Stefan Booth Online

Interview with AXM Magazine - April 2007

You’ve become the Dancing On Ice man. Does it make you feel like doing a triple pipe turn or hanging your head in ‘but I used to be an actor’ shame?
I’m just happy that the whole thing didn’t fall flat on its tush. We didn’t know whether it was going to be career suicide. I mean it could have been another Saturday night celebrity wrestling. You do sort of think,’ oh my gosh I’m an actor and I’m doing an entertainment show’. But when we heard that Torvill and Dean were involved it put things into a new dimension. They’re an amazing professional couple and so credible to work with.

Yeah, but have discovered muscles you never knew existed?
I did that one in an interview a few months ago.

Yeah but did you?
Where are those muscles? Where exactly are those muscles?

We could show you …
Well, they say you shouldn’t swim before you ice skate. I think that kind of applies here. Actually you use a completely different set of muscles from those you run with, which is great because I was really crap at running. Wildly out of control.

Did you take to skating like a duck on blades?
I was like a ricocheting bullet. My poor partner Kristina had to deal with this loose cannon. I’d jump into any sort of manoeuvre and I’d end up –

Breaking a few of her bones?
I nearly broke mine. I popped my collar bone. Feel it.

Ouch.
I landed palm down on the ice and wrapped my whole arm around my back.

Oh my god. Weren’t you dreading a moment like that? I’m generally quite nervous about breaking bones and things.
There’s definitely something wrong with me. My sense of danger isn’t as acute as other people’s so I tend just to throw myself into something and hope that I’ll fall over properly! I’m a keen motorcyclist as well. I love riding around London and on long journeys so I suppose my perception of fear is slightly different from the average persons.

You could do Brucie’s Big Bike Stunts next. Get into a double-decker jump off with Graham Norton and Cheryl Baker.
I’m going to do the Bolero with Kristina first. That’s a big enough risk for the moment. Because they won Olympic gold with it, for me the ultimate accolade to pay respect to Jayne and Chris.

Tell us a secret about Kristina.
Kristina has a very, very wicked sense of humour and you wouldn’t know it because she comes across as so sweet, she’s really funny.

Are you saying she’s dirty?
No, not at all. She’s a little angel.

You star in the Brit movie, Back In Business… is it like a James Bond spoof?
It’s like the ultimate heist movie, a proper Brit flick. I don’t want to ruin it too much by trying to explain the storyline or the comedy. I mean you try and explain Shaun of the Dead to me.

People get chased by zombies and end up locked in a pub.
OK, people break into the British Space Agency and steal this revolutionary piece of technology, much drama ensues.

Are you a goodie or a baddie?
I’m a goodie called Travis.

Well done.
I’m slightly mentally… ah, what’s the word? He’s a bit of a computer boffin and he’s got absolutely no common sense. And he’s a complete fashion victim.

Hot.
I get kidnapped and then get rescued and they exchange Dennis Waterman for me.

And you’re thinking ‘just have him’.
They eventually turn back and don’t want him and it turns out that we actually have to make the piece of equipment that we’ve stolen the blueprints of.

Does it look special and computery?
The whole film is done by the crew Ridley Scott usually uses.

Has anyone ever betrayed your trust?
Lots of people have, yeah. It’s at the point now where I don’t tell anyone anything. I had a crush on one of my first girlfriends at school and she ended up finding out. My friend let it slip when he was drunk.

Was it unrequited love?
Actually it became requited at the end.

What’s the secret of a good relationship as far as you’re concerned?
Trust, love, forgiveness. I mean everyone screws up. I think its easy to have the honeymoon bit. In fact a lot of my gay friends are addicted to the honeymoon period of relationship. They’ll meet someone when they go out on the weekend and it’ll be good for a month or two then it gets to that point where you have to drop it down a gear and get serious about a person and really get to know then and it kind of just fades away. It makes me sad because I’ve got gay friends that are getting to about 40 or 45 and there’s a lack of love and forgiveness. When you have an argument with someone one of you has to be the one to back down or at least try and understand and re-educate that person on the way you think.

But we’ve learned how to get married now. The gays are gonna change!
Most of what you see or read in the papers about the gay circuit is definitely about quick fixes but that isn’t the whole truth at all. It doesn’t really support the thousands of other gay people that are in loving long-term relationships in the British Isles. There’s plenty of them that exist and in comparison the number of gay men who go out on the club circuit every weekend is a very small fraction.

You know a lot about gays Stefan.
Everyone used to think I was gay. I think it’s mainly because of the way I looked and obviously the characters that I’ve played. I’m not scared to take on gay roles. My character in The Bill for example. I thought it was great to promote proper loving gay relationships.

Did you get fan mail from devoted gay boys?
I got some nice messages. It was great to be part of people’s lives where they can appreciate what you’re doing. It’s lovely to get the chance to do something cool, and in its own little way important because sometimes it’s hard being an actor, waiting for the job.

Did it feel hard when you did the kissing scenes?
(Laughs) It was actually quite strange, it wasn’t what I expected, I forgot that he’d have stubble so it was quite like ‘argh god that’s weird!’ We got used to it though. I hate to dash the vision, but any kissing for camera is actually quite mechanical because we’re kind of thinking about lines and standing in the right place.

So did you method it up a bit then? Nip down to Chariots Sauna or anything like that for some ‘research’?
What’s Chariots Sauna?

Steam and men in towels. Men out of towels, together. That kind of thing.
Is that like a pick up joint?

What do you think they’re there for, health reasons or something?
I don’t know. Oh good lord. I didn’t know you did those kind of things, honestly.

What’s your sex secret then?
Ice cream. Actually, you know what?

No.
Good sex is all about emotions. I hate to sound like Beatrix Potter but without emotions it’s just mechanical.

I’m with you Stefan.
The foreplay doesn’t just have to be about the friction, it can be about setting your mind up for the adventure I suppose.

What’s the secret of your success, in less than five words?
Goodness, am I successful?

Well you’re pretty successful. I mean, not quite Tom Cruise but…
I just feel like a hard-working actor who’s just been lucky. With acting it’s the luck of the draw and I’m just really, really fortunate.