WILL SMITH interview

Go & see his excellent 'Return to Childhood' stand-up show - very funny and a must see for MARILLION fans!

Why did you want to become a stand-up comic and how did your first show go?

I first wanted to be a comedian when I was six or seven and my dad showed me Laurel and Hardy's "Perfect Day" on tv. I did stuff at school assemblies that was kind of like stand-up, but my first proper stand-up gig to a paying audience was at the Joiners Arms in Southampton, and it went really well - I know it's a better story if it was terrible!

How did the recent Misplaced Childhood tour go? Were you pleased with the reaction you have had so far?

Well the tour's about to start on Easter Monday. I did three weeks in Edinburgh last August and a run at the Soho Theatre in London in February, and it's gone great. It gets a good reaction from Fish and Marillion fans as well as from people born to late to have even heard of them!

How did you first come up with the idea to actually use Fish in the show and what was it like filming the sequences for the show with him?

I'm a huge fan of Fish and have followed his career for years, so I knew he's been getting into acting, plus anyone who's seen him live will know he's very very funny himself. He basically does stand-up in between the songs, so I thought he'd be up for it. I got him to come and see my last show "10 Arguments I Should Have Won" to see what he thought and he not only loved it, but invited me to come and stay and film at his place. We had a great time doing it. I had a rough idea of what I wanted the arc to be, but he came up with great ideas and we kind of busked it up together. It turned out better than I could have dreamt, he's got a real flair for comedy and impro.

Which Marillion gig has been your favourate and why?

That would have to be when they played the Gloucester Hall in Jersey in 1988 - one of the last Fish-era gigs and it was in my hometown. When you grow up somewhere where hardly any bands play and then your favourite band roll up and you're on the front row, it's pretty awesome. It's still one of the best gigs I've ever seen anyone play.

Read the full interview here...

Will Smith on My Space