IIt’s a measure of a great actor that the characters they play are so compelling, it’s easy to think that’s how they are in real life. Timothy Spall rose to fame as Barry’s dim builder in the 80s comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. But before that he had been at the National Youth Theatre, trained at Rada, worked for the RSC and starred in his first Mike Leigh film, Home Sweet Home.
Obviously he can’t turn into a rat like he can in Harry Potter, but he’s also not from Birmingham, which will confuse fans of Red Dwarf (where he’s infamously invents the word “twonk”).
Instead, Spall grew up in South West London in a house with no indoor toilets or heating, and inadvertently went to college with the Sex Pistols.
At university, Spall excelled in art, a passion which – after playing both Turner in Mr Turner in 2014 and LS Lowry in Mrs Lowry & Son in 2019 – he recently rekindled by hosting his own show the last year at Salford.
Now the Sweeney Todd and King’s Speech actor is back in the thriller It’s snowing in Benidorm, where a notably thinner Spall than you’ll remember (last time we printed a photo a reader thought we accidentally printed a photo of Tim Roth!) takes early retirement and decides to visit what turns out to be his missing brother in Benidorm. And to inspire you to go to the cinema to see him, he will answer your questions about his life, his career and in general.
So, tongue, Timothy! Ask your questions in the comments below by 6 p.m. on Monday, August 29, and we’ll print her answers in Film & Music and stream them online September 9. Spall was also once in a David Bowie tribute act, and also claims to be doing the weirdest cup of tea in the world: a Yorkshire bag, an Earl Gray bag, so someone has to pull it.
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