys Ifans and James Fleet and the lot of us. On our days off, we’d go to the beach shop and buy those inflatable lilos and have races in the sea and Rhys always won because he’s got longer arms than the rest of us.

The film’s being released over this Easter weekend holiday, what will you be doing over the Easter weekend, anything special planned?

I don’t think I’ve got anything special planned, I think I’ll be very happy to stay at home and put my feet up, because I’ll have finished doing all the press and publicity for the film, and we’d have had the premier. So I think after drinking many glasses of champagne I’ll just need to put my feet up and put some cucumber on the old eyes.

What would Perry think of that way to spend a weekend?

He’d think it very dull, very boring. I think Perry would just want to go out and “give it large” and find some lovely ladies, like yourself!

Thank you very much!