Sylvester McCoy chats to us about working with Richard Briers, The Hobbit, Doctor Who and more… Heres how we got on..

Shall we get the inevitableDoctor Whoquestion done first!

I figure everyone asks you, but do you have any involvement in the 50th anniversary at any level?

Somebody mentioned something that the BBC is running on the weekend when it goes out.

Big Finish have done us proud, theyre coming out with something really exciting.

The BBC, weve heard nothing though.

OneDoctor Whothing I did want to ask you.

You worked with the wonderful Richard Briers onthe show, who we sadly lost a few weeks ago.

Can you just tell us a little about working with him?

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It was great working with him.

He made me laugh, and Ive really happy and proud to say that I made him laugh.

We got on really well, and I remember him once saying to me youre one of us.

Oh, I was so proud.

I was a huge admirer of him, and his comic timing, and his lightness of touch.

For him to say that to me was wonderful.

You always said when working onDoctor Whothat the biggest enemy was never money, it was time.

OnThe Hobbit, money didnt seem to be in that short a supply.

Did you still feel the same deadline pressure though?

Well, theres always pressure on filming.

Theres the weather, people, various different technical problems.

And theres never really enough time for anything, really!

The time pressure sounds a little more relaxed thanDoctor Who,though?

Time can be a constraint.

But then constraint can sometimes be a good thing Ive found.

Does a big ensemble movie likeThe Hobbithave that same kind of feel to it?

Yes it does actually.

Thats by-the-by, but you could mention the fact that I disliked that he did it.

Its a good question though.

There is a wonderful feeling of camaraderie, yes.

I wasnt there all the time, I was back and forth.

I was allowed to dip in and out of it.

It was very much like that camaraderie.

Did you get a feel of being part of it then, considering you were dipping in and out?

I did, I did, yes.

Very much so, because they were very welcoming.

This does look like a real adventure, and a fun job.

The thing is, Im a gypsy, I love travelling!

The chance to go there.

Youve always struck me as a theatre person first?

I do actually like performing to a live audience.

I like the response.

Physically, too, as I get off the stage and harangue them from close up!

I do like it.

But I also enjoy film.

Its very, very different from theatre.

Theatre is like broad brush painting, where you’re free to go anywhere with your brush.

I love that as well.

You have to internalise everything and get it right deep inside.

And when you feel you get it right, its almost orgasmic!

Its a lovely experience.

Its often said that film is 100 hours of preparation for one minute of perfection?

Film has been a surprisingly small part of your acting life though.

Youve done so many different, varied things, but not too much film?

I suppose it has in a way.

I havent done enough really.

Is that by your own design, or down to the offers that have come your way?

Ive never planned my career really.

It just comes along, and I do whatever comes next!

So in the immediate future, Im guessing your work onThe Hobbitisnt quite done yet?

I thought you might say that!

You seem to be having a great deal of fun with the character from what we saw though.

All the better, given that I read youd had your hips done not too long ago!

Yeah, it was great fun.

And once youve got your hips done, then hopefully theyre alright for a bit!

Im this old hippy with new hips!

An odd question, then.

Are you glad you got this now?

Was this right for you at this point though?

But then, this is a better part than Bilbo Baggins.

Youve said before that you took it all as a compliment?

Oh it was, it was.

To be in the company of Ian Holm was wonderful.

Going forward then, is your planned Arthur Scargill play still happening?

Ah no, its not managed to go ahead.

The problem is that films and such forth have got in the way of it all.

And youre staying close toThe Minister Of Chancetoo?

Im playing a villain in that.

Anything else on the horizon?

And theres this miraculous candle that brings miracles every now and then.

Its got Susan Boyle in it too.

Sylvester McCoy, thank you very much!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeyis out on DVD and Blu-ray now.

More details on The Minister Of Chance can be foundhere.