Rhys Ifans: Mr Nice Guy

That guy from Notting Hill is back (no, not Hugh Grant). He is now the face of legendary weed smuggler Howard Marks in a new biopic.

You play infamous Welsh hash smuggler Howard Marks in Mr Nice. Is Howard a mate of yours?

Read FHM India in the digital libraryEvery issue, every shoot, on TCG Media.

We have been friends for 13 or 14 years, since he came out of prison. I met him shortly after he was released; he came to a Super Furry Animals gig in Cardiff a long time ago. He came backstage and, of course, we all knew who he was. I remember I asked him to sign a packet of Rizlas. He signed one, but I meant for him to sign every single Rizla. He didn’t manage to do that.

Had you planned to make a film of his life for a while?

He said at the time we first met that he was going to write a book, and I said if he did, and they do a film, I wanted to play him. At that time, that was a pipe dream, for want of a better turn of a phrase. Fourteen years down the line we make the movie and a cousin of Howard’s, who was backstage at that first gig, dug up some old video footage of that meeting, and you can actually see me and Howard shaking on the deal.

You must have a had a few reefers with him over the years. Bet he doesn’t skimp on the hash…

In the past we have had a little smoke, the odd toke. I didn’t inhale though. Howard still has a smoke. Everyone has a little smoke once in a while, you know. It’s one of life’s little pleasures.

Should they decriminalise cannabis then?

I agree with Howard on this. You look at any culture and prohibition has invariably been an unmitigated failure. It is just idiotic to criminalise any substance, I think. It needs to be controlled, managed. If you legalise something then you use the taxation from the sale of that drug to help people who become addicted to those substances. It is not going to go away. The war on drugs is being lost on a daily basis. Look at places like Mexico where there are kids being shot on the streets because of the illegality.

Marks was a swot at school, clearly. what about you?

I think I might have started well, but it kind of deteriorated pretty rapidly. With Howard I am playing someone far more educated than myself. Howard was a little genius. I was just a little cunt.

Did you dream of being a rock star?

Yeah, I was dabbling in music long before I started wearing tights and shouting at people.

What is the biggest gig you’ve ever played with your band The Peth?

It was supporting Oasis at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff last year: that was as big as it gets. We’ve just recorded a new album and hopefully that is coming out at some point. These are all friends of mine. We have been hanging out for years and it was never the intention to start a band. We just started fucking about in a studio and realised we had an album there. It is something that genuinely grew from hard drinking sessions in a little studio in Cardiff and it just became its own monster. It is fun, but serious fun.

Ever had a disastrous gig and been bottled off?

We’ve had loads of disasters: people falling off stage. Electric shocks. Small fires. Fights. They are the best gigs.

When was the last time you had a fight?

July. It wasn’t really a fight. I just had to put a stop to it. I don’t fight. I am not a fighter.

If someone wants to have a go, it doesn’t last long. I deal with it.

When was the last time you cooked to impress someone?

Actually, I really, really like cooking but, because of my work, I spend a lot of time in hotels and it gets frustrating. A hotel for two weeks is a holiday, but a hotel for three weeks is like a sort of strange hospital. I can’t believe these words are coming out my fucking mouth, but a signature dish would be cawl – a Welsh broth. Every culture has its version of it. It is something men can do. You just chuck it all in and go to the pub for a day and a half, come back and it tastes glorious.

What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

My kind of dangerous sport is to arrive at a place – wherever it may be – and find out where the dodgy area is, where the people are as hard as fuck, and go there on my own.

I do get a rush, especially if people don’t know who the hell you are. People think “This guy must be fucking mad” and you sit down and you strike up a conversation and I have some of the best nights of my life in some of the most dangerous places in the world. I’ve had a few scrapes in places like Morocco, Uruguay, Thailand. I have got a gypsy gene.

When was the last time you shouted obscenities at the telly?

Jeremy Clarkson. Top Gear. He said something about pikies and I shouted, ‘Shut up, you fat cunt!” Actually, I love shouting at the telly. I shout so much it makes me tired and then I go to sleep.

Are you into motors then?

No. I was learning my lines and wanted something inane in the background. Cars? Smash them all up I say!

How big is your role in the next Harry Potter movie?

I am hardly in it. Two waves of a wand and you will miss me. It was fun to do, your British accent, like. It was like earning your stripes, or getting an OBE, being asked to join that and it was nice hanging out with the big boys…

Mr Nice, is an indie film. Try getting a DVD.

Four more Rhys’ favourite characters he’s played…

• 01 Peter Cook: Not Only But Always (2004)
• 02 Puff: Human Nature (2001)
• 03 Jed: Enduring Love (2004)
• 04 Edward De Vere: Anonymous (2011)

From the November 2010 issue of FHM India.