I have loved writing the series of articles “The other cast” of Red Dwarf for Scifind. I have had to rewatch classic shows, Research these episodes, and then write my thoughts and talk about the stars that I’ve never known.
Well this week excitement gripped me as all that changed and the man of many parts Mr. Tony Hawks spared humble little me some of his time. Tony, if we remember from last weeks article, has played everything from a suitcase to Caligula.
Hi Tony and thanks for talking to Scifind. How did you first become involved in Red Dwarf?
Ed Bye saw me compering at Jongleurs comedy club in Jongleurs London and asked me to come and do the warm ups for the series. So much went wrong with the first recording that I was on nearly all the time! They told me that I saved the day, and as a result they used to find me little parts – as a way of saying thank you.
Of all the characters you played or voiced which is your favourite?
Hard question, I enjoyed all of them but I suppose Caligula. When I was in that role Craig Charles just couldn’t control himself and kept cracking up. We had lots of fun doing those scenes
Do you have a favourite episode?
I liked “Better than Life” a lot. You should write about that one!
Do you have any happy memories of filming you would care to share?
Struggling with the warm up in the first show. Realising that I’d nearly used up every bit of material that I’d ever done and looking at my watch and seeing that it was 8.15. the recording finished at 10!
Were your parts heavily scripted or was there room for you to make your own mark on them?
To be honest, they were pretty much all worked out and there wasn’t much room for improvisation – much as I like working like that
Are you back in any capacity for series X?
No. Ed and the guys were trying to find a part for me – but the only thing they could find was too small, so I politely said ‘no’. I really do wish them luck though and look forward to seeing the show as any other fan is.
Thanks again Tony, Where can your fans catch you in performance at the moment? What’s coming up?
I’m in a new film coming out, I believe you mentioned it last week, details can be found on the website www.moldovansmovie.com. and I have a UK tour coming up, starting on June 21st. more details can be found on the site.
So, there we have it. Words from one of the unsung heroes that keep the good ship Red Dwarf going. Although its a real shame Tony wont be in series X, he is still fond in our hearts and always in my DVD player.