The Corrs Perform Live in the Studio
Johnny Depp says visiting children in hospital means the world to him, Benedict Cumberbatch talks about being a husband and father, James McAvoy reveals how a romantic ride in New York didn’t quite go to plan, and Daniel Radcliffe says he loves action roles, while
The Corrs perform live in the studio
On this week’s show (27th November), Graham is joined by award winning actors Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, and Irish band, The Corrs.
Johnny, talking about his love of music and his early career plans, says, “I’d been a guitar player since the age of 12 in a band called The Kids. I’d go to school in the morning then around 9pm I’d start playing in bars. I was playing until four or five in the morning and then I’d have to go to school so I dropped out, which I don’t recommend… that’s the right thing to say but it worked for me! But I actually tried to go back and they wouldn’t have me, they didn’t want me back. The dean said, I think you are better off just following the guitar.”
Talking about still performing, he says, “I’ve always played but not necessarily in bands. I’ve been on friends’ records and things like that and it’s always been a really nice thing, but then Alice Cooper approached me for some reason and asked if I wanted to write some songs, so I did and the Hollywood Vampires were born. We’ve done a record and two gigs in LA and then Rio – so you go from performing in front of seven hundred people to a stage the size of Missouri and a hundred thousand people. It’s frightening.”
Asked about Captain JackSparrow and how, as the much loved character, he visits hospitals, Johnny says, “For me it’s a gift. They give me the gift. When my daughter was ill in Great Ormond Street it was the darkest period of my life. I’d always done these visits but after that experience the visits became more and more important. The kids are so courageous but to be able to bring a smile or a giggle to the parents means everything in the world to me.”
Talking about the amount of time he spends in London, he says, “I end up here quite a lot,” jokingly adding, “I’m after the ‘Sir’ thing.” Asked if he has met royalty, he says, “I met Prince Charles. He came to the premiere of Finding Neverland, I shook his hand but I didn’t understand a word he said and I don’t think he understood a word I said so it wasn’t very meaningful necessarily, but he seemed nice!”
Benedict, talking about recent major events in his life, says, “I’ve become a father and a husband, and in the right order – just! I might go for a Cumber-batch of boys!” Asked if it’s nice to get out of the house now he has a young child, he says, “I’m always in a rush to get back. It’s everything. I have a new life form that needs his father’s help in the world and his mother needs a little help once in awhile. It’s what being a parent is about so it’s not an excuse to get away from what I am doing, it’s what I ought to be doing and after three and half hours of Hamlet I think that’s okay.”
He won’t be drawn on what fans might expect in the upcoming Sherlock Christmasspecial, other than, “It’s great, it’s fantastic, but I haven’t actually seen it yet. It’s set in Victorian London – the original Conan Doyle setting, fog and all. I think I’m allowed to say it’s a stand alone story, but not without any relation to the series… you’ll just have to wait and see.”
James, talking about his upcoming role in X-Men,in which his character finally goes bald, says, “We couldn’t have a superhero just lose his hair so he goes through something so horrible and painful that he literally half pulls his hair out and the rest falls out.” Asked if he should have told the audience that he says, “I know, Fox Studios that owns me might be angry with me!”
Talking about the upcoming Victor Frankenstein and the film’s amazing sets, he says, “The only place that looked like my laboratory was an old Victorian sewage works that still stank of old Victorian sewage. We were there for five or six days and when I got home from work my wife would make it clear I wasn’t to come near her!”
Asked about his extreme allergy to horses, he says, “I’ve had to turn down so many nice jobs because I can’t go near them for too long – it’s a real shame. I look like I’ve insulted Mike Tyson and my eyes swell up like golf balls.
“I once tried to take Anne-Marie my wife on a romantic ride around central park in a carriage and we were in the back and it was freezing so we were given blanket – a blanket that had been used on the horses all day – and I started sneezing and my wife is allergic too so we started wheezing and coughing. It was the most unromantic night of our lives where we were incapable of walking let alone anything else!”
Talking about his fans he says, “I was at the premiere of Suffragette and one woman was screaming my name so I went over and she said, ‘I am areally big fan of some of your work,’ and I thought, ‘Thank you, I’ll sign some of your posters!’ People try and be nice but sometimes it’s a bit backhanded.”
Daniel, talking about Victor Frankenstein, in which he stars with James, says, “I probably shouldn’t confess to this, but I haven’t read the book and I’ve seen very few of the films, but actually kind of knew the story. This film is a mad re-telling of all the myths.”
Asked about being thrown around in the film, he says, “I actually really enjoy those king of scenes. I grew up on (Harry) Potter doing a lot of action fight stuff and in the films I have done since there hasn’t been very much so I am always quite up for it. I really like all that physical stuff and it’s good to get stuck into.”
Talking more about the film, he says, “It’s the first big studio movie since Potter.” Asked if he had avoided them, he says, “Not avoided but there hadn’t been one I got really excited about. I haven’t been searching those big films in the same way other people are because I’ve been privileged to do a lot of them and it’s nice to work in a different way. When I read this (script) it seemed like the most interesting, action adventure movie but with cool intellectual ideas.”
The Corrs perform Bring On the Night in their first live TV outing for 10 years, before Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim join joining Graham for a chat.
Talking about why they have got back together after a 10-year hiatus, Sharon says, “There wasn’t really a plan, Caroline suggested it.” Caroline says, “I thought it would be nice for us to perform and write together again and we finally got it together. We were like, ‘Why haven’t we done this before? It was cool.” Jim adds, “We missed each other.”
And finally, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Red Chair.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One 27th November at 10.35pm
Pictures are available from PA
Notes to editors – all quotes in this release were said during the recording but won’t necessarily appear in the final show.
Next week (4th December) Graham’s guests include, Chris Hemsworth, Ron Howard, Kevin Bridges, Lily Tomlin, Blake and Dame Shirley Bassey.
For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at
27th November 2015