 Hi, I'm here with of course a living legend sergeant Benton himself John Levine So first question. Have you been enjoying yourself so far? I always enjoy myself seeing the smiles on the fans faces makes you want to get up every morning Oh, that's fantastic. Excellent because you just did a phantom signing event, right? Yes, that was yesterday with my lovely lovely dear friend Katie Manning. That's fantastic We've been buds for fifty fifty five years now, and I still adore her fantastic Well, that's why she won first question is doing these kinds of events I know you're on your own here for this one, but phantom events stuff like that Is it nice to see the fans and also just old friends or being with old friends? Especially if you haven't seen them for a while. I mean remember I was in America for 21 years So I missed out on the lot But one thing about Doctor Who people is they must be the nicest actors in the world because none of them ever turn away The chance to talk to someone or help someone I think we're totally lacking in ego I don't think we have any the only vanity we have is that we like to look smart But I don't know. There's any two people who obviously I'm not going to tell you who There's any two people I wouldn't work with in Doctor Who all the other 90 are utterly perfect Hopefully I don't join the list and remember the pride you have when you're in a show like Doctor Who I mean suddenly my agent phone out and said you're in Doctor Who what and then you know the rest is history of course Well, very true So how familiar were you with it when you started? Well, I knew I liked Patrick Trowne very much because I liked his style of acting I liked his hobo Attitude and then when I got a part in one of his shows as a yeti That was when I realized that I was enjoying it because I got on very well with Fraser Hines and Patrick And it does end up getting in your blood You end up thinking God if I can do another scene like that and then you get the whole series And you get in year after year after year quite honestly, it's heavy It's a beautiful thing because the fans love the show and it is good over evil at the end of the day That's what Doctor Who is you mentioned your yeti. How was your yeti performance? Would you would you? Hardest job I've ever done it was so it's 110 degrees inside. It weighed like a hundred pounds and it was murder We all and a couple of us actually pee-peed in them and when we got to work the next morning We had to go around sniffing the yetis Did you tell the costume people that they were living? Yeah, well, they had to clean them out. I mean, you're in it for three hours It's like when you're in the sea if you want to pee you just do it That is the insight I didn't expect I didn't expect to tell you either. Well, here we are You know, I'm getting the inside scoop of the of the wee wee yetis So pivoting back to cons, how many do you think you've done over the years because it must be in the hundreds 400 maybe five Because we did the big American ones you see back in the day I did one where there were 280,000 people Oh the big one in Atlanta, Georgia Anyway, it's so big that you do I The one thing I must say having been in doctor. It's allowed me to see the world I've been to almost every country and I was in Hollywood because I fell in love with the American lady and Doctor who just rise rises above the everywhere even in America They just adore it and you know now, don't you with Russell T. Davies back in the helm that man is a bloody genius That man only has to think and the story comes out The past few years have been to say the least the most agonizing watch To be polite not a fan of it. Nothing to do with Jodie Jodie is adorable It was the rest of it now having said that You can't have good shows that go on being good all the time You've got to have like funny enough. I'm quite addicted to the Big Bang Theory for some even at my age And it's the little Jewish bloke With the wife of the high-pitched voice What a talent that lad is yeah, and there's some of the parts of that show that are just and I'm my my favorite film this year Have you seen it? It's called open range Starring Kevin Cosner try and see it's the best cowboy film I've ever seen in my life It's called open range. It's fun the most authentic movie I've ever seen right next question I love the tangents. That's what we love to see because sometimes you get a guest and they're like, you know Oh, yes. No, I know the best guest always have a nice little natter. Yes again on cons How does this one rank among so far because this one has certainly a big collection of items including what presumably what you're wearing This I kept this for I found this in a junk shop. It's not exactly the same one. Well, first of all What James has done? I've that's this is the second best display. I've seen it's the perfection of it I love people that really work at that art, you know If you're passionate about something and you can feel it look everything is perfect In fact, I went around this morning acting as a dummy standing in all the displays Hoping that it will make people laugh. That's a no and of course James. It's dedication again You see whatever job you do if you don't enjoy it. That's why you got to make sure you get the right job You know, I was gonna be an undertaker originally, but that doesn't go anywhere, does it? Well, I mean have you got any favorites that you've seen so far. Oh, no, I wouldn't say no It's just a lovely. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's good. It's specific. That's not that's a waste of time. They're all brilliant excellent well Last but not least I have to say a massive. Thank you Phil for letting me intervene today This has been absolute James has been so you know when people put on a show like this the work He's put in and all I do is come in here prancing like a little fairy He put me uniform on and sign a couple of autographs, but it's it's all down to dedication I'm one thing I will just tell you just because you'll never hear again, but When I was in Hollywood, I did meet a lot of people because of my fame I mean, let's face it Americans love actors more than anything else on earth, which is pathetic They put us above judges and police and everything is ridiculous. Well one day. I was my wife She's I were now divorced she worked at Warner Brothers studio for 15 years so every day I went down to Warner Brothers and I've been writing a screenplay and I nearly got it off five years ago. I was offered a million pounds that's what screenplays are worth and I ended up not being able to write it because You know like when you watch a mission impossible Every scene every line of dialogue every movement in that film is written by the writer You try and imagine writing and you know a mission impossible or whatever Well, mine is a political thriller and I will drop the name because although we don't think it's happened yet But I bumped in I met Tom Cruise just once he was in Warner Brothers making The film with Steven Spielberg I forgotten Looking into the future getting prisoners before they committed crime anyway, and then I met John Travolta, of course And he loves the English and he loved he liked me and he has a production company So I I'm nearly through my screenplay and he's looking at it So I must confess the thought of John Travolta because he's a beautiful man And I saw Saturday Night Fever again the other night. What what a movie at the end of the day And how can anybody be that bleeding good? I mean it's in sick, you know Anyway, he likes me. He's checked me out. He knows that I'm a good and I'm just waiting now My product is on his desk in Hollywood. Oh My god, I can almost lose my breath at the thought of it, but let's be a bit honest here The chances are one in 830. That's how like for example quick story when they did Titanic I was already living in Hollywood. I lived in Burbank, which was very pleasant And they were casting for Titanic. Well, my dad and his From live home from Newcastle used to work on it Anyway, I went for the audition to play one of the English crew on Titanic and the the casting director was Mal Mal Finney the biggest casting director in Hollywood. Anyway, the long story show I nearly got the part But I was too tall, right? And this is this is the reason I'm telling you the story. I was in her office Mali Finn She she castle every big movie In her office in the Warner Brothers lot, which I went in every day. So it wasn't a surprise. I looked around now I Saw screenplays, you know, the average screenplays that fit 300 pages. I saw over 10 Piles of them up against the wall over 15 feet high because they stacked against each other. So there must have been 2000 3000 Scripts that people like me had written and sent in and then in the other thing the photographs You know, like this like this. There's 30 here Look how thick it is. In other words, right? So what I'm getting at here the chances of surviving in Hollywood against And everyone's an actor and everyone's handsome and all the women are beautiful But only the one in every thousand makes it but so like I said if I will put it on my website if John picks it up Oh my god, I'll go mad because it means I have to go over and co-produce it with him Oh, can you imagine? So what we're gonna do today, John? You know, you know, and you know, the reason I did it is The only other famous person I've lived next to is when I lived in Putney my first marriage back in the 60s Somebody bought the whole house. We were in just one like most people that are poor We just had one floor in a Victorian house Really dreadful or next door somebody moved in on one Saturday night and they made such a noise They came round to apologize guess who had moved in next door to me and Putney Anthony Hopkins and his wife before before he was You know before he was a star-study man and the next day he came down and he watched one of my doctor Who's now I didn't know who he was I didn't know but his his wife's father was John Persby's best friend Eric Barker how small the world is anyway two days later Tony Hopkins who wasn't Tony Hopkins is he was studying to be an actor knocked on my door So could you help me rehearse a show? I've just got from the BBC and I thought oh bless his little heart He's got two bloody lines here and I'll help him out because I've got four in my show The part was Pierre and Tolstoy's war and peace one of the biggest parts in the history of entertaining For the next four months. I was in Tony Hopkins basement playing every part opposite his Pierre and From then on he tried to get me in every movie. He was in it didn't work that way, of course But that's how much he thought he owed me for making him so good in For rehearsing. Yeah, so yeah So I've had a few famous people in your life and and he's ended up You know, he's he's a loner and he still goes to Alcoholics Anonymous, which he admits In fact, I went to one of the alcoholic in LA and all they're all alcohol. They're all in the trucks Poor hate to be an American. I have to say Um Yeah, and I forgot what I was gonna say so I'll leave that and I may have dug a hole for myself there I hope I wish you the best with the screenplay and if that all fails, we'll just get you back in doctor Well, yes, and oh no, but you know just as sadly, you know, it's not gonna happen You know, you know the day they and hang on the day they announced they're gonna do a unit spin-off I heard on the news myself and I must confess just for a split second Although I've known for the last 40 years, they're never gonna have us back a were to bleed no Richers our commission now. He's he's got a problem. I think Katie's gonna be involved I I've not known because I don't ask questions anymore because I don't want to know really But the day they announced about two weeks ago big new units spin-off I'm walking down my height because I've just had hip replacement surgery So I'm walking down this on my on my crutches and three people my barber ran out I said John they're doing it. Oh, you lucky son Then I went down the people I buy my second-hand clothes. Oh, are you gonna be back? No way they're not gonna come anywhere near us because now it's not United United Nations Intelligence Task Force. It's something else now, isn't it? It said they changed it so so but I must confess this and this is I I wouldn't usually say something like this But I would I would say to to Russell I think he misses a trick if he didn't get me back for just what you call Thank you for smiling. No, but you know like just one episode to Another was like talking to the new unit people saying you know what it was like in our day But obviously it's not gonna happen, but I would love to I mean good old God only knows but I had but listen I had six years. I had a great big load of it and I and to this day. I thank God I only became a little religious about five years ago when I lost my wife My best friend died and my son moved to New Zealand who became a Christian because he was a heroin addict in Hong Kong and he was picked up by a Christian who saved his life and I hated my son for 30 years and he's now married with two children He's no longer on heroin and I can't tell you how much I love him now You know, sometimes you have to go to the depths of hell to find and I have to say this I've been there hell is a dark terrible place and I'll tell you what there's so many people out here even in this group here Depression alienation loneliness and slight depression and I've got them all up to my neck Loss your wife me mom's dead two of my friends died four weeks ago. I've just had me hip done I've just found out that I've got a problem with my retina and you suddenly think party all at once Like I went to my doctor. He said John. You're sick. I said I want a second opinion. He said you're ugly as well And that's the energy in it. So anyway, so yeah, very briefly I've always been an emotional man. I think it's because of the way I was born. I was born breech jaundice and dead 1941 four minutes to midnight And I turned in my mother's birth canal when they were bombing the Spitfire factories in Southampton 400,000 tons of bombs to take out the greatest airplane in the world if it hadn't have been for the Spitfire We wouldn't be here today Never in the field of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few those 100 men saved this island and If we don't remember that then it's not worth be any And my dad was on the Russian convoy imagine him now in his grave seeing what this filthy filthy Putin is doing They're gonna know what pain is I tell you I know a couple of people in the business So you not only got contacts we've also got people in prison. Oh Every good actor has a person in prison. Well good to know. Anyway, sorry to get on to that But it's you know, it's just so bad and I I think we should do so I think we all we men we should get up and do something about it start using our fists again We've gone soft. Well on that note Thank you very much It just comes over me sometimes like a red mist, you know, I wish I'd have missed it there, but Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. I believe you have a photo opportunity Oh, yes, we do. Yes, we do. Oh photographs, of course, right