Charles Dance and David Suchet both have terrifying get-ups… [Laughs] But I’ve worked with them both before so I was very pleased about that because if I’d just turned up on set and seen these two imposing figures… I mean, they both look amazing and have such presence. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this job because the cast is so impressive and it’s fantastic working with them.
You’ve invented a lot of unusual characters in your own work so are you a Pratchett fan? To be honest I hadn’t read any of his books before, so this is my introduction to Discworld. The amazing thing is it’s all the invention of one brain and it’s such a detailed world, and the fact it’s fantasy but it has that period element to it, and it’s a fully realised world… If you’re going to do something like that it has to be one person’s vision. What I really like is that it’s very pro the post office and the satire is there but it’s not heavy-handed, and it sticks up for good old-fashioned values – it’s got a love story and a hero we’re rooting for working for this post office.
Have you done anything on this scale before? No, and it’s phenomenal. I went on set and felt like I was in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. It’s a big production and there are some brilliant locations here in Hungary and Budapest. You just get a sense of scale - there’s a lot of history they’ve been able to use as well as adding to it. We’ve filmed on complete sets, but we also filmed in what was once a fort – for when Lipwig is thrown into prison and also a treasury scene - and you couldn’t tell what was real and what was a set. There were huge long corridors and very tall imposing buildings. They have some amazing architecture here.
Do you think TV is the best way to do Pratchett? Yes because you can do a two-parter or a six-parter so you can really get to know characters. You can’t do that world properly in 90 minutes and do it justice. The great thing about TV is you can have the same budget and the same quality but you have two parts, and then there might be further adaptations with some of the characters popping up again.
Do you enjoy the dressing-up side of it? Absolutely, although I was quite jealous of David Suchet’s costume because he looks like an evil Willy Wonka and Mr Pump looks amazing – he’s in a body suit made by the same people who did HELLBOY. My character is a civil servant, he’s very neat and tidy, so having the clothes a bit small feels right. He’s very plain, all one colour. Charles [Dance aka Lord Vetinari] is all in black and in a way Drumknott is his little shadow.
Is it awe-inspiring working with so many revered actors? I was saying to Charles Dance the other day about going to see him in WHITE MISCHIEF in the cinema – which was the first time I’d met my friend Mark Gattis when we were students. I’d seen Charles do Coriolanus in the theatre, too, but luckily I’d worked with him on an episode of Randall & Hopkirk where I arrested him. But anyway it’s been a very happy cast and crew to be part of. I can’t speak highly enough of the actors.
Have you ever had a terrifying boss in real life? I haven’t, actually. I’ve been my own boss for most of my career, luckily.
Does Pratchett’s world remind you of Psychoville?
I’m sure there are similarities. I don’t know enough about it to be honest with you, but the fact there are multiple characters and it isn’t meant to be the real world so everyone has to find a level of performance that suits the piece. They are larger-than-life characters and the important thing is that the fans, of which there are many, are pleased with this interpretation and also that the general public may watch it and think ‘I’m going to have a look at those books’.
You’ve had the real fans on set… Yes, and they’ve given us some good tips. Ankh-Morpork is a bit like Budapest in that Ankh and Morpork are two places that became one like Buda and Pest became joined by all the bridges.
GOING POSTAL is released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 23 by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is available from Play and all good retailers.