FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Craig Revel Horwood
What are you working on at the moment?
A production of Annie, and I’m playing Miss Hannigan, who runs the orphanage. What’s great about playing her is that it’s written so beautifully and it’s wonderful to play the villain. You get really great one-liners and it’s just great playing a drunk who hates children. It’s good fun, we have a real laugh. She is quite a grotesque character, but it’s a good part in that you get to work with the kids, you get to work with the adults, I get to sing and we do big dance routines. There’s a lot of comedy in it, as well as it being quite dark through the eyes of Miss Hannigan – she’s man-hungry and alcohol-hungry.
When are you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m lying by my pool and enjoying the sunshine or when I’m relaxing at home and cooking. I’m a good chef – I was runner-up on Celebrity MasterChef in 2007 – and I actually left school to become a chef, but I didn’t enjoy it.
What is your greatest fear?
Heights – I just can’t do them.
What is your earliest memory?
I think it is when I got a little red car for Christmas, when I was three. I could drive it around. I didn’t get my licence until I was 47, though.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I get frustrated with myself if my lines aren’t going the way I want them to.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Susan Stroman, who was the choreographer of Crazy For You, back in 1993. We became really good friends, and she inspired me to become a choreographer.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Triumph Stag, 3.0 litre, V8, in white with a red leather interior.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Selfishness.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Ageing. The lines that get deeper and deeper year by year.
What is your favourite book?
The first book I ever read cover to cover, The Thorn Birds. It’s a real page-turner.
What is your favourite film?
Strictly Ballroom – it’s hilarious, I can watch it over and over again. It’s brilliant.
What is your favourite record or piece of music?
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
What is your favourite meal?
Lasagne, I love it. It’s delicious, but fattening.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Stephen Fry, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland. It would be epic, wouldn’t it?
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
People were calling me Mr Orange. I’d just got back from Australia and I was on telly. I was quite orange, though.
Do you believe in aliens?
No.
What is your secret vice?
Pizza, with double pepperoni. Really, I should only have one of those every three months. It’s a rare treat.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Sometimes, on occasions when I really want to write something and I’ve found a proper card.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘Darling’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Another million pounds. Or winning the lottery.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I play the trumpet, badly. I don’t practise often but I do have one at home.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘Fab-u-lous’.
Annie the Musical will be showing at Piccadilly Theatre in London in May 2017. Further information is available here: www.piccadillytheatre.org/annie
A production of Annie, and I’m playing Miss Hannigan, who runs the orphanage. What’s great about playing her is that it’s written so beautifully and it’s wonderful to play the villain. You get really great one-liners and it’s just great playing a drunk who hates children. It’s good fun, we have a real laugh. She is quite a grotesque character, but it’s a good part in that you get to work with the kids, you get to work with the adults, I get to sing and we do big dance routines. There’s a lot of comedy in it, as well as it being quite dark through the eyes of Miss Hannigan – she’s man-hungry and alcohol-hungry.
When are you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m lying by my pool and enjoying the sunshine or when I’m relaxing at home and cooking. I’m a good chef – I was runner-up on Celebrity MasterChef in 2007 – and I actually left school to become a chef, but I didn’t enjoy it.
What is your greatest fear?
Heights – I just can’t do them.
What is your earliest memory?
I think it is when I got a little red car for Christmas, when I was three. I could drive it around. I didn’t get my licence until I was 47, though.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I get frustrated with myself if my lines aren’t going the way I want them to.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Susan Stroman, who was the choreographer of Crazy For You, back in 1993. We became really good friends, and she inspired me to become a choreographer.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Triumph Stag, 3.0 litre, V8, in white with a red leather interior.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Selfishness.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Ageing. The lines that get deeper and deeper year by year.
What is your favourite book?
The first book I ever read cover to cover, The Thorn Birds. It’s a real page-turner.
What is your favourite film?
Strictly Ballroom – it’s hilarious, I can watch it over and over again. It’s brilliant.
What is your favourite record or piece of music?
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
What is your favourite meal?
Lasagne, I love it. It’s delicious, but fattening.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Stephen Fry, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland. It would be epic, wouldn’t it?
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
People were calling me Mr Orange. I’d just got back from Australia and I was on telly. I was quite orange, though.
Do you believe in aliens?
No.
What is your secret vice?
Pizza, with double pepperoni. Really, I should only have one of those every three months. It’s a rare treat.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Sometimes, on occasions when I really want to write something and I’ve found a proper card.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘Darling’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Another million pounds. Or winning the lottery.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I play the trumpet, badly. I don’t practise often but I do have one at home.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘Fab-u-lous’.
Annie the Musical will be showing at Piccadilly Theatre in London in May 2017. Further information is available here: www.piccadillytheatre.org/annie