Katherine MacAlister meets a reflective Robert Powell on the eve of his Oxford opening

Robert Powell’s people are quite specific. Don’t talk to him about his personal life, you can mention his previous work but he’s really just here to talk about King Charles III and doesn’t want to discuss anything else.

Strange then that 15 minutes later we are well ensconsed in a marvellously reflective look at his life and work in which he discusses his family, his regrets, his finest moments, his first night nerves and the ongoing joy of acting, with little prompting, offering a fascinating insight into this famous actor.

From his debut in Jesus of Nazareth, which many still hail as his most recognised work, the cult movie Harlequins, film and TV versions of The Thirty Nine Steps, through Holby City and The Detectives, numerous Second World War documentaries and finally back to the stage, from whence he hailed, a journey that shows no sign of abating. Last here to star in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, a brilliant portrayal of a drunken journalist who finds himself locked in a pub alone overnight, a premise that relied almost solely on Powell himself.

“I told my agent that like Steve Redgrave, if he ever saw me take on these huge roles on stage again he could shoot me, and here I am.

“But the paradox is that it stimulates and challenges me so when King Charles III came up….

So does it get easier? “No. it’s as hard as ever, “ he adds, “but then the stage is infinitely harder than any form of entertainment – it just is. “But then having said I wouldn’t do another one I’m already booked to do Relatively Speaking (also coming to the Playhouse) with Lisa Goddard and already looking forward to going to art galleries and museums and driving around the countryside together, before I take King Charles III to Australia in August.”

In the meantime though, there’s the small matter of the current tour to complete.

“It’s a tough part to play,” Robert admits. “Everyone thinks it’s comedy but while there is a lot of humour in it, there is not much for Charles, and when his mother dies it’s downhill all the way and ends very poignantly. So to make that work, you have to put a lot of energy into it, because for Charles it is relatively joyless.

“But the audience response wherever we go is amazing – they cheer and get really involved. It is a great play.”

So has he met Prince Charles? “Yes, we know each other. I wouldn’t say we were friends but we are members of the same club Saints and Sinners, although I’d go to Ladbrokes and bet a million to one that he would never come to see this,” he chuckles. “He’s far too discreet.”

Fifty years in the industry means that Robert knows most people. “And all because of a film I was asked to do and didn’t know how to turn down – Jesus of Nazareth – I kept hoping they would find someone else,” he chuckles.

So how does he feel looking back over such a lauded career? “Working this long is a luxury I admit, but all those parts seem to pick me,” he says reflectively. “And I’m not sure that has been very helpful in my career. “ Why? “Because when I look at other actors they seem to give the same performance and have honed it wonderfully so people know what they are going to get, while I have ducked and weaved so much that when people are casting me they think I’m just a light comedy actor or a soap star and have no idea what else I have done.

“But then that’s entirely my own fault,” he acknowledges, “ because novelty is the thing for me. My rule is that if it’s entertaining for me it’ll be entertaining for the audience and people will like it.”

Any regrets? “Not joining the RSC when invited. But I had children at home and school fees and a mortgage to pay which the RSC wouldn’t have covered.

Oxford Mail:

  • King Charles III is written by Mike Bartlett and stars Robert Powell portraying Prince Charles as king

“But I would have loved to have done it and often wonder if I should have given it a go anyway. But I’m not bitter about anything. I’ve had a brilliant, brilliant time.”

Stage seems to be Robert’s forte currently, as he returns time and time again to the stage in a dazzling array of plays.

“Over the past 15 years I have had some really fabulous parts to play,” he agrees, “but I would like to do more TV, it’s infinitely easier, and would mean I could spend more time with my family rather than sitting in a hotel room, because we are a very close knit gang (Powell was married to Pan’s People dancer Babs Lord in 1975, they have two children Barney and Kate) and I have two little dogs that I miss and a grandson who is the apple of my eye,” he chuckles again.

“But then all actors are rogues and vagabonds. Plus it would mean no more first night nerves.”

And yet with his track record, you’d think it would get easier. “No, worse. But then I do remember Olivier, who I worked with a few times, saying that when he retired from theatre it was such a relief that it was as if a huge weight had dropped from his shoulders.

”So while I’ve become a better actor over the past 50 years, which after all is the point before I creak into senility, first nights are still like driving a car into a wall at 60 mph, until the adrenaline and excitement kick in, when there is nothing like it.

“The exhilaration is extraordinary.”

Where and when
King Charles III
Monday 22 to Saturday February 27
Oxford Playhouse
01865 305305 or oxfordplayhouse.com