Mackenzie Crook opens up about the unusual inspiration behind his latest comedy Small Prophets
Small Prophets is out now
Following the arrival of Small Prophets, the new heartwarming comedy from Mackenzie Crook, the actor and writer joined Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio. The Dectectorists' star opened up about the new TV series and the unusual inspiration behind it.
He also revealed why he chose Pearce Quigley for the lead role of Michael Sleep, and how he managed to get Sir Michael Palin involved in the new series.
What was the inspiration behind the comedy Small Prophets?
Mackenzie's latest work is what he describes as a "heartwarming comedy" set in suburban Manchester, about a "lonely man who wants some answers about the whereabouts of his missing girlfriend."
While he admitted it didn't sound like a comedy when he was describing it, he said: "Then he comes across this recipe to grow supernatural creatures, homunculi, in jars that will be able to answer him any question that he puts to them.
"So yeah, it's an odd one!"
The actor and writer continued to reveal the inspiration behind the unusual comedy actually came about 10 years ago, when he found a "little passage in a book about Paracelsus", a medieval Swiss alchemist.
"Why I was reading the book, I don't know," he admitted. "But there was just one little passage which was this account of somebody growing these prophesying spirits.
"And it went into so much detail that you could believe that this was actually true. And if you tried to do this, it would work. That was a long time ago. It's probably 10 years ago and I knew that I wanted to use this somehow, but I just had to sort of sit on it until the idea formed.
"Yeah, various other elements, threads came together until I eventually realised what the story was."
When asked by Simon if he has tried the recipe himself he admitted: “No, I haven't. I don't believe in the supernatural, but I want to."
He went on to reveal: "There are some quite unspeakable things in the original recipe, which I didn't include in the TV show."
Listen to the full interview
Pearce Quigley as Michael Sleep
Pearce has appeared in many productions on stage, TV and film, including Pie In The Sky and Detectorists, but according to Mackenzie he hasn't seen him take on a bigger role, so he thought it was time for him to be "front and centre".
The actor explained why he chose Pearce for the lead role saying: "I think he's one of the funniest men I've ever met. He's a unique actor in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. His delivery is so deadpan dry, I've known him for a long time. We first worked at the Royal Court Theatre in a production of The Seagull, which then transferred to Broadway and we became really close during that time.
"I've only ever seen him in smaller roles, sidekick roles, and I wanted to see him front and centre in something. And so it was when I realised that, the story started to sort of gel in my mind and I realised what the story was."
Michael Palin in Small Prophets
Sir Michael Palin stars in the series as Michael Sleep's father, who gives him the recipe, and as Mackenzie admitted, he was "so lucky" to be able to get the legendary actor involved with the show, having known him for a few years.
"I'm so lucky. I worked with him briefly on the Worzel Gummidge adaptation I did a few years back and I sent him the script," he explained. "And you know, he's said some really complimentary things about me and my writing in recent interviews.
"And so, I'm just very thankful that he read it and decided almost immediately he wanted to be in it. Because I very early on realised that I was writing for him in mind, for this character, Brian."
Will there be another series?
Mackenzie is certainly hoping there will be another series of Small Prophets, in fact he's hoping for two more, as he explained he ends the first series with To Be Continued! However, nothing has been confirmed yet, with the writer explaining the BBC will need to look at the viewing figures before any decision is made.
"I finish off the first series with To Be Continued because in an ideal world, I'd love this to go for three series. That's what I've got mapped out in my head, that he goes on this quest, you know, and then slowly finds the answer, slowly pieces the puzzle together," he explained.
He continued: "After a few weeks, they'll (the BBC) get the audience figures back and then I guess they don't make a decision about a second series until they've seen that, there's enough people that are interested in it. But, I'm really hopeful. I've had some really lovely reactions from people. So, yeah, and I want to tell the next stage of the story."
Small Prophets is on BBC Two on Mondays at 10pm, it is also available to watch on iPlayer.
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