Illustration by Lee Martin
(Picture: ES Magazine )Home is…
We’ve been in Santa Barbara for 45 years. We’ve lost houses to floods, forest fires, earthquakes and now we’re waiting on the locust infestation — then we’ll have had the whole set. I’ve had Covid, cancer. I’m doing okay, there’s been a lot of advances in the treatment of lymphoma just recently, so I’m benefiting from that.
Where do you stay in London?
I’ve been here so rarely. Where are we now? The Corinthia hotel — so here!
What’s the best meal you’ve had in this city?
You guys do a great breakfast. I love scrambled eggs, but what you do with your hash browns is really wonderful.
If you could buy any building in London and live there, which would it be?
I’d buy the Eye — I can see it out my window right now and I’ve been thinking, ‘Perhaps I will buy that when I’m very wealthy one day.’ I’ll live in a different car each day, designed by all the great designers of the world. And I’d have friends over and they could have their own cars and every year we’ll have a party.
Who is the most iconic Londoner in history?
My grandfather was a Liverpudlian, so I feel connected with [adopted Londoners] the Beatles. I like to say, ‘My people are from where the Beatles are from’ — I’ve never even been there! I really need to do that someday.
Who do you call when you want to have fun?
Terry Gilliam is a good buddy and a dear friend. We did a movie called The Fisher King [in 1991]. Working with Robin Williams and working with Terry, the kind of environment he conjures up is incredible. There’s a childlike quality about some artists and in him especially, and we connect on that and so many other levels. So we FaceTime a lot. But as the title of my new show would say, I am The Old Man, so the jamming and the partying is a little dampened by that. I love to play music, so I’ll call Chris Pelonis, the band leader of my band The Abiders, for a jam. And then of course my family, so I can see my brother and sister. After that mostly it’s my girlfriend — my wife — Sue. We’ve been married for 45 years and we have three wonderful daughters.
What’s your London secret?
Whenever I come over, I come with my publicist, Jean Sievers. We just arrived yesterday and we have a ritual of going to Kew on the way from the airport. So we arrive on the plane to Heathrow and we get out and have a walk in that beautiful garden, stretch our legs and visit the beehive. We do it every time we come. I would recommend it, get a little exercise, support our bees.
What are you up to at the moment for work?
In The Old Man, I play a former CIA agent who has absconded and is now living off the grid — that’s when his past starts catching up with him and so the adventure begins. I had a wonderful time playing with some amazing actors, including John Lithgow and Amy Brenneman. It’s a great show.
And do you still have The Dude’s cardigan?
I do! There are several around, you see them on eBay but who knows if they’re original or not. When you make a movie, you often have a few versions of it and you can’t tell if they’re real unless you’ve spilled coffee on it or something. I don’t wear it too much, it’s just a fond memory.
‘The Old Man’ series one is available to stream now on Disney+
