Mac McDonald Interview

Mark O’Connell: My first question… (Laughs as Mac places a piece of chewing gum on his forehead). You are best known for your role in Red Dwarf. How did you originally get the part?

Mac McDonald: I slept with Doug Naylor. We didn’t have sex or anything; we just slept together for two or three nights.

Mark O’Connell: That’s nice… just held each other?

Mac McDonald: Held each other and wept.

Mark O’Connell: Are any characteristics of Captain Hollister found in your own personality?

Mac McDonald: Yeah, the way that we’re really different is that he really likes to eat, and I can’t stand it. I have a neurotic aversion to food. I have to be force-fed. People usually try to press the food through my forehead.

Mark O’Connell: It’s a good thing you have that barrier there or it would all go in.

Mac McDonald: Somebody tried to do that with gum earlier. No, um, we’re exactly alike.

Mark O’Connell: Excellent. What are your thoughts on the American series that never got off the ground?

Mac McDonald: Erm, lets see. Well first of all it was total crap.

Mark O’Connell: Right.

Mac McDonald: Second of all, they tried to do it in kind of an American way like, I’ve noticed that whenever, you know, they have an American movie or American TV show and they’re trying to show like a tramp, or somebody who’s filthy in the street, they give them like old clothes. But the clothes are spotlessly clean. If they have two or three day’s growth it’s trimmed and everything, you know. They have a real, total fear of showing anything dirty. Like when you turn over a garbage can in America, it’s all like paper and cardboard, and empty tin cans. You know, there’s never really any horrible stuff. And that’s what they did to Red Dwarf. It was like; they took the Lister character and made him into an 18-year-old glamour boy. So it defeats the purpose, you know, so it was doomed to failure. And I was played by a black woman, which was kind of a good take I think.

Mark O’Connell: That’s a different approach.

Mac McDonald: A good way to go. Very like the English one. What else… it was too Americanified. It was doomed to failure. But you know who, well you probably do know this, the guy that was adapting it and was behind it was, his name’s Boomer… something. But anyway, he was the guy behind Malcolm in the Middle, which is one of my favourite American comedies. This gum feels awful on my head. (Shouts) Stop making me wear it! (Throws gum along the table) Oh, I rolled a six!

Mark O’Connell: What was your favourite episode overall, and which series do you think was the best?

Mac McDonald: I think series 8 was the best because I was in it the most. My favourite episode was the T-Rex thing where… Do you know how many quarts of orange soda and all that stuff? I can’t even remember it now. But I do remember how hard it was to learn that. But I think that that actually came out quite funny.

Mark O’Connell: You said briefly when I was speaking to Danny (John Jules), but what are your thoughts on the special effects in the later series, as opposed to the old model work?

Mac McDonald: I really did like it when everything was made out of cardboard, and, you know… You kind of, you could see somebody’s hand moving it towards the camera to make it bigger. That type of thing, you know. Yeah, much better.

Mark O’Connell: And the ships would fly out sideways.

Mac McDonald: (Laughs) That’s right.

Mark O’Connell: Do you know anything about the movie that has been talked about for years?

Mac McDonald: We just made that movie. Didn’t you know?

Mark O’Connell: You just made it?

Mac McDonald: It’s getting released next week.

Mark O’Connell: Awesome. Is it straight to DVD or…

Mac McDonald: Yeah (Laughs), straight to DVD. Nah - that aint never going to happen, sadly. I don’t think so.

Mark O’Connell: What about the 9th series?

Mac McDonald: well Doug always said that he wasn’t going to make another series until after we made the movie. So that’s like, never after never.

Mark O’Connell: Who was your favourite Holly?

Mac McDonald: Oh, you ain’t pinning me down on that! I liked them equally. I’d like to see Norman’s head on Hattie’s body.

Mark O’Connell: That would be interesting.

Mac McDonald: I’m sure that you could do it. CGI do it. It’d be nice.

Mark O’Connell: If the crew ever made it back to Earth, what would they find there?

Mac McDonald: if the crew made it back to Earth?

Mark O’Connell: Yeah, three million years later.

Mac McDonald: They would just land in Fuchal, and everything would be lovely and warm, and pineapples, and coconuts.

Mark O’Connell: Apart from the DVDs that have come out, do you ever watch the series in your own time, or any of your other past work?

Mac McDonald: Er, not really. Nah…

Mark O’Connell: Do you prefer working in front of a live audience?

Mac McDonald: No. Actually I like filming better then doing live stuff. In some ways, it’s so different really. It’s like, you know, it’s two totally different things. It’s not kind of one is a variation on the other. But I really prefer film work.

Mark O’Connell: What have you been working on since Red Dwarf?

Mac McDonald: Oh God, erm… I did a play last summer with Val Kilmer called The Postman Always Rings Twice. I just did a movie called Tara Road with Andy McDowell, which should be, that may go straight to DVD actually. But it may get released here. It’s a Rom-Com. And another film called Flyboys, which should be out soon. You know, I’ve been working straight on. My Family, I think was in between Black Books. All the kind of English comedies.

Mark O’Connell: How would you like to be remembered?

Mac McDonald: As the man that they never forgot.

Mark O’Connell: And finally, have you got any messages for your fans?

Mac McDonald: Yeah, piss off and don’t bother me. Stop bugging me. I know you’re there, and stop sending me money. It’s really ridiculous. I’ve got a big enough house already.

Mark O’Connell: That makes sense. Do you want me to stop hanging around outside your house every day now?

Mac McDonald: Yeah, that’s right. And you in the red coat - stop it!

Mark O’Connell: OK, well that was fantastic. Thank you very much for your time.

Mac McDonald: my pleasure!

Mark O’Connell: Appreciate it. (Mac reattaches chewing gum to his head and gets it stuck in his eyebrow).

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