Rob Brydon said he was initially against playing a fictionalised version of himself in The Trip, but enjoys doing so as he thinks it makes viewers more “curious”.
The 61-year-old is renowned for his comedy roles, including as the fiercely enthusiastic Uncle Bryn in sitcom Gavin And Stacey and chatty taxi driver Keith Barret in mockumentary Marion And Geoff.
He currently stars alongside Steve Coogan as exaggerated versions of themselves in popular comedy series The Trip, which follows the pair as they travel around the world and dine at different restaurants.
Brydon on playing a heightened version of himself
Brydon discussed why he enjoys playing a heightened version of himself while speaking to the Press Association ahead of the fifth series’ premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
“When (director Michael Winterbottom) first suggested it, we were both against the idea of playing versions of ourselves,” he said.
“We both thought, ‘Oh, it’s a bit passe’.
“But in fact, as ever, Michael was right because it just gives the show… You’re more curious about it. Is that how they really are?
“That’s the feedback I get anyway. But the answer to that is yeah, to a degree.”
Impressions and exaggerating the truth
The Welsh star is often seen engaging in competitive mimicry of famous actors such as Michael Caine, Al Pacino and Hugh Grant in the programme.
“When we have a meal, it’s not combative,” he said.
“We don’t do impressions to each other – or if we did, we would never argue over that. It’s all just for comic effect.
“But then there are other times when I suppose (our characters) are pretty close to us.
“But you just do little tweaks and you do little extracts, so there’ll be grains of truth.
“We just exaggerate it until it becomes funny.”
The Trip To The Northern Lights
The Trip has been set in different locations through the years, with its first season airing in 2010 and set across north England, while other instalments have been set in Italy, Spain and Greece.
The latest season of the series, titled The Trip To The Northern Lights, is set in Scandinavia as the duo move through locations from Swedish hotels to remote Norwegian fishing huts while searching for the aurora borealis.
“It wasn’t that cold, apart from when we went into the Arctic Circle,” Brydon said, as he reflected on the change in climate while filming the latest instalment.
He said: “Because of this whole climate change thing, we had blue skies.
“We got some incredible photography when we were in the fjords, and we had pretty good weather.
“It got cold in the Arctic Circle, but it’s so beautiful.
“It’s so breathtaking that you didn’t mind the cold.”
A release date for The Trip To The Northern Lights is yet to be announced.
