Danny John-Jules
A musician as well as an actor, Danny John-Jules has been seen in everything form 'Starlight Express' to 'Jackanory'. In 'Red Dwarf', be both defined and developed the idiosyncrasies of the creature known as Cat, who he has played in all thirty episodes of the programme. Danny has recently been appearing in 'Carmen Jones' at London's Old Vic, where he was good enough t spare us some time between performances.
Red Dwarf Magazine: We understand you were a musician before you went into acting
Danny John-Jules: Well, I started off as a dancer; I went to a Youth Workshop place which did drama and dancing, and I was a lot quicker in getting together the dancing part of it. Later, I went into musical theatre which, as you can see, I'm back doing now.
RDM: And you've done some singing work?
DJJ: I used to fiddle about music - I was in a band when I was in 'Starlight Express', and we ended up doing a bit of recording with Virgin Records.
RDM: Is music something you'd like to go back to?
DJJ: If I had the right vehicle, I suppose. I mean, I'm a song and dance man at heart and by trade, so I'd like t do a big musical.
RDM: Even in 'Red Dwarf', of course, you got to lead the song-and-dance routine 'Tongue-Tied' at the end of the second series. Was that something you specifically asked to do?
DJJ: No. In fact, I've been very lucky, because wherever I work, I get to sing songs; I don't know why, it just happens. I do it in 'Maid Marion', I played a singer in 'Runaway Bay, and in 'Red Dwarf' I got to do it, so in nearly every major TV series I've done, I've sung. Ever when 'Jackanory' I did a rap.
RDM: So how did you make the move into acting?
DDJ: Well, once I'd started getting better work, I got a better agent, who was in a better position to send me for better jobs. Obviously acting jobs will always come up, and if there is a decent role coming up, you can guarantee that all the best black actors will be there, so it was just a matter of 'chiselling my way in'. I think with 'Red Dwarf', it helped that I was a joker, and I'd worked with Paul Jackson before on bits and pieces like 'Three of a Kind', way back. He'd also seen a musical I'd at the Albany Empire, which was written around an album by Squeeze, so he vaguely know what I was capable of doing.
RDM: Is there anything of your personality in the Cat at all?
DJJ: Well, I read Desmond Morris's book, 'Catwatching' when I was doing the research, and that says that apparently, there is a bit of cat in everyone. That's why I think the character appeals to everyone; I had a guy come up to me once when I was doing 'Maid Marion' down in the Somerset, and he said "The Cat - that's me! That's exactly what I'm like!" He was A six foot white guy, but he said the Cat was him, that's how he acts.
RDM: You say you read 'Catwatching' when you were researching cats. How much of that sort of research did you do? And how how much of it did you put into your performance?
DJJ: Well, what I would try to do was work out how the Cat would react to this and that, and I did use a lot of tips form 'Catwatching', like why cats rub up against people when they want to eat - but then there's stuff like in the first series, when he won't eat his food off of the floor and puts it back on the table. That's something that most cats would obviously quite happily do, but not this Cat.
RDM: Do you get to keep any of the Cat's costumes?
DJJ: Not really. The one I would like to have is the original one, the pink suit he had in the first series. That was sort of copied from an old suit of my father's, that he got married in.
RDM: Do you have much say in the design of the clothes, then?
DJJ: Originally when the designs first came out, they weren't really right for the character, so I brought in one of my suits to let them have a look at it. It was roomier, with more of an outrageous cut.
RDM: Is the quality of the clothes as good as it looks, or are they likely to fall apart after the episodes?
DJJ: No, they're properly tailored. The original suits were actually made by the guy that makes them for Lenny (Henry), and other TV personalities.
RDM: Do you think that the Cat's role has diminished since the introduction of Kryten?
DJJ: In fact, everybody's role has shrunk a lot, because a lot of the plot is narrated through Kryten. It works very well like that, rather than having the three of us take turns to do it. Still, the Cat's part has always been small really, I'd say. It just looks bigger than it is - so some people think he's doing less and some people think he's doing more.
RDM: The Cat has developed as a character since the first series, perhaps more than most of the others. Is that something you've had much of a hand in?
DJJ: Well, I think it's something everyone did. It's nearly five years ago that we did the first show, and we know the characters better. In real terms, if a human being has aged five years, you will obviously see a change in his outlook and mannerisms. For instance, if Cat was a complete imbecile, I'm sure five years later, he'd know a lot mare than he did when first picked up the story. He would have learnt how to work certain machines and he would have learnt how to fly on the'Bug', and so on. So that's what's happened basically, he's just evolved personality-wise - and that's all in the writing as well as the acting.
RDM: Would you like to see a Cat orientated episode, where you were the forefront for the action?
DJJ: Yes, it'd be interesting. I think it'd be a good test for Rob and Doug, because he's a hard character to write a half-hour for. I think he's probably the hardest character to write for the guys.
RDM: You seem to have been working a lot more than most actors. Do you feel the lure of a starring role elsewhere might drag you away from 'Red Dwarf'?
DJJ: Well, I'd be interested in who'd write a starring role for me, for one. It seems that a lot of things now, people are actually either writing for themselves, or there's a little 'clique' of writers like 'Smith and Jones' lot and the 'Blackadder' circle. Obviously you see them a lot, and it's not like they've been to an audition for a part, it's more they're creating their own work. These guys aren't waiting by the phone for their agent t say "interview at ten o'clock for a new sitcom," - it's probably been written around them or for them or one of their mates and then bang they're in it. It's all very close - it's really a little Mafia there.
RDM: You've worked with Tony Robinson, who's part of the a'Blackadder' clique
DJJ: Well Tony Robinson, when he wrote 'Maid Marion', wrote it with 'Red Dwarf' in mind, because he thought "I want to do a children's series," and basically asked himself "What do children like to watch?" He thought of 'Blackadder' and 'Red Dwarf', so 'Maid Marion' was written along those lines, and it worked because he had to successful ideas to work with and he got it right.
RDM: Are you going back to 'Maid Marion'; are they making any more?
DJJ: Yes, in April.
RDM: Robin Hood's in vogue at the moment, isn't it?
DJJ: Yep. I would say that this whole thing about Robin Hood being in vogue and in commercials and all that stems from 'Maid Marion', because there was only 'Robin of Sherwood' before that, and 'Maid Marion' is kind
of a send-up of that whole sort of Robin Hood thing. And then if you look at the 'Prince of Thieves', the costumes are so similar to the 'Maid Marion' ones; the look of it is nearly identical.
RDM: Your character was quite unusual for Robin Hood's Merry Men, wasn't he?
DJJ: Yes. There again, I suppose they wanted to do something different. What happened was , at first the character was called Winston, and I thought that was so clichéd. I spoke to the director and pointed out to him that there were about four characters on the telly called Winston, and that's when they changed it to Barrington, which is quite a common black name, but not one that you hear quite as often as Winston. It showed that Tony is always willing to listen, or to take advice.
RDM: Still, it wasn't quite as anachronistic as Kevin Costner's American Robin Hood, was it?
DJJ: And no attempt to hide it, either!
RDM: Moving on from that, we've also seen you in 'Runaway Bay' recently
DJJ: I did one episode of that, yes they're apparently going back out to Martinique again to do the third series, so I think I might be going out there again, 'cos they liked that character as well. He was the same sort of character as Barrington, but with a West Indian accent that time, and obviously different clothing, but it went down very well.
RDM: What part are you playing at the moment, in 'Carmen Jones'?
DJJ: I play Dink - he and his partner are a sort of Laurel and Hardy act nearly, a comedy element in the show. I work with a very funny guy - he should be on telly, you know - and we do this kind of double act, which
we've really synchronised. It's a bit like the Thompson Twins in 'Tintin' - we speak differently, but we move the same, and that's worked quite successfully too.
RDM: That's with an American accent, as well?
DJJ: Yes, as American accent.
RDM: Are you good at accents?
DJJ: Well, I don't know really. I just take it as it comes and work on it at the time. Originally, we tried to do the Cat in English, but it just didn't sound right. He was kind of Richard Prior-ish, Cliff Richard-ish, James Brown-ish. The facial expression was Richard Prior; he's kind of like the Cat as well, very crazy and unpredictable. If anyone can play Cat, it should be Richard Prior.
RDM: Maybe he will, if this movie gets off the ground.
DJJ: Well, the pilot's been made for an American series.
RDM: Yes, it sounds interesting. How do you feel about Robert Llewellyn getting a part in that and not the rest of you not? Any sour grapes?
DJJ: Well the thing is that in that situation, we all knew that any one of us could be whisked off if t did happen, so we were all in the same boat really. One company might have said that they wanted to keep him, and another might have wanted to keep someone else, so it all just depended on who was going to make the bid and sign the deal, and who was making the decision. So I can't just stew bitterness - I mean, I'm glad for Robert, he worked hard on the show, really. At the end of the day, I could be in America now instead of Robert, but if I sat there thinking about it I don't think I'd be satisfied doing any work at all really.I think I'll be brave and say when I go to America, it will be because someone wants me to go over there and work. That's the way to do it I think, because if you try to push in there, they tend to stand back from you, but if they want you they'll do anything to get you as well. So I'd prefer them to be coming and getting me rather than me going over there and pushing into doors an things.
RDM: Is that a big ambition then, Hollywood and major stardom?
DJJ: No. It would be fun, because when you're working out there, you get treated a lot better, owing the simple fact that they spend a lot more money on artists. For instance, if Robert's making 'Red Dwarf' at Universal Studios, he'll have a car t take him to work, and probably an apartment and all the business. But it's a cruel place when your not the flavour of the month,and I wouldn't want to be Down and Out in Beverly Hills' as they say; I'd soon be coming back to London. At least here you can sign on!