Financial Times Europe - 19.10.2019 - 20.10.2019

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CHRI

SMCANDREW

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‘My20-year-oldself APRESS


wasani diot.Imust


apologiseforhim’


INVENTORYALEXANDER ARMSTRONG
PRESENTER,ACTOR AND COMEDIAN

FT.COM/MAGAZINE OCTOBER19/202019

AlexanderArmstrong,49,made
hisnameincomedyasonehalfof
theBafta-winningduoArmstrong
&Miller .Hew asaregul arho st
onHaveIGotNe wsForYoubefore
becomingthepermanenthoston
BBC1 ’sPointlessquizsho w.

What wasyourchildhood
orearliestambition?
To playinapipeband.Ourvillage
pipebandwasthemostshowbiz
thingI’deverseeninmylife.
Pri vateschoolorstateschool?
Universit yors traightintowork?
Lotsofprivateschools,forone
reasonora nother.Iendedupat
DurhamSchool,whichwaslovely,
thenTrinityCollegeCambridge.
Whowasorstillisyourmentor?
Professional ly,JimmyMulville,a
majorfigureinc omedy.Hes etup
HatTrickProductions.Wemade
Armstrong&MillerwithHatTrick.
Fromthebeginningofmycareer,
hewaskeentogetmepresenting.
Heopenedupawholenewavenue
formeandbelievedinmewhenI
didn ’t believeinmyselfatall.
Howphysicall yfita reyou?
I’mprobably aboutsixanda
halfoutof10.WhenI’ mfilming,
myfitnesslevelsfalloff,but
whenI’mnot,Itrytogotothe
gymafewtimesaweek.
Ambitionortalent:which
matter smoretosucces s?
Ifearambitionismoreimportant.
Inanidealscenario, it’samixture
ofthetwo. Genuinetalent
doesshinethroughbut,inmy
experience,ambitionwillget you
muchfurtherthanpuretalent.
Howpoliticallycommitted
areyou?
Ifollowpolit icsavidly.Ilikesensible
peopleofallpoliticalpersuasions.
Myideal politicalparty wouldbea
pickandmix.Ifinditmucheasier
tofollowandsupportpolitical
journalistsandwriters–probably
becausetheydon’t havetorunthe
NHSordeviseatransportplanor
providehouses. Whenitc omesto
actualpoliticians, Ifindit veryhard.
One’s naturalstateistorageagainst
one’s politicalmasters.Ipreferto
rageagainstcompetentpolitical
mastersthanincompetentones.
What wouldyouliketoo wnth at
youdon’tcurrentl ypossess?
Ahouse. We rentatthemoment–
it’saconstanttransitoryphase.
What ’syourbiggestextravagance?
Each yearIhavealotof funin
MarchandAprilgoingthroughnew
enprimeurwines.

Inwhatplaceareyouhappiest?
IgrewupinNorthumberlandand
wegouptoseethefamilyfora
fortnighteveryAugust.
Whatambitionsdoyoustillha ve?
I’ve gotfourboys andmymain
ambitionistoremainalive and
togetthroughthenextphase
offatherhood.Iaspiretot he
emotionalcommitmentand
wisdomthatIthinkthechildren
willneedforthenextstagesin
theirlives.
Whatdrivesyouon?
Family. I’mlongingtoreacha
stageinlifewhereIcantake
myfootoffthegasabit.Iwant
toha ve alovely latemiddle
ageandafabulousdotage.
Whatisthegreatestachievement
ofyourlife sofar?
Imanage dtomarrytheperson
ofmydreams.Hannah,mywife,is
aphenomenalperson.
Whatdoyoufindmost
irritatinginotherpeople?
Themostawfulnoisethehuman
beingcanmakeisthetut .Ican’t
bearpeoplewhodon’t have a
capacityforjoyorenthusiasm.
Ifyour20-year-old selfcould see
younow,whatwouldhethink?
Hewouldbejumpingupand
downwithexcitement.Butmy
20-year-oldselfwasanidiot.
Imustapologiseforhim.
Whichobjectthatyou’velost
doyouwishyoustillhad?
ArecordingofthechoirIwasinat
TrinityCollege.Wed idsomeofmy
favouritepiecesandIwasasoloist.
Whatisthegreatest
challengeofourtime?
We have torelearntodelightin
thedifferencesbetweenusa ndnot
feelthateveryonehastoconform.
Ifpeopleha ve differentviews, it’s
tobeenjoyed.Peopletodayare
affrontedbya nythingthatdiffers
fromtheirownthoughts.
Doyoubelieveinanaft erlife?
IthinkIsortofdo.Ifindtheidea
ofitcomforting.Idon’t know.
I’mhappytod eludemyself.
Ifyouhadtorateyoursatisf acti on
withyourlif esof ar,outof10,
what wouldyouscore?
Forwhatlifehasbroughtme,10
outof10.I’ve hadhugeprivileges.
Intermsofmyowneffort,Iwould
markmyselfaboutafive.

InterviewbyHester Lacey.
AlexanderArmstrong’s 18-date
stand-uptour,“AllMouthand Some
Trousers”,starts inNovember;
alexanderarmstrongontour.com
Free download pdf