Doc Brown Interview

What’s up doc?

Rapper, actor, singer, comedian – is there no end to Doc Brown’s talents? Victoria Nangle asks him what’s next on the agenda, and is he really giving up stand up comedy?

Hello! How are you today?
Still breathing. Heavily, but still breathing.
So – good, thanks.

I heard a rumour that you were giving up comedy to concentrate on straight acting.
Any idea where this might have come from? Perhaps your acting work in Law & Order: UK?
It’s true. The work is coming thick and fast and I’m terrified of spreading myself too thin, so the tour may just be the last time to see me on stage, unless it’s in a really serious play. Really serious.

You are a very versatile performer – the first time I saw you was in the brilliantly twisted comic musical Gutted. Does it make it difficult to choose which discipline to focus on, having so many directions to be pulled in?
Very. That’s why it’s time to streamline.

Any chance you’ll end up singing Andrew Lloyd Webber in the West End, or are you too cool
for that?
I’m not too cool for anything, and never really have been. But I also never really have been a Lloyd Webber fan so that just wouldn’t happen.

Your current show is called The Weird Way Round. Is that another way of saying ‘the path less trodden’ or would you view the world permanently from a headstand, given the opportunity?
It’s a little bit of both those things actually. I’ve always felt an outsider with the views of someone peeking in through the looking glass, but it’s also a call back to a joke about my dad being white and my mum being black.

Is there any rap or music in this show at all? Just checking from past shows’ track history.
My shows will always be inspired by hip hop culture and my upbringing within it. The structure of this show will be very different, but will still retain that essence, and will have something for everyone, fans and newcomers alike.
I hope.

Who was the last performer you saw and wished you had written what they just did (comic or muso)?
It’s a toss up between the poet Kate Tempest and Bill Burr, but purely chronologically speaking, Kate was the last. They both blew me away though.

Creativity runs in your family (author Zadie Smith is Doc’s sister). What was the best piece of familial advice you received that encouraged you to follow your dream, and not be an accountant?
In show business, never underestimate the power of saying “no”.

I really wanna jump away from an exploding building in slow mo …

So, what’s next for Doc Brown in 2014-2015?
More drama! Acting in TV and film drama. Got some really interesting roles coming my way now, I think I can really surprise people. I’ve also started work on my first ever projects as a producer through my company Bust-A-Gut Productions, a football chat show and a music video for a big DJ/record producer. Plus I’ve got my first children’s book coming out in autumn 2015 with Walker Books/Candlewick.

Any out-there ambitions you’d like to fulfil before you reach 80?
I really wanna jump away from an exploding building in slow mo.

Right, so some fluke has meant that you’ve inherited the old burned out pier in Brighton. With money no object, what would you do with it?
Blow it up again and jump away in slow mo.

Thank you very much, and have an awesome rest of your day.
It’s already 50 per cent more awesome having spoken with you! What’s your name again?

Doc Brown: The Weird Way Round,
Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, Thursday 16 October 2014, 9.30pm, £14, 01273 709 709, www.brightoncomedyfestival.com