'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' – Bill Nighy speaks

In the first of several interviews with the cast and crew, the 'Love Actually' star explains what it is like to play planet designer Slartibartfast.

Apr 25 2005

Bill Nighy is fast becoming Britain's most bankable star, with memorable appearances in recent hits 'Love Actually', 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Underworld' and the brilliant TV series 'State of Play'.

This week he appears in his biggest film thus far, with a starring role in the big screen adaptation of Douglas Adams' 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'.

Playing Slartibartfast, a designer of planets and worlds, it's the closest he's come to playing God, so we thought we'd catch up with him to chat about the meaning of life, the universe, Crystal Palace and everything.

Vampires, zombies, rock stars and now a designer of planets – you seem to be a man of many talents. Why do you think you get cast in such strange and wildly differing roles?

I think I've reached that difficult age when I can only portray men from other dimensions. Once you've played a zombie, the writing's on the wall really. I'm glad I get to play a wide range of parts - it's very satisfying. I'm also very fond of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', as many people are.

Were you conscious of the fans while you were making the film?

I'm conscious now, and I was conscious while I was making the film. There are over 50 million people out there who have read the book, which means there are 50 million versions of how I should do this. Then you realise that thinking like that makes you unhappy, so you have to put it to one side and go to work.

Did you watch the TV series to see how it was done before?

I haven't seen the TV series or listened to the radio serial. I only read the book. There was a period in my life, for about ten years, when I didn't see any TV or listen to any radio because theatre was my thing. I was doing eight shows a week and I always had a gig. And I'm grateful now that I've come to play the part because it gives me a clean slate. It would just complicate things and I have enough trouble as it is.

I've heard that you were essentially told to play yourself – is that true?

Yes, I had plans – I had plans to be a God-like figure with a big deep voice. One of the embarrassing things you get with older actors, and I hoped it would never happen to me, is that you get a part which says 'quite old' – in this case something like 'incredibly elderly' – and you think: 'Oh, I’ll have to act really old then.' So you go along and go 'uuurrrrgggghhhh' [in the style of an old man] and the director says: 'None of that is actually necessary', and you realise you are actually old enough!

So you didn't play God then?

Well, he's God's architect, or he's got God's phone number or something. The whole central joke about 'Hitchhiker's', as you will have noticed, is that you get these extraordinary things happening with extraordinary people in extraordinary places, but they react to it in a regular and normal fashion. I take Martin [Freeman, who plays Arthur Dent] on this huge intergalactic trip and show him all these things, the likes of which you can't even imagine, and I do it as if I'm showing him around the office. Which is, in fact, what I'm doing because it's the factory floor. And Arthur is required to go on this incredible journey, whilst moaning about how he can't get a decent cup of tea, or he wants a pint of lager or something. That's part of what I think people mean when they say 'Englishness', you know, because we're a whiney, moaning bunch.

As a world-builder extraordinaire, you offer Arthur Dent the opportunity to get rid of anything on earth he'd like. What would you get rid of?

I'm going to irritate the rest of Britain and say The English Channel. I think we should just hunker down with the rest of Europe and get on with things - I don't think it's improved our manners being that far out at sea. And I might bring Ireland a bit closer and have bridges going over so we could walk there. I thought we could bring the temperature down in the Middle East just a touch, maybe make it a little cooler round there, see if that works. And maybe a little more rainfall in California. And to replace the paintings and churches in Florence that were lost through the flood and to bring back the things from the wars – to restore all those beautiful buildings and paintings to their former glory. Oh, and I'd put Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of the European Cup.

Do you have your own take on the film's central question of life, the universe and everything?

Children. Kids are the meaning of life. I Know it sounds lame but it's as near as I can get. That and Crystal Palace Football Club.

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