When you’ve done a show that’s as successful as Lovejoy was it hangs around for

When you’ve done a show that’s as successful as Lovejoy was, it hangs around for a few years and people know you from it. I escaped the shadow when I stopped Lovejoy by not doing any television for four years. Otherwise, as soon as people see you on screen they say: “Oh, it’s Lovejoy again.” When I’m in the UK people still associate me with it, but you can’t help that really. Lovejoy was a great character to do, but Al Swearengen in Deadwood is probably one of the most complicated screen villains ever written. But this character is something else.With which character you’ve played have you had the closest affinity?Ian Dickinson, BristolThe one I’m doing now. I played Judas in Jesus of Nazareth, and even Lovejoy was a mix of good and bad.

It’s much more interesting playing a baddie, particularly if they are multi-faceted, like my character Al Swearengen is in Deadwood. It was a very happy set.In your new show, Deadwood, you play the baddie. Do you prefer baddies?Richard Day, by e-mailThey say the Devil gets the best tunes, and I think it’s true. It was in 1970, on a film called Villain, and we’d start off in the morning and I’d have kippers at breakfast and he’d say: “You know, a much better way to start the day is with a salty dog – vodka and grapefruit juice.” The day would progress from there to vodka and orange juice, and vodka straight by lunchtime. I needed no help learning how to drink, but I found vodka with Richard.

In the Sixties it was the same thing, but I would have put some Scotch in the milk and a tab of acid in the cheese sandwich. That’s probably the only difference.Is it true that Richard Burton taught you to drink?Danny Nixon, TauntonNo, he taught me to drink vodka, which was good of him. He appeared in the television series Wuthering Heights in 1967 as Heathcliff and in Jesus of Nazareth in 1977 as Judas Iscariot. In 1986, he starred as the roguish but dashing antiques dealer Lovejoy in the BBC drama series, which ran until 1994. His film work includes appearances in Sexy Beast and Agent Cody Banks. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the actor Gwen Humble.
What inspired you to become an actor?Ana Catineau, LondonI was inspired to be an actor by a great teacher at school, called Lesley Rider, whom I still see now, who was an educator and was responsible, in a sense, for putting the idea in my head.

If I’d had the choice when I was 14, and someone had said to me: “You can either be a footballer or an actor,” I’d have said: “Well, can’t I be a footballing actor?” I got to do that when I did a movie called Yesterday’s Hero. The whole story was based on George Best: it was about a drunken footballer who comes back and wins the FA Cup It couldn’t be anyone else, really I haven’t seen George in a while. He should have stopped [drinking], but listen – he likes a drink, what you going to do?Your dad played for Manchester United. Do you have any skill with a football? Carl Young, ManchesterI played at quite a high level when I was 10 or 11, but I played with some kids who went on to be pros, and I knew even at a young age that I didn’t have the kind of skill that they had. So, I never had any pretensions about being a football player. My dad never pushed me towards football – both my parents were always very supportive about whatever I was doing.When I was at school, I did a couple of school plays and my teacher said: “You could be very good at this.” So I went to London and auditioned for Rada: I thought there was only one drama school, I didn’t think there were any others.