As a stage and film star, he’s arguably become best known for two things: impressions and lies.
Key points:
- Rob Brydon will return to Australia in March for his show A Night Of Songs and Laughter
- Before the tour, he reflected on his first appearance in Would I Lie to You? – which did not go as planned
- Although his show is music-based, Brydon’s impressions will be in the mix
But actor, comedian, singer and storyteller Rob Brydon is completely candid when he says his role as host Would I be lying to you? (WILTY) was far from a matter of fate.
His first appearance was as a panelist – and it didn’t quite go to plan.
“I was booked for two episodes and pulled out of the second because I thought I was so bad on the first,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide’s Stacey Lee and Nikolai Beilharz.
“I said to my agent, ‘Tell him I’m not well’.
“They must have thought he was so awful he can harbor it.”
Of course, it wasn’t that bad, and there was a salutary lesson.
“As a performer you can sometimes have a very skewed view of things,” he said.
“You’ll think, ‘It’s not so good, it’s not going well’ – but that’s not what the public sees.”
Brydon is currently preparing to bring his show A Night Of Songs and Laughter to Australia next year, including in Adelaide on March 21.
It’s a kind of musical memory – Brydon’s goal is to charm audiences with songs about his early years.
“When they see me coming in with a band, they probably think they’re old duffers on their last legs. But those guys in the band, they’re just amazing – they’re so good,” he said. declared.
“It became a nice balanced show – I heard it was almost like a variety show.”
Impressions to present alongside stories
As far as sonic Welsh go, Brydon may or may not give Tom Jones his money’s worth – but it was more as a mime than a singer that he achieved fame.
The Trip series is largely a vehicle for the vocal virtuosity of himself and co-star Steve Coogan, and his upcoming tour will showcase that skill.
“I’m going to do impressions there and speak to the public and tell stories, and then the music wafts through,” he said.
“[There’s an] more focus on the early days, talking about going to school in Old South Wales, not New South Wales, and how I started playing. »
Last time he was here, Brydon was “pleasantly surprised” by how his sense of humor resonated with Australian audiences.
“A lot of British comedians play Holland, they play Europe, they’ll go to Dubai, they’ll play America, I’ve never been interested in that,” he said.
“I don’t know if you can say that about Aussies in general – but my audience knows my stuff, they know The Trip and they know Will I Lie to You? and they know Gavin and Stacey.
“That common ground that I have with the British public, I also had with the Australian public.”
But will he make an appearance in the Australian version of WILTY?
“It’s a good idea – I hadn’t thought of that,” he said.
“I’m aware of it but I haven’t seen it. But yeah, yeah, maybe I could.”
