Some Like It Hot

It seems there is a fair amount of speculation concerning the real Richard in interviews; how much of himself are we seeing, does he have a separate interview persona, etc. One interview that comes to my mind when contemplating this subject is the Lorraine show cooking interview, promoting Spooks series 9.

Richard seems quite real to me in this one. If he had established an interview “zone” by this point in time, he couldn’t quite keep a hold of it that day; flitting about from awkward to flirty, professional to silly, and back again.

We start with a little teaser from the kitchen, where we learn that Richard’s favorite take-out meal is (was?) Thia Green Curry. He tries to lighten the mood a bit by industriously wiping the counter. I remember when my kitchen counter looked all shiny and uncluttered like that (the day we moved in), it hasn’t looked the same since.

not quite this bad…

We cut to the interview part next, where Richard gives the famous “come and find out” quip to the question of whether or not Lucas’ tattoos are real. He can’t follow through, of course, and jokes about it being his pick-up line.

well here I am. what were your other two wishes?

The interview itself is standard, complete with obligatory circus mention. I did find it interesting to learn that in researching their MI-5 roles, the cast were given access to US and Russian operatives but not British ones.

you sound nothing like that FBI consultant

The interview wraps up and we move on to the cooking segment, where we’re graced with the lean

how you doin?

which is then followed by Richard being left awkwardly by himself in the background.

hey! no one ignores the smoulder!!

Richard then tries his hand at food prep. We’re momentarily hypnotized by his dancing phalanges, before he shows off some impressive chopping skills. At least it’s impressive to me, since I’m the slowest chopper ever!

We end with a bit of bravado as Richard declares that he likes his curry “blow my head off” hot…and then he channels Smaug when he takes a bite of the finished product.

“I am fire, I am death!”

I like to watch this segment from time to time and cherish the awkwardness. I enjoy Richard’s current interview style of on-task-professionalism sprinkled throughout with casual dorkiness but it’s nice to be reminded that under the surface, gawky Richard is still there; there may be hope for me yet.