| "He
is absolutely certain that he is right, but Sam thinks it must be a
hoax. So, when he and Ray lock horns and Ray goes to investigate, Sam
honestly doesn't think that there is any risk, but Ray takes the
consequences.
"I
don't think Sam would intentionally put anyone in danger – not even
Ray!"
Is
Sam getting increasingly frustrated with his situation – not knowing
if he's in a coma or if he's going mad?
"I
don't think Sam is frustrated, as such, I think he's resigned to the
fact that he's there and he's waiting for something else to happen to
give him a sign – which does happen, more or less, in every episode;
he has a frightening dream or he's given the wrong drugs or he's hearing
things from 2007 on the radio.
"I
think he's just waiting for another chance to wake up and get out."
Is
it true you and Philip wore Old Spice aftershave occasionally during
filming to recreate that Seventies feeling?
"Right
at the very beginning of the series, Phil and I decided we'd wear Old
Spice and Brut to try and get the Seventies smell every morning – to
get us in the mood. We did it once and we stank so much we never did it
again!
"We
both had these bottles of unused aftershave that we had been begging
Emma (White), the make-up lady, to go out and buy, which she did, and we
only used it once – it was a very bad idea!"
Will
you miss Life On Mars?
"I'll
miss the fact that I'm not working with these fantastic people. It was
really hard work, almost like an endurance test in a lot of ways. I was
in every scene so the days were really long. I was away from home for a
year, and it was quite tough.
"I'll
miss the leather jacket but, hopefully, I can keep it and put it in my
wardrobe – it will live on even after Life On Mars!"
What
are you up to next?
"I
have just finished filming a one-off drama for Channel 4 called the
Yellow House – due on air later this year. I play Vincent Van Gogh,
and it's based around when he lived in Arles, South France, with Paul
Gauguin, in 1888.
"It
basically culminated in Van Gogh going mad and cutting his ear off. I
enjoyed it immensely, and found it great to play someone else –
especially alongside John Lynch who plays Gauguin.
"Sadly,
I don't have any originals of Van Gogh's work. However, I do have a few
prints at home. I had to paint when we were filming certain scenes,
which was really weird, and I had to get in to the psyche of someone who
was very mentally ill at the time.
"It
was very different to playing Sam Tyler!"
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