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Radio Times Jan 2002
QUESTIONNAIRE
JEREMY SHEFFIELD
Holby
City's dashing Dr Adams has a healthy interest in David Attenborough's job but
would feel ill at ease without his passport or his cats.
What's your
first memory of TV or radio?
Wildlife
programmes. They're still the only
thing I really watch.
Which programme
have you recently enjoyed?
I
adored The Blue Planet. I've always
bred tropical fish, and I have an absolute passion for them.
Which TV
programme would you like to get rid of?
I'm
not too keen on those trashy movie-of-the-week films that they show in the
afternoon. In the USA, they are
scheduled against big American football games so women can go and watch them on
the second television. They are
always very glossy and schmaltzy. I
was in one once as Melissa Gilbert's love interest in a movie called Her Own
Rules. I can now say that I snogged
Laura from Little House On The Prairie.
What would you
most like to change about yourself?
I'd
like to be more self-confident and believe in myself more.
Describe
yourself in three words.
Enthusiastic.
Aware. Insecure.
Who or what is
the love of your life?
My
two cats, Missy and Busta. They're
named after the rap stars Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes.
Are you ever
mistaken for a real doctor?
I
have a lot of odd letters from people who are confused between fantasy and
reality. Quite a few people come up
to me in the street. Their opening
line is "Doctor, I'm not feeling very well.
I need to be examined."
I
reply: "OK, I'll just put my rubber
gloves on, then," and they
immediately run away.
Where were you
born?
In
Essex - I have the white socks to prove it!
What did you do
before you were an actor?
I
was a ballet dancer and spent nine years with the Royal Ballet Company in Covent
Garden dancing opposite Natalia Makarova and Slyvie Guillem.
During a production of The Tempest, I once had Rudolph Nureyev sitting on
my shoulders.
Why did you
stop?
In
the end, I fell out of love with it. I
found it very limited creatively. It
was supposed to be an art form, but it
was more like being in the army. You
were told exactly what to do and treated like a child.
What was good about Billy Elliot was the incredible, focused passion he
had for dance. I had that once, but
when I lost it I realised there was no point in being there anymore.
Whose job in TV
would you like?
David
Attenborough's. I'd love to have
the opportunity to be that close to such extraordinary natural phenomena.
I have a great passion for natural-history documentaries - they're
showing s things we've never seen before.
What would be
your first act a world leader?
Relieve
world debt. It would not be simple
- far from it - but it would alleviate a lot of suffering.
What one
possession would you rescue from a fire?
My
passport. If I couldn't travel, I'd
feel like I was in prison.
What's the most
embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
While
filming Merlin, I had to wear a full suit of armour
- I was playing Sir Lancelot. The
thought of clunking off to the lavatory was too much, and I thought it was safe
to find the nearest tree. What I
didn't realise was that a bout 1,000 cast members were watching me from the
jousting stadium. They applauded me
when I finished.
What's the best
advice anyone has ever given you?
Someone
once told me always to be myself. That's
essential - in life as much as in acting. I
think it was Polonius who said "to thine own self be true".
I must admit, I was in the Royal Shakespeare Company for a year, and I
still haven't read Hamlet!
Do you have any
unfulfilled ambitions?
I'd
love to star in a Hollywood movie opposite Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges.
It's not much to ask for, is it?