Matt
20-12-2007, 06:30 PM
MATHEW HORNE
If you don’t know the name Mathew Horne, you’ll recognise the face. And if you don’t recognise the face, you soon will do. Horne, who has starred in The Catherine Tate Show (as the grandson to Nan) and Teachers, was recently nominated for Male Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards for his role as Gavin in the hit comedy Gavin and Stacey. He also writes comedy, and presented a week of Big Brother’s Big Mouth during the summer with his friend and G&S co-star James Corden. In short, he is hot property.
Indeed, Horne’s star is so ascendant that he and Corden have been summoned back to present the entire run of Big Mouth this January as part of E4’s inspired new take on the format, Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. In the Big Brother house, a group of hand-picked young talents from a range of fields will undergo the Big Brother experience with a difference - Big Brother will be represented by a range of celebrities, each one setting their own tasks and bringing their own flavour to the show.
One thing that will definitely remain, however, is the anarchic feel to Big Brother’s Big Mouth - a show that has always been wild, unscripted and hilarious - never more so than when Mathew and James are in charge. Here, Mathew looks at the task ahead, and also reveals that he doesn’t speak a word of Icelandic.
When did you realise that you wanted to pursue a career in showbiz?
When I was about 18 I really decided that's what I wanted to do. I'd wanted to be an actor my whole life, and I decided I definitely wanted to pursue it when I was 18 and I saw Steve Coogan do his live show. That made my mind up for me.
You studied drama at Manchester. Have any of your contemporaries there gone on to be famous?
I was at college with an actor called Benedict Cumberbatch [Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl] who's now fast becoming a big film actor. He was at college. And a lot of people are acting. They might not be particularly famous, but they're doing well. And various people have gone into directing and stuff. It was quite a successful course to do, actually.
What role would you say was your big break?
In terms of raising my profile? It would be Catherine Tate, then, definitely. It's great fun working with her. It's hard word, because she's very meticulous and specific about what she wants. That's a very good thing, it's a good environment to work in.
Is it difficult not to crack up during filming?
No, not really. That's what I'm paid to do, to not laugh, so I've managed to do okay with that.
You've worked with some top comedy talent. Who's the funniest person you've worked with?
I'd have to say Alison Steadman. She plays Gavin's mum in Gavin and Stacey, and she's absolutely brilliant.
Is it true that you can speak Icelandic?
No.
Have you been asked that before?
Yes.
Where did that come from?
I have absolutely no idea. I really don't know what happened.
How was it working with Kylie recently (on the ITV variety show The Kylie Show?
Oh, amazing. Yeah, it was incredible. She's so fit!
So in the flesh she's as attractive as in her videos?
Better! She really is.
You've done a lot of voiceover work. What's the strangest thing you've had to do?
I've done a lot of very strange things. Oh, I know: Thorpe Park! I had to be a man screaming on a rollercoaster. I had to scream at various different levels and pitches for ages. That was a bit strange!
Gavin and Stacey has been a phenomenal success. Did that take you by surprise?
It did, yeah. I mean, I knew it was good, but I didn't quite realise it was going to do what it has done. It really took me by surprise. I thought it would do well, but I didn't realise it would be the hit it turned out to be.
Were you and James already friends before you filmed Gavin and Stacey?
No, we met through the show.
So it wasn't written with you in mind?
No, I was just someone they both thought of when they were auditioning. They asked me to come in and have a read. I'd never met either of them before.
You've gone on to become good friends, haven't you?
Yeah, very good friends. It was clear from the start, really. He got hold of my mobile number from a mutual friend shortly after I'd been offered the role of Gavin, and he sent me a little text, and straightaway I rang him back. We must have spoken for about an hour. I knew from then that we were going to be good mates, and it was going to be a lot of fun. I didn't know we were going to end up working together on other projects, and taking the relationship further, but I knew we were going to be mates.
You went on to host Big Brother's Big Mouth together in the summer. Did you enjoy that experience?
Yeah, it was one of the best jobs I've ever done, really. We had so much freedom, and we were working with a fantastic team - our producers were amazing. The freedom we had to write what we wanted to write, and work together outside of Gavin and Stacey, was a real thrill. And it was a totally exhilarating format to work in, it being live TV. So to get to write some filthy jokes with one of your best mates, and perform it every day, live, is a real thrill and an honour.
You mentioned the live aspect to it. Was that nerve-wracking at all?
I didn't really find it too bad, to be honest. I suppose my four or five years of doing stand-up helped me get through that. It was quite nerve-wracking, of course, but perfectly manageable.
Who were your favourite housemates last summer?
I would say probably Liam, although I liked Carole as well.
Who were the best guests you had on Big Mouth?
Arthur Bostrom from 'Allo 'Allo! He was amazing. And we had Dermot on - he was great. Who else did we have? Oh, Charley came on when she was evicted. She was big fun.
What can you tell me about what you're going to do with the show on the forthcoming run?
We're doing the whole series this time. There's going to be some slight changes to the format of the show. Just to make it more our own, really. We're going to concentrate on it being an entertainment show. And I think the audience is going to be slightly smaller, so we can hear what everybody thinks - everybody gets a say. We're also going to bring forward the elements that we tried to introduce in our initial four nights, and make it more of our own thing, really. I think that's the best way forward for us
If you don’t know the name Mathew Horne, you’ll recognise the face. And if you don’t recognise the face, you soon will do. Horne, who has starred in The Catherine Tate Show (as the grandson to Nan) and Teachers, was recently nominated for Male Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards for his role as Gavin in the hit comedy Gavin and Stacey. He also writes comedy, and presented a week of Big Brother’s Big Mouth during the summer with his friend and G&S co-star James Corden. In short, he is hot property.
Indeed, Horne’s star is so ascendant that he and Corden have been summoned back to present the entire run of Big Mouth this January as part of E4’s inspired new take on the format, Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. In the Big Brother house, a group of hand-picked young talents from a range of fields will undergo the Big Brother experience with a difference - Big Brother will be represented by a range of celebrities, each one setting their own tasks and bringing their own flavour to the show.
One thing that will definitely remain, however, is the anarchic feel to Big Brother’s Big Mouth - a show that has always been wild, unscripted and hilarious - never more so than when Mathew and James are in charge. Here, Mathew looks at the task ahead, and also reveals that he doesn’t speak a word of Icelandic.
When did you realise that you wanted to pursue a career in showbiz?
When I was about 18 I really decided that's what I wanted to do. I'd wanted to be an actor my whole life, and I decided I definitely wanted to pursue it when I was 18 and I saw Steve Coogan do his live show. That made my mind up for me.
You studied drama at Manchester. Have any of your contemporaries there gone on to be famous?
I was at college with an actor called Benedict Cumberbatch [Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl] who's now fast becoming a big film actor. He was at college. And a lot of people are acting. They might not be particularly famous, but they're doing well. And various people have gone into directing and stuff. It was quite a successful course to do, actually.
What role would you say was your big break?
In terms of raising my profile? It would be Catherine Tate, then, definitely. It's great fun working with her. It's hard word, because she's very meticulous and specific about what she wants. That's a very good thing, it's a good environment to work in.
Is it difficult not to crack up during filming?
No, not really. That's what I'm paid to do, to not laugh, so I've managed to do okay with that.
You've worked with some top comedy talent. Who's the funniest person you've worked with?
I'd have to say Alison Steadman. She plays Gavin's mum in Gavin and Stacey, and she's absolutely brilliant.
Is it true that you can speak Icelandic?
No.
Have you been asked that before?
Yes.
Where did that come from?
I have absolutely no idea. I really don't know what happened.
How was it working with Kylie recently (on the ITV variety show The Kylie Show?
Oh, amazing. Yeah, it was incredible. She's so fit!
So in the flesh she's as attractive as in her videos?
Better! She really is.
You've done a lot of voiceover work. What's the strangest thing you've had to do?
I've done a lot of very strange things. Oh, I know: Thorpe Park! I had to be a man screaming on a rollercoaster. I had to scream at various different levels and pitches for ages. That was a bit strange!
Gavin and Stacey has been a phenomenal success. Did that take you by surprise?
It did, yeah. I mean, I knew it was good, but I didn't quite realise it was going to do what it has done. It really took me by surprise. I thought it would do well, but I didn't realise it would be the hit it turned out to be.
Were you and James already friends before you filmed Gavin and Stacey?
No, we met through the show.
So it wasn't written with you in mind?
No, I was just someone they both thought of when they were auditioning. They asked me to come in and have a read. I'd never met either of them before.
You've gone on to become good friends, haven't you?
Yeah, very good friends. It was clear from the start, really. He got hold of my mobile number from a mutual friend shortly after I'd been offered the role of Gavin, and he sent me a little text, and straightaway I rang him back. We must have spoken for about an hour. I knew from then that we were going to be good mates, and it was going to be a lot of fun. I didn't know we were going to end up working together on other projects, and taking the relationship further, but I knew we were going to be mates.
You went on to host Big Brother's Big Mouth together in the summer. Did you enjoy that experience?
Yeah, it was one of the best jobs I've ever done, really. We had so much freedom, and we were working with a fantastic team - our producers were amazing. The freedom we had to write what we wanted to write, and work together outside of Gavin and Stacey, was a real thrill. And it was a totally exhilarating format to work in, it being live TV. So to get to write some filthy jokes with one of your best mates, and perform it every day, live, is a real thrill and an honour.
You mentioned the live aspect to it. Was that nerve-wracking at all?
I didn't really find it too bad, to be honest. I suppose my four or five years of doing stand-up helped me get through that. It was quite nerve-wracking, of course, but perfectly manageable.
Who were your favourite housemates last summer?
I would say probably Liam, although I liked Carole as well.
Who were the best guests you had on Big Mouth?
Arthur Bostrom from 'Allo 'Allo! He was amazing. And we had Dermot on - he was great. Who else did we have? Oh, Charley came on when she was evicted. She was big fun.
What can you tell me about what you're going to do with the show on the forthcoming run?
We're doing the whole series this time. There's going to be some slight changes to the format of the show. Just to make it more our own, really. We're going to concentrate on it being an entertainment show. And I think the audience is going to be slightly smaller, so we can hear what everybody thinks - everybody gets a say. We're also going to bring forward the elements that we tried to introduce in our initial four nights, and make it more of our own thing, really. I think that's the best way forward for us