None of that features in the book, however. Nor does he delve into his personal life ? he only mentions his two marriages in the foreword and even then it is just to tell readers he is not going to talk about them.
Indeed, such is his ability to keep his private life private that I had no idea he had been married. Nor that he had five children. He has three with his first wife ? two girls and a boy, all adolescents now ? and two sons with his second, aged three and four months. Is he a good dad? ?No, no, I?m terrible,? he says, deadpan. ?Neglectful, mostly. I don?t think any of my kids would have a good word to say about me. I think they deny that they even know me. At school, they pretend they are Anton du Beke?s kids.?
Brydon was 27 when he married his first wife, Martina, and 29 when he had his first child. ?It does seem quite young now, certainly among friends of mine who are in the business. Lots of them are about my age and don?t have kids ? David Walliams, Graham Norton.? He lets out a lovely mellifluous laugh. ?Graham hasn?t met the right girl yet. I always say to him, ?Don?t lose hope, she?s out there somewhere.??
The first marriage ended in 2000, just as he was becoming successful. ?Err, yeah. Yeah. Yes,? he says when I mention the timing. ?Yes. In purely chronological terms it did. The implications of that are horrific and, as always, there is more to it than meets the eye. But I?m entirely aware of how that appears in print, so let the readers rejoice at the unsaid implications. They can rub their hands with glee!?
In 2006, he married Claire Holland, a former producer on the South Bank Show, and they now live near Twickenham in south-west London. What?s it like being a dad the fifth time round? ?Well, the lack of sleep is harder,? he admits, ?but I do love being a dad.?
I?m surprised, then, when he talks happily about the acne he suffered as a teenager. He was treated for it when he was 20 but the damage was done by then and he has been left with scars that he checks before the photographer takes pictures. His PR wants to know if there will be ?grooming? and he politely asks if we can do some work on the photos. Does it affect him that much? ?Well, it can be devastating. I was very lucky that I was playing the big parts in school shows, which gave me confidence, but it does still bother me. I mean, I had really bad acne, chronic acne.? Would he have work done? ?Oh yes, yes I would,? he says, before telling me that ?I know some really big names who have [had work] and you can?t tell.?
We talk some more about the ?big names?. He tells me that he was recently in make-up with someone very well known (ever the diplomat, Brydon won?t name names), and that he was amazed by the man?s ambition. ?I felt like JR Hartley next to him. I don?t want to be disingenuous. I think that before 2000 I used to be full of that drive, but after Marion and Geoff, I felt I had proved myself. Now I don?t get that worked up about my career. Maybe that?s because it is going very well at the moment and perhaps if that weren?t the case I would be a bit more steely? but, oh dear, this is terrible? ? he breaks off to look at the coffee table ? ?the word plateau is hovering on the horizon, isn?t it Bryony.?
?The thing is, when I had my first success it did coincide with the end of my first marriage, and because I went on to have a very, very unhappy two years, I don?t think I equate career success with personal happiness. I mean, and, ooooh, I?m discovering this as I talk to you, Bryony, but I was ambitious once, I really wanted success, and now I realise that that way happiness does not lie.?
The interview comes to end. ?You know, I don?t think any lake is entirely empty, but?? he trails off. ?I think, if you?ve got children, that?s your life. Your ?showbiz? life, if you want to call it that, is a separate thing, and it isn?t everything to me. It used to be, but it isn?t any more.?
'Rob Brydon - Small Man in a Book' (RRP �20) is available from Telegraph Books for �18 plus �1.25 p&p. To order your copy please call 0844 871 1515 or go to books.telegraph.co.uk
Werner Erhard Dale Evans Chad Everett Douglas Fairbanks Morgan Fairchild
No comments:
Post a Comment