Once We Were Jousters with Mark Addy | Episode 6

Summary

Once We Were Spacemen

Episode 6: Once We Were Jousters with Mark Addy

Hosts: Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk
Guest: Mark Addy
Date: December 10, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this warmly irreverent episode, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk welcome British actor Mark Addy for a deep and delightful conversation spanning his path from rugby fields and theater stages in northern England to starring roles in iconic films like The Full Monty, A Knight’s Tale, and Game of Thrones. The trio reminisce about wild times in Prague, reflect on the oddities of Hollywood, discuss the nature of acting, and share stories of camaraderie, craft, and the quirks that come with an international career.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Days: Football, Rugby, and Finding a Path to Acting

• Mark candidly shares his teenage dalliances with sports (“I tried [football]. I was a bit useless. Rugby…was my game,” [03:16]), noting that rugby’s physicality suited him.
• His exposure to theater at York Theatre Royal during a school placement provided a pivotal spark, leading to backstage work and, eventually, drama school in London.
  • "I did three weeks work placement, like an internship at York Theatre Royal...I just loved it. I was there with creative, funny, artistic people." [04:14]
• Alan and Nathan empathize with the transformative power of theater and the lasting bonds formed at drama school (“They're the only people you have in a place the size of London” [05:23]).

2. Craft and Growth: Theater vs. Film and TV

• Mark discusses the rigorous, performance-focused curriculum at RADA—“by the end of it, you’d done 35 shows in front of a paying audience” [06:22]—and how British actors often "learn their craft" on stage.
• The group explores the difference between the immediacy and audience feedback of theater, and the more fragmented, ephemeral nature of film and TV acting.
  • “There’s something about being in the same room as an audience and having that immediate response…” [09:21]
• Alan reflects: “If I’ve done too many films and television, I’d always be like, I gotta go do a play because I gotta get back into the craft of acting again.” [08:45]

3. Breakthrough Moments: The Full Monty and Gaining ‘Profile’

• Mark recounts how pursuit of a West End debut led him reluctantly to seek higher-profile TV/film roles, culminating in landing The Full Monty:
  • “I got an episode of this, a couple of episodes of that...then auditioned for this film called The Full Monty that came along and everything just sort of went haywire after that, really.” [10:29]
• The unexpected global resonance of The Full Monty—including in Japan—surprised him:
  • “Reading the script I thought, I’m not sure this is going to play outside of Yorkshire...but to be...big in Japan...” [11:57]
• He describes the surreal promotional tour across the US, marked by radio “shock jock” antics:
  • “There’s no reason for them to be stood there with no clothes on. You’re on the radio!” [16:27]

4. Hollywood Oddities: The Flintstones and Universal’s Persuasiveness

• Mark details how he initially refused, then finally accepted the part of Fred Flintstone—thanks to the persuasive mention of “executive producer Steven Spielberg.” [18:55]
• On set, he marveled at the physicality of the production: “They built the Vegas strip in a quarry in Sun Valley...everything was, you know, in camera. There’s very little, very little added on.” [19:44]
• He recalls his “stupidest press question”:
  • “So Mark, in this movie you get to drive a Bronto crane. Have you ever done that before?” [20:33]

5. A Knight’s Tale: Prague, Jousters & Jokes

• Alan and Mark reminisce about filming A Knight’s Tale in Prague:
  • On British humor: “We call it taking the piss...if you’re not familiar with it, it can seem very, very rude...By the end of shoot, [Alan] was fully on board and was taking the piss out of the rest of us as well.” [21:50, 22:33]
• They share anecdotes of adapting to local culture—cheap beer, raucous camaraderie, and odd encounters:
  • Mark: “Managed to kind of drag [Alan] away...he didn’t realize he was being absolutely robbed. Completely mugged. But I think, well, we got you away before they managed to…” [30:22, 31:37]

Memorable Quote about Heath Ledger:

• Alan: “Heath had me move in with him to take care of me, him and Heather Graham. They were my helpers...He was somewhat older than me. Even though he was younger...he could be like, 'hey, you need help. Let me take care of you.'” [32:24]

6. Game of Thrones: From Pilot to Phenomenon

• Mark explains the Game of Thrones casting process and the relative obscurity of the source material in the UK at the time:
  • “At the time, the books had a sort of cult following in America, but nobody in the UK had heard of them.” [37:06]
• On preparation: “The character description...was Robert Baratheon, once a fearsome warrior, has now grown fat, drunk and lazy. And that was all you had to go on.” [38:09]
• Mark describes the culture shock of the show's eventual global reach—being recognized in the street, even without costume [42:24], and reveals the practical logistics for actors working across continents and storylines.

7. Philosophy of Acting & Career Reflections

• Mark reflects on his approach to characters:
  • “I’m more interested in the heart of whatever character I play is me...It’s me, but it’s just a different version of me. That’s my kind of philosophy.” [45:12, 46:11]
• Advice to aspiring actors:
  • “Get as much experience as you can...just watch actors that you like and see how they handle a scene...90% of this job is rejection...Once you’ve auditioned for it, forget about it. Onto the next thing. Always forward.” [46:38]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s very little gnawing away at my very little mind.” – Mark Addy [00:30, 46:11]
• “There are actors who like to be a bit of a chameleon...I’m more interested in the heart of whatever character I play is me.” – Mark Addy [00:00, 45:12]
• “You don’t really get a good career until you take off all your clothes for somebody.” – Alan Tudyk [11:39]
• “[On being a drum major] The drum major being the guy at the front with the mace who tosses it up in the air and twirls it around and generally shows off and can’t play a musical instrument.” – Mark Addy [48:09]

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• [03:16] – Mark’s sports origins and transition to theater
• [04:14] – First exposure to professional theater
• [06:22] – RADA’s “artistic boot camp”
• [10:29] – How The Full Monty changed everything
• [16:27] – Absurd US radio promotions and first impressions of America
• [18:55] – Accepting the role of Fred Flintstone
• [21:50] – First impressions of Alan Tudyk on A Knight’s Tale
• [30:22] – Alan nearly gets pickpocketed in Prague
• [32:24] – Heath Ledger’s kindness and friendship
• [37:06] – Game of Thrones beginnings and pilot reshoots
• [46:38] – Mark’s advice for aspiring actors
• [48:09] – Mark’s childhood as a drum major

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Getting to Know Mark Addy

Something fans don’t know:
“As a youngster I was the drum major in our scout band. The drum major being the guy at the front with the mace who tosses it up in the air and twirls it around and generally shows off and can’t play a musical instrument.” [48:09]

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is full of warmth, humility, and very British wit. Mark Addy is self-deprecating and forthcoming about both the luck and the learning in his career. Nathan and Alan are enthusiastic, collegial, and prone to affectionate teasing. The spirit of camaraderie runs strong through tales of Prague misadventures, backstage wisdom, and memories of lost friends. For listeners, the episode offers both an inside look at iconic productions and honest, encouraging advice about perseverance and authenticity in the arts.

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For More

Listen to Once We Were Spacemen wherever you get your podcasts. For bonus content and early access, join the community on Patreon.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Mark Addy]

There are actors who like to be a bit of a chameleon and, oh, I didn't recognize him in that role because with all the hair and the nose and whatever it is, I'm more interested in the heart of whatever character I play is me. Do you know what I mean? You go, what is this guy about? Why he's angry? Why is he angry? What makes him, you know, what is it that's gnawing away at his mind? There's very little knowing away at my mind. Well, there's very little knowing away at my very little mind.

[Alan Tudyk]

Once we were spacemen Spacemen.

I tend to play weird people, usually aliens and robots and things that don't have romance.

[Podcast Host]

I once didn't get a job where they were looking for a Nathan Fillion type. Once we were spacemen Once we were.

[Alan Tudyk]

Spacemen hello, and welcome back to another episode of Once We Were Spacemen. We still were once spacemen. Nathan and I flew in a spaceship called the Serenity. That was a firefly spaceship, but now we are on the ground. But isn't Earth and space also? And when we're talking to Mark, Eddie, he was in duty, which was in space, but it was also on a planet. So we're all in space, as I said.

[Podcast Host]

Mark.

[Mark Addy]

Abby.

[Alan Tudyk]

Pretty professional. Mark, right?

[Mark Addy]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

Always Mark. We met. I don't expect you to remember this, but back in 2000. Did you say six or seven?

[Alan Tudyk]

Six or seven? When I was doing Death at a funeral.

[Podcast Host]

I met you at a little pub at a football game that was. I don't know who it was playing, but it was largely disappointing. I remember at the end, everybody was very sad. And you and some friends of yours were extremely kind to us, welcoming a bunch of Americans and this Canadian to your little group and kept us very entertained. It was really wonderful to meet you. So good to see you again.

[Mark Addy]

You too. I remember it very well. We had a terrific night and it's. Yeah, it's great to see you. That's right.

[Podcast Host]

We sure did. We sure did.

[Alan Tudyk]

Was that the night where the football game, Soccer for those Americans, the football game coincided with the gay pride parade.

[Podcast Host]

That was the night.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was. Right. And so, like all of these footballers, which I would always. I had, like, read books about hooliganism and all of that. And you think of the rough and tumble and dangerous gangs of football, like, arm in arm with, like, guys with. You know, it had rained, typically London, like, with soggy tutus and Spanish wings and things. Yeah.

[Mark Addy]

There was no.

[Alan Tudyk]

No violence whatsoever.

[Podcast Host]

Everyone was I remember big fella was just kind of saying, just be. Just kind of just sagging and walking on a fell in the tutu. Said, what happened, love? Oh, we lost the game. Oh, I'm sorry. This end around him and that's right. Sold him. It was very sweet. I was like, this is lovely.

[Mark Addy]

It's a beautiful thing, it really is.

[Alan Tudyk]

Did you ever play football?

[Mark Addy]

I tried. I was a bit useless. Rugby was. Was my game. Rugby involves a bit more kind of bumping into people, which I was quite good at.

[Podcast Host]

You can get hurt playing rugby.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, yeah, no, that's part of the deal. But you just. It's one of those weird sports where the, you know, the harder you play, the less injured you seem to get. It's a. It's a weird one.

[Alan Tudyk]

Wow. And you stopped just before your ears started turning.

[Mark Addy]

That's right.

[Alan Tudyk]

Which is a thing that had to.

[Podcast Host]

Cauliflower ear.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, the cauliflower, yeah. Yeah, it's. It's not pleasant. I'd look at. Yeah, luckily I. I didn't manage to get those, but. But yeah, that's. That's part and parcel of the game. We don't wear helmets, we don't wear padding. It's a different, you know, we're tough over here.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, that's the perfect sport for you, man.

[Podcast Host]

So when did you get into acting, then? When did that start becoming a thing for you?

[Mark Addy]

I think I was about 14, 15. I was keen on doing it at school and. And what have you. But when I was about 14 or 15, I did three weeks work placement, like an internship at York Theatre Royal, working in the scenery workshop. And I was. I just loved it. I was there with creative, funny, artistic people.

[Alan Tudyk]

Clever.

[Mark Addy]

It was just. It wasn't like being at work, you know. And at the end of my three weeks, the master carpenter said, do you want to come and crew on the panto at Christmas? We need extra hands. We'll pay you. And I was like, yeah, I think I could probably do that. So I started working backstage and I just used to watch actors work. We'd do a scene change and I would sit and watch the scene. Watching a play night after night is different from seeing it once, you know, one and only time, because you notice the difference in performance and the way things develop and the way actors work. And I just found it fascinating.

[Podcast Host]

So then you said, I'm gonna try the acting bit. I'm gonna get on stage.

[Mark Addy]

I got to speak to actors who were working at the theater and, you know, they said right off to Drama school. Get a prospectus, see if, you know, you can audition for these places. You don't necessarily have to go, but audition is all good experience. And so I took their advice and got in somewhere, which was a kind of a surprise, really, but that was me kind of starting out. It was down to. Down to London at the age of 18. I'm from the north of England, so it was a real, you know, a big change for me, heading down to the big city, not knowing anybody there. So the people that I met, the people that I met at drama school, I'm still kind of firm friends with now, because they're the only people you have in a place the size of London. They are the only people you know.

[Alan Tudyk]

RADA has got to be a hell of a challenge, like putting you through the paces. So it's like its own boot camp, like artistic boot camp, that you bonded.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, it was a relatively short course. It was two years and a term, so it was, you know, it was very short. There was no. You really got nothing at the end of it other than a diploma saying, this person attended this place, so you weren't qualified to do anything or to, you know, to teach anything. But you had been there. But I loved it. It was a real, you know, I grew up fairly quickly, but it was great experience and it was focused on performance. Certainly towards. Your final two terms were just rehearsing and performing, Rehearsing and performing. By the end of it, you'd done 35 shows in front of a paying audience, 35 different plays. So it was. Yeah, there was a lot to it, but it was. It was great experience.

[Podcast Host]

What takes you from there, what pushes you forward, who mentors you, what's the. What's the path after that? Because there is no. If you do this, you'll be an actor, everybody. There's no one path. So how. What was your journey?

[Mark Addy]

I was fortunate enough to get an agent before I left drama school, so she was putting me up for plays and for theatre companies. Theatre was where we start in the uk and so I was already auditioning for things before I'd finished drama school. I was offered a job pretty much on leaving, so kind of went straight into theater, which I did for quite a number of years. And that's, you know, in a way, that's how you serve your apprentices. Apprenticeship in. In the uk, theater is. Is how you. You learn your craft. It's great. You learn a lot and it's you, you know, you really. You learn some bad things as well, but you do learn good things about the way to work and, and how to, you know, how to create a character and, and you also have to sustain it, of course. For a play, you know, if you're on a movie set or a TV set, you've got those lines in your head for that day and then they're gone. With a play, it's gotta be in there for the duration of the run and it's gotta sound fresh every night. And there are a lot of different elements to it, but it's basically the same job, I suppose.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think the plays are such a great education and also films and television at times where going into a play you're one person, coming out of the play, you're a little bit different. The experience of the play teaches you that since you have the time to work on it, a roll over a period of time, you have an opportunity to hone a certain part of. Or you get, you learn a lesson or two. Like there's something, a trick that you've picked up or a friendship that you made. I don't know it. I always found like if I've done too many films and television, I used to do this. I would always be like, I gotta go do a play because I gotta get back into the, into the craft of acting again.

[Mark Addy]

There's something about being in this, the same room as an audience and having that immediate response to what you say or the way you say it, or it's a good sort of way of gauging where you're. Especially if you, you know, if you're being asked to do comedy, knowing where the line is, possibly by overstepping it and going, okay, so I need to, we need to pull things back a bit. An audience is not ready to take that yet. But you learn, you learn. You're always learning. And that's the beauty of it.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, man.

[Podcast Host]

Did you have your sights set on film and television? I mean, you've had incredible success in film and television. Was that the goal or were you just along for the ride?

[Mark Addy]

No, you know, theater was what drew me to the business in the first place. And you know, that's my sort of first love. I'd kind of gone as far as I could at the time with theater. So I'd done a two hander that toured the country. Producers saw it while we were on tour and said this would be a great show to put in the West End. It's cheap, there's only two actors in it.

This'Ll be great. And we thought that'd be A fantastic roundup to it. We'd done a nine month tour everywhere in the country. Anyway, long story short, the West End version opened three weeks before we finished the tour with him out of that TV show and her from that other. And we were like, wait, wait, why didn't you just wait for us to finish and we could. Ah, you don't have the profile. Oh. So I said, okay, I need to try and go and find some profile in order to be able to do a show in the West End. So started no more theater for a while doing it. I got an episode of this, a couple of episodes of that or a little series. We do six episode series or we did back then. Then, you know, I got my own. Me and another guy leading a show which was great. And then auditioned for this film called the Full Monty that came along and everything just sort of went haywire after that. Really.

[Alan Tudyk]

Here's some profile for you.

[Mark Addy]

The Full Monty that was huge.

[Alan Tudyk]

As it happens so often in this business, you don't really get a good career until you take off all your clothes for somebody.

[Mark Addy]

It's just.

[Podcast Host]

That's age old story.

[Alan Tudyk]

You can fight it but at some point you just give in and you know, see, see what happens. And for you it went well.

[Mark Addy]

You know, it was, I was very lucky. It just happened to be. And it was one of those kind you would never have known. I mean, reading the script I thought, I'm not sure this is going to play outside of Yorkshire. It's a very northern sense of humor.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was set in Sheffield or something.

[Mark Addy]

That's right. Yeah, exactly. But to be, you know, for it to be big in Japan, you go, well, what are they? Why are they. Apparently they'd had a lot of kind of middle management layoffs. So they understood the Tom Wilkinson character who's trying to, you know, make everything normal. I'm still. Everything's fine, darling. So yeah, that was a real eye opener, you know, to have that as your first sort of movie was. It was a ridiculous ride that we went on. But you know, it opened a lot of doors, I guess.

[Podcast Host]

Would you say if you had a big break, would you say that was the one?

[Mark Addy]

Definitely, yeah, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Because I remember and that was when movies were movies like you. It wasn't just a blockbuster. Movies you could see all sorts like you would go out to the week. I remember going to see it when I was in school in New York. Like you gotta go see this movie and going out to catch it. Because it was just known like you, there was still an opportunity. People went to the theater enough that quality films were viewed just as much in the theater or had an opportunity as well as big action. IP, I guess is what it would be called now. It was fantastic.

[Mark Addy]

The misconception is that it was a little independent British film. It was a low budget movie, but it was funded and distributed by Fox Searchlight. So they have 21st century. Well, it was 20th century fox back then, 21st century fox behind them. Consequently all the cinemas they own would trail it. It was easy for it to be out in the. In the public kind of consciousness, if you like. They could get it out there much easier than a genuinely independent film would be.

[Podcast Host]

You're right though, it did have that independent film charm and feel.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But boy, you guys, everything was exactly what audiences were in the mood for. Like you said, you never know what's going to hit and it was all people were talking about. Tom Jones had a resurgence because of that film.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, that's right. Hot Chocolate had a little resurgence as well. Errol Brown, I mean. Yeah, amazing, amazing.

[Alan Tudyk]

So you are possibly responsible somewhat for Tom Jones's Burning down the House. Because off of that he was able to put out that next album where he put out Burning down the House.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Alan Tudyk]

Which we heard. I don't want to jump too far ahead, but that's. We heard that every night when we were shooting A Knight's Tale in Prague. No matter where you were, Burning down the House by Tom Jones came on.

[Podcast Host]

That's it. So yeah, you noticed a change in. In temperature of your career at that point? Was the phone ringing off the hook? Were parts easier to get rooms, easier to get into?

[Mark Addy]

Yes, absolutely. I was asked to go out to LA to do the publicity for it opening because I guess Tom and Bobby were busy on their next project, you know, but they got me out there. Never, never been to the States before. Didn't know what. They sent me on like a whistle stop tour of radio stations. So, you know, we'd start in la. They sent me to Phoenix, you know, I did a day there and stayed over and then flew to. I was in Detroit, I was in Houston. There was kind of bounced around all over the, all over the country. I really didn't know whether I was coming or going, but it was, it was a way of seeing. Well, I didn't see much of these places, seeing the inside of a lot of radio stations, but it, you know, it, it just, it helped raise the film's profile, which was great.

[Alan Tudyk]

I love those radio tours. Those are Fun. You get all those crazy. All those guys who come in and they've got all their. Hey, it's me and the beans. That's.

Jimmy and the Chode.

[Mark Addy]

I don't remember where. Where I was, but the. The guy, the guy that was. He said, we're. Oh, we're going to a radio station now. I tell you what, I'll pop the radio on for you as we drive there. So you get. You get a flavor of it, man. And he was like, okay, we got a couple of girls in the studio and they're naked.

[Podcast Host]

Jesus.

[Mark Addy]

Right, okay. And I arrive and sure enough, they've got two girls from the local strip club. This is before webcams. There's no reason for them to be stood there with no clothes on. You're on the radio.

It was one of the most absurd.

[Alan Tudyk]

She's got the best tits on radio. I gotta tell you. My girlfriend.

[Mark Addy]

Unbelievable.

[Podcast Host]

So this, this was your first foray into America. What were, what were your impressions?

[Mark Addy]

Well, I mean, it's.

There were. Honestly, you know, all I'd known of America was what you see in the movies and on tv. And there are, you know, there are. There are elements of familiarity that, you know, that you find there, that you see as you. As you're, you know, New York, wherever you, you know, there'll be elements where you go, wow, this is. This reminds me of whichever mo. What have you. But it's very different from. From where I'm from. And I'm, you know, I'm from the north of England. I'm not from London, I've lived in London. But no, I'm. I'm from the countryside up north, so. So those big American cities are a real eye opener.

[Podcast Host]

Well, culture shock.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, absolutely, yeah. Yeah, in a good way.

[Alan Tudyk]

You can have culture shock even in America, going to different cities in America.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's absolutely true.

[Mark Addy]

It is a.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's a varied place. So.

[Mark Addy]

Very varied. Yeah, there's. There's everything. Yeah, it's. Yeah, it's a. It's a melting pot, I guess, less and less.

[Alan Tudyk]

So we're trying. We're coagulating here and there and separating. But did you do Flintstones after that? Did that come up after Full Monty?

[Mark Addy]

Was that sort of a. Yeah, they kept sending it and I kept going, no, that's ridiculous.

What are you thinking? No, you've got the wrong. And I said no so many times, but they just wouldn't take no for an answer, as absurd as that sounds. It was in a meeting with the, you know, Head of production at Universal that it came up again. And you know, they said, I was talking to our executive Stephen and you know, he said we need. I spoke to him and said, who's, Who's. Steven is executive producer Steven Spielberg.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Maybe let me have another look at the.

Now. And I have to say I think I was, I think I was played big time. Looking back, you go, oh, wow, that was. She, she played a blinder on that one because never, never got to meet him, you know.

[Alan Tudyk]

No, no, no, no.

[Mark Addy]

But there you go.

They got me.

[Alan Tudyk]

I've worked with Stephen so many times now. I've never gotten close.

He just throws. He just puts his name out there. Yeah, but that was a big, like, looking back at that movie, it was a big, a big movie. It was huge. You guys made that whole world. I mean, it was like.

[Mark Addy]

There was very, very little CGI in that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes, right.

[Mark Addy]

They built the Vegas strip in a quarry in Sun Valley. I mean hotels. Cause everything had to be carved from marble or, you know, various kinds of rock. So you couldn't use it. You can't just go to the prop store and go, we need some chairs. No, you've gotta make. If you want chairs, you've gotta make em. Cutlery has to be carved. You know, everything was, you know, was. There was in camera. There's very little, very little added on. You know, it was quite an experience. My family came out and got to see this nonsense that we were putting together. But it was, yeah, no, it was a remarkable experience.

And it afforded me my stupidest press question, which came from a British journalist who in the two minutes allotted, you know, when they do those quick turnaround junkets, the first question for her of her two minutes was, so Mark, in this movie you get to drive a Bronto crane. Have you ever done that before?

[Alan Tudyk]

Just ever done that before?

[Mark Addy]

You just think, you know, but there you go.

Unbelievable. Nice.

[Alan Tudyk]

And that's where you learned your American accent. You had to learn an American accent for that.

[Mark Addy]

I watched a lot of Honeymooners, which was kind of what the, what the. I guess the cartoon version was kind of based.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, that was the template.

[Mark Addy]

Honeymooners. So. Yeah, so yeah, so, you know, watching, watching A love of those.

[Alan Tudyk]

Wow. Stephen Baldwin is Art Carney. That's. You gotta shake your head.

[Podcast Host]

Long after Flintstones, you did a little film called A Knight's Tale and you met Mr. Alan Tudyk. What was your first. What do you remember meeting him for the first time? What were your first impressions?

[Mark Addy]

First impressions?

He was a very confident Texan and we were. I suppose we met in Prague. We didn't meet before, so. Yeah, Prague, yeah. Very, very confident young man. It took a while for him to understand the British sense of humor. We call it taking the piss. And it's something that people do to each other on a regular basis. There's no. It's a kind. In a way, it's a kind of form of affection, but if you're not familiar with it, it can seem very, very rude. And Alan used to take everything the wrong way. Be like, well, what do you mean? No, no, no, no, no, we're joking.

[Podcast Host]

Well.

[Mark Addy]

By the end of shoot, he was. He was fully on board and was taking the piss out of the rest of us as well. And that's why. Yeah, it was. No, it was. It was a terrific time. We had a. We had about five, six months in. In the Czech Republic.

Yes, we had some. We had some very good nights and some probably very bad nights.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, we had. It was a crazy. We were in Prague or in Czech Republic. That's great to hear. That is so. I would never have thought of myself as confident, but. And also as a Texan, I remember I had that. I had my grandfather's cowboy hat.

[Mark Addy]

Oh yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

That I. I wore on set as like my son hat or something because I considered them cowboys. I guess it was like when I read. I'm like, these guys are the cowboys of their time. They worked with horses and they were tough as nails. And if I was cast in that movie now, I probably wouldn't be bringing that accoutrement. I.

I'm sure for everyone there.

Who the fuck is this guy?

[Mark Addy]

But, you know, it was. It was such a kind of joyful shoot. Heath, obviously, at the time he was 23.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think he turned 21 on that movie. I.

[Mark Addy]

21.

[Alan Tudyk]

I feel like he had his 21st birthday was on that movie. We could check that. We have some fact checkers. We got to go real quick on a fact check.

[Podcast Producer]

Fact check that would you.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm gonna go with yes. But yeah, he. He was young. He was there before us. When I got there, he had already been there.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, I think he and Rufus were out there early.

[Alan Tudyk]

We have Rufus Sewell who played Count Adhemar, the baddie.

[Podcast Host]

But they got a pleasure to work.

[Alan Tudyk]

With a couple of times since.

[Mark Addy]

Ah, brilliant. They got us out there, I think about a month before we were actually shooting. Do you remember? They said, oh, we're going to do horse riding sessions. We're going to have all kinds of. We did maybe an hour a day, and they left us to. Just to get to know each other and. And it was a stroke of genius, actually, because, you know, by the time he came to shooting, you'd spent four weeks in each other's company. You'd upset everybody, you know, you'd upset him. We've all made up. It's all back to normal. And, you know, you could work together really, really easily and comfortably.

[Alan Tudyk]

He also gave us the prompt. Brian. Yeah. Brian Helgeland, who wrote and directed the film Get Drunk, Go Get Drunk, which in Prague is a very easy thing to do.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

They have some of the best beer in the world.

[Mark Addy]

And it was very cheap as well.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was very cheap because it was. So we did this in 2000, and the Velvet Revolution, where they went from being under communist rule was in 1990. They had just switched, really, just 10 years before.

[Podcast Host]

So it was pretty tense before that.

[Podcast Producer]

Yes.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And the people who were communists were all the people working on our film, they were all. They had. Just like that guy. There was a guy who worked. I think he worked with horses. Bald guy. He had a big handlebar mustache.

[Podcast Host]

Bald.

[Alan Tudyk]

I guess he was in the stunts or maybe he did the horses. Anyway, he used to be an informant for the. Like, He.

[Podcast Host]

He was telling me, secret police.

[Alan Tudyk]

Secret police, that he kept a button under his lapel. And when he. When somebody went too far, he just turn his thing. He's like. And that's. He said, you never wanted anybody turning their thing. He's like, I did. That was what he did. And so these people are working with each other, having had to, like, not trust each other, but they'd also. The city itself, it was like, okay, we've got all this oppression now, and all these rules. All those rules are gone. And so a lot of it was a kooky place, still finding itself. But like Mark said, the beer was cheap. You could find. If you went to the local places. Mark and I got to hang out a lot because all of our shooting was together. And if you've seen the movie, which I hope you have, we are his valets. His varlets.

[Mark Addy]

Varlets, yeah. His squires.

[Alan Tudyk]

His squires, yes. These roles were made up. Like, our jobs for Heath were not a. That's not a historical part of the movie.

[Podcast Host]

You were just guys running a scam.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, we was collecting a paycheck. Yeah. And so they were like, you look, you two stand right next to this very large horse, which was they. They had these Czech horses that had A hump on their head that were larger than normal horses. And they were very super proud of this horse. Great horse, Barney. And we'd stand as close as we can before the horse would run in. And Heath would joust or the stuntman would joust. And horses doing that don't want people standing next to them at all. They don't like that.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, no.

[Alan Tudyk]

And they would remember. They would get. They figured this out. They figured out what the sequence was for them to joust.

[Mark Addy]

They understood, you know, roll camera. And they understood action. So.

The first assistant. That's right, they changed it so the first assistant would shout, darling.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Mark Addy]

To which the answer was, ready? Darling.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Mark Addy]

And that's how they'd ramp up before. Before calling some form of action. Otherwise the horse would be like, I'm off now. Wow. It was a lot of. A lot of time around the back end of a horse.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Mark Addy]

The glamour is primarily what attracted me to the gig.

[Alan Tudyk]

And so we. We would go out a lot because our schedules were the same, had the same time off. And do you remember this night? I think this story is of. Tells the story of Prague and it's sort of nascent democracy. We would go to the Budva bar restaurant and it was like this old, old style beer steins and you got game. You would eat venison and boy.

[Mark Addy]

Wild boy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, yeah. It was very good. And we'd have a few. And this is the actual Budweiser, the original Budweiser. It was stolen, but it tastes so much better over there.

[Podcast Host]

Budva.

[Alan Tudyk]

And we were on our way home. I'll tell the first part of it. You can tell the second part.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

So we're on our way home after having venison and boar, which was perfect and typical of this show because we're playing medieval during the day and then at night we go out and eat medieval. And we'd be in bars in Medieval.

[Mark Addy]

It was all.

[Alan Tudyk]

The whole city is medieval. It wasn't bombed during World War II. So we were living these in medieval lives. It was quite fun. When we were in bars and there was trouble, we all stood up as one. It was a nice. The world continued outside of the set. It felt like. So we left the Budva restaurant. We're on our way back. He had to walk through this big, like, promenade, sort of. It was a wide street. And I remember seeing this very attractive young woman standing with a purse at her feet. I was thinking it was an odd place to put your purse. But also, oh, she's attractive. We walk like about 10ft away. Oh, there's another very attractive woman and her purse is at her feet. What a strange thing. Oh, there's another one. Oh, sweet Jesus. I know what this is. These are ladies of the evening. Mark, I feel like you probably clocked what it was sooner than me. I was still clocking Texan.

[Mark Addy]

I'd strode on ahead while Alan was distracted by the ladies purses, presumably. And I looked. I looked back to see where he was and he's surrounded by these three women. He's giggling. A couple of beers had been drunk. Okay. Alan's giggling while these women I can see are going through all his pockets. Literally their hands. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Managed to kind of drag him away. But they were, you know, he was enjoying the fact that he didn't realize he was being absolutely robbed. Completely mugged. But I think, well, we. We got you away before. Before anything. Before they managed to.

[Alan Tudyk]

I had my hand on my wallet. I realized that they were going. When they were grabbing at my backside, they were going for my wallet. Yeah, I held on to that. But there was. They were just all around and there was a sort of a madam figure there also who was a more of. Was somebody to deal with. She was larger and could. She could take me. And they were just all jostling me. Surrounding. Trying to get a. Yeah, trying to.

[Mark Addy]

Get whatever you had in your pockets.

[Podcast Host]

That's not how I remember Oliver Twist going.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was a wild time. I'm sure you get asked this. I get asked this a lot because Heath passed away and it sucks. Like fond any font. I mean, you know, sometimes I don't answer it. Sometimes I do. I feel like I've answered it now. In one very in depth interview, somebody asked me about my experience with Heath and. And I had a particular. A great connection with him at one point during the film because my friend. Remember my friend passed away during the.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And he actually knew him. And Heath had me move in with him to take care of me, him and Heather Graham.

My wet nurses. Wait, no. What's a no? Not that. Not that. Not that. They were just not.

[Podcast Host]

That's not what you're looking for.

[Alan Tudyk]

Not. Not what I'm looking for. I mean, well, they were my helpers.

[Podcast Host]

Nurse mates.

[Alan Tudyk]

Nurse maids. Yes. Like, see if you can imagine Heath in the Joker costume and the nurse outfit. That was him. And then however you want to imagine. So that was a connection. It said a lot about who Heath was and what our relationship was, which was he was somewhat older than me. Even though he was younger than me about certain things, you know, he could be like, hey, you need help. Come, let me take care of you. Even though he was nine years my junior at a time at that point in your life, nine years is a lot. You went on to do another movie with him, and you've worked. You worked with him then again.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, we did a. With Brian Helgeland, the same writer, director. We did a movie called the Sin Eater in Rome. So we were in three months in Rome working on that one. And again, you know, he's just. He had so many interests outside of acting, so many things that he wanted to do. He was a keen photographer. He played the guitar, he would. The list is endless. There were things that he, you know, he'd write poetry. Just such a sort of rich, rich life cut short. Very, very sad, you know. Great to have had the experience of working with him extensively on the films that we did.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, he was a great photographer. He was doing selfies before selfies were a thing he could just take. I have a great picture of the two of us, he and I, where I had to kiss him at that one point in the Knight's Tale where I'm delivering a kiss from his love, Jocelyn, and I kiss him. And I had this little camera that Rufus Sewell had sold me. I think overpriced his old camera, and it was a Leica, but he got it from me. He's like, let me see that. Let me see that. And we rehearsed it, and I kissed him, and he just put the camera out at arm's length. And it was an old analog camera and took a picture. And it's this great picture of me. I'm turning away from him and I'm spitting. Cause that was the action after the kiss. And he's looking right at the camera with, like this little wry grin, like, ha, ha, ha. It's a great picture to have that he took.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, very cool. Yeah, it was just the most amazing kind of five, six months. It was quite a magical time.

[Alan Tudyk]

And we liked it so much we wanted to shoot a sequel, and we set up a sequel. Do you remember at the end?

[Mark Addy]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Brian Helgeland had, like, come up with these, like, you're on a ship and you're all rowing in the ship, and I guess Heath, and he's behind this guy, this very large mute whose eyes are sewn shut and his ears are sewn shut and he's rowing and he's got this intricate tattoo on his back. And all you have to look at is this tattoo all day long. And it's like, wait a second. Aren't those the islands off of Corsica? Wait a second, wait a second. That's a. This is. This is a map. This is a treasure map. And every time the guy gets whipped, another piece of the map goes away.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, God.

[Alan Tudyk]

Like, no, give me his lashes. It was me. It was me. You have to. Have to believe me. I'm the trouble.

[Mark Addy]

It's me.

[Alan Tudyk]

And we were going to take over the ship and go get Jocelyn, and she was kidnapped by Adamar.

[Mark Addy]

Kidnapped her? Yeah, that was. Yeah, that's the idea.

[Alan Tudyk]

So there's a whole. There's ending where. Yeah, it didn't happen.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Mummy 2 beat us at the theaters. Son of a bitch. Mommy, too. It's had a longer life. It's made a great movie for young people. And so I feel like I meet. Going to conventions, cons. I mean, I did Star wars and I've done space things and Firefly. These are things that I'm used to signing, but I get a steady. Meeting fans of A Knight's Tale there's.

[Mark Addy]

A lot of Love For.

[Podcast Host]

Was a huge movie. It was so, again, it's. You guys were playing notes everybody wanted to hear at the time. It was such a charming movie.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's a fairy tale. It's a good.

[Podcast Host]

It's the underdogs.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, yeah. And.

[Podcast Host]

And Heath.

[Alan Tudyk]

Heath nailed it.

[Podcast Host]

I'm gonna fast forward to Game of Thrones because that was a cultural phenomenon. How did things change for you? What changed for you did, you know, going into it. Oh, my God, this is gonna be amazing.

[Mark Addy]

Well, no, so what happened was because we shot the first episode as a pilot the year before we started shooting proper.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, wow.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah. So they reshot about 80% of it because there were cast changes and there were, you know, according to David and Dan, it nearly didn't happen. It was pretty much a case of, please, please give us a chance to make it work, because we're sure it can. And they kind of went, okay then, because it's an epic project. And at the time, the books had a sort of cult following in America, but nobody in the UK had heard of them. Globally, they weren't anywhere on anybody's radar, if you know what I mean. It wasn't like you were doing Lord of the Rings, which is, you know, very, very well known. These are books and characters that very few people know. So are they going to go with it? You know, fantasy is a notoriously tricky genre because if they don't spend the right amount of money on it. It just looks like a bunch of blokes running around in a wood and you know, nobody really, nobody really wants to see too much of that. Right at the very beginning, Sean Bean and I knew that, you know, it's a one season deal because, you know, you die and that is the nature of. You're not going to be tied into a seven year deal or a. So it made it relatively easy to go, yeah, we'll do that pilot fine. Because it was relatively unknown, there was no expectation so you could just get on and do your job. And our job, I guess was to sort of establish what this world is, what the rules of this. It's a bit like the world we live in, but it's harsher, it's more brutal. There are parallels, but the rules are different. And it was our job to kind of establish those for an audience and set up. This is the nature of this society that we're looking at. So yeah, as with any show, they ask, you know, could you. We sign you a non disclosure agreement. We'll send you three scenes that we'd like you to learn and put on tape and send in to us. And the character description that I got was Robert Baratheon, once a fearsome warrior, has now grown fat, drunk and lazy. And that was all, all you had to go on. And I ry. I thought, well, I'll give it my best shot. Which I did. Forget about it. About a month later my agent said, oh, David and Dan are coming over to London. They'd like to see you. All right. They'll work on the same scenes that you did for the audition. Okay. But in the meantime, I went, oh, well, it's based on a book, isn't it? I better read this book. And I don't know if you read the books, they're great, but they're like a doorstop. They've. They're very good, but it gives you the entire kind of history of the character. It's better than, you know, those two lines of nonsense. You totally understood why he, you know, he's in a loveless marriage. He tried to consolidate the power base by marrying a Lannister and now he's suddenly surrounded by nobody he can trust. He knows that in asking Ned Stark to come and be his hand, that's practically a death sentence for him. But he's got nowhere else to turn. You know, it's really.

Tricky stuff, but it all makes total sense in terms of the story and why those decisions are made. So Reading the book really gave me everything I needed by the time I met them to give a decent audition.

[Alan Tudyk]

How cool. How cool to have such great source material.

[Podcast Host]

So you do the pilot, and then it's a year before you come back to it, and you reshoot the vast majority of the pilot. I'm imagining half the people aren't available after a year. They're onto other projects.

[Mark Addy]

There were some changes, but, you know, I guess the bulk of the major characters stayed the same. There were some. I mean, there were big changes. Daenerys was different. Catelyn Stark as well. They changed for various reasons. One was related to childcare. So, yeah, I'm not gonna be able to do Belfast for six months, right?

[Podcast Host]

No, that's the other thing. It took you out of town for a great deal of time, away from your family. There's some sacrifice there.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, there is. By the later season, I was talking to Jerome Flynn, who played Bronn in it. You know, I was saying, wow, does it. It kind of eat up the whole of your year in terms of. Oh, no, no. They'll take me and Peter Dinklage, shoot all our stuff in six weeks for the entire season. Oh, right. Done and dusted. Because you're in that separate part of the world, you shoot all that stuff together and then move on to the. You know, you're not hanging around, you know, literally six weeks, and that's your entire season done. Amazing.

[Alan Tudyk]

How cool.

[Podcast Host]

At what point then did you realize. Cause you're shooting things a little bit in advance, so you have to wait a little while before the world gets to see your work. At what point did you realize, oh, my God, we've really hit the nail on the head with this one?

[Mark Addy]

It was really only once that first season had got underway. I mean, it's sort of hard to tell with these things. There are audience numbers and all kinds of stuff that you. And the reviews come out and sometimes, you know, have a look at them, and sometimes you don't, and you're just never really sure. I started to get recognized in the street from it, even. I mean, this without the ginormous beard and hair and what have you. And I'm thinking, wow, that's. It's surprising. And it still happens today. People of a certain age remember me from the Full monty. Younger people, it'll be Game of Thrones and then sometimes A Knight's Tale, which is always a really pleasing one.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, man. Agreed.

[Podcast Host]

That was eight seasons, but it was over the course of, what, 10 years or something like that? I Mean, they didn't come out regularly. Sometimes we had to wait a long time for the next season to come out.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, they overtook George R.R. martin, who wrote the books. So they got to the point where it's like, ah, we've run out of your stuff, George. What do we.

[Podcast Host]

What do we do?

[Mark Addy]

So he told them, the way he put it was, he told them the mountains that they needed to reach by the end, but he didn't mind what route they took to get there. I'm assuming he said to them, don't kill him or her, and make sure that there'll be certain characters that. He said, just leave those alone. But anything else was fair game as far as George was concerned.

[Podcast Host]

Mark, it sounds like your career has been largely a positive experience. I'm sure there was lulls and suffering in there. There somewhere that we've skated over. But it sounds like you've had a.

[Alan Tudyk]

Working with me in A Knight's Tale. There's that and that hat.

[Podcast Host]

It sounds like you've had a largely positive and successful and enjoyable career.

[Mark Addy]

I've really loved it. I've really loved it. If it was to finish tomorrow, I'd be like, you know what? I had a great time. I met some fabulous people. I did some stuff that, yeah, I saw some places that I never thought I would. And just. Just being able to entertain people in whatever way, you know, whatever way it is you're working. I think that the business largely is positive. Everybody is in the business to do the best that. Let's make this movie the best it can be. Let's make this show really, really good. There are very few spoilers. There are one or two folk. I'm gonna drag this down. But generally it's all positive and it's a lovely place to work, a movie set, TV set. I love it.

[Podcast Host]

And you've touched a lot of hearts along the way. You've made a lot. You've made a difference to a lot of people. The stories you've told resonate well.

[Alan Tudyk]

I hope so.

[Mark Addy]

I think, you know, it's an odd one, isn't it? There are actors who like to be a bit of a chameleon and, oh, I didn't recognize him in that role because with all the hair and the nose and whatever it is, I'm more interested in the heart of whatever character I play is me. I am. Why I got cast in the. You know what I mean? It's about how do I adapt myself to play this character? So it's complicated. I think what I'M trying to say, but it's just so you suppress certain elements of yourself and highlight others, depending on what the character is that you're being asked to portray. Do you know what I mean? You go, what is this guy about? Why he's angry? Why is he angry? What makes him, you know, what is it that's gnawing away at his mind? There's very little gnawing away at my mind. Well, there's very little gnawing away at my very little mind.

But, yeah, that's what I find fascinating. Just going, right, it's me, but it's just a different version of me. That's my kind of philosophy.

[Podcast Host]

Having had your success, if someone were to come to you and say, hey, this is a career I want to pursue, this is something I want to do, what advice would you have for a young actor, even an old actor who's just starting. What mistakes should they avoid? What should they focus on? What's your advice, your wisdom you would impart into them?

[Mark Addy]

I would say get as much experience as you can, because the more you do, whether it be even in an amateur capacity, doing plays, doing work, making little films with other people, you're gonna learn something from every step you take. And you never know, somebody might spot you in one of those and go, hey, that'd be great. In something that I'm. But just work and listen and learn and just watch actors, watch actors that you like and see how they handle a scene and stick at it as well. That's the thing. 90% of this job is rejection. Oh, no, you weren't. You were too fat, you were too old, you were. They've gone a different way. That. And you've got to be able to take that water off a duck's back. Don't get upset about not getting a gig once you've auditioned for it. Forget about it. Onto the next thing. Onto the next thing. It's always, always forward.

[Alan Tudyk]

Brilliant. And now we ask a question of each other and of the people that come on. What is something about Mark Addy that we don't know? What is it? What do we do?

It's called getting to know you. Sorry. Getting to know you. And there's a song that goes with it. I know you and you know me. Let's get to know you better.

[Mark Addy]

Hmm.

[Podcast Host]

So something we don't know about Mark.

[Alan Tudyk]

Addy, something that you haven't said, that is just a special thing that. That people don't know, we're just going to throw that at you, I guess.

[Mark Addy]

You, you wouldn't necessarily know that as a youngster I was the drum major in our scout band. The drum major being the guy at the front with the mace who tosses it up in the air and twirls it around and generally shows off and can't play a musical instrument.

Oh, that's great.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, that's. I got a great image of that.

[Podcast Host]

Is that how they pick the drum major? Is that they go, ah, Mark, we've tried you on a bunch of different instruments now let's just. We're gonna give you the stick off the bugle.

[Mark Addy]

Come off the bugle.

Here's a stick. Yeah.

Brilliant.

[Alan Tudyk]

Brilliant.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, fantastic. Mark, what a pleasure. It's. It's absolutely lovely to chat with you. I've been such a fan for so very long. I've had the opportunity to meet you many years ago. It's so nice to see you again. Anytime I hear your voice, I feel comforted.

[Mark Addy]

Oh, that's good.

[Podcast Host]

It's so familiar. I just absolutely. What a treat. This is such a treat. Thank you for doing this.

[Mark Addy]

You're very welcome. Great talking to you guys.

[Alan Tudyk]

Great to see you. Great to see you.

[Podcast Host]

If ever you're in Los Angeles and you want to be hosted, please let us know you're here. And if ever you want to do a long running police television show, please let me know. I have one running right now. We'd love to have you.

[Mark Addy]

Excellent. I'd be remiss if I didn't. Two of my kids said if you don't tell them how much we love Firefly, then, you know, we will never, ever speak to you again. They are, you know, heartbroken. Massive fans, very jealous that I'm getting the opportunity to speak to you right now. So listen, Firefly was genius.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, it was a good one, man.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah, it deserved a longer run.

[Podcast Host]

It was a fantastic experience for us. And the reason I actually got to become friends with Alan Tudyk. So it holds a lot of, you know, it holds a real special place in my heart. But it sounds like your children are suffering from excellent taste.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh my God.

[Podcast Producer]

Thank you for listening. You just bless your heart. You know what, if you haven't yet, why don't you head on over to our Patreon. You're going to get some bonus content.

[Alan Tudyk]

That. That's extra content.

[Podcast Producer]

They're longer episodes. There's more there. You know what's better than less more? You also get a chance to get your hands on some incredible crap, the kinds you don't need to wash off. After you're done. And if you love the show, please leave us a review and tell your friends.

Once we were spaceman is a collision 33 production. The hell that is the show's production. Produced by Michelle Chapman. Siobhan Holman. Oh, yeah. And Josh Levy. I wear them jeans. He is of collision 33.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's all starting to make sense. It's edited and mixed and produced by.

[Podcast Producer]

Resident Records, with special thanks to Courtney Plumquist and Adam Townsell.

[Alan Tudyk]

Are.

[Podcast Producer]

Theme music's done by Carlos Sosa. The groove line horns guy.

[Mark Addy]

Yeah.

[Podcast Producer]

And Joshua Moore. Artwork is done by Lewis Jensen. Until next time. I swear to God, I love you.

[Mark Addy]

A couple of beers had been drunk. Okay.