Rob Brydon’s battle to stay in character playing Peter O’Toole

Rob Brydon, the well-known actor and comedian, recently shared insights into the challenges he faced while embodying the legendary Peter O’Toole in a new radio drama titled *Peter O’Toole Is Unwell*. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme, Brydon revealed that portraying an iconic actor frequently hindered by hangovers tested his ability to maintain character. The drama draws upon O’Toole’s celebrated stage performance in *Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell* from the West End in 1999, as well as his widely criticized 1980 portrayal in *Macbeth*.

Brydon, who grew up in Baglan, Port Talbot, described the experience as a difficult but rewarding challenge. He reflected on the complexity of staying in character amidst extensive dialogue penned by award-winning playwright Terry Johnson, noting that “it felt like a challenge once we got into the studio” and that he had to “battle to stay on the saddle.” The title of the drama riffs on Keith Waterhouse’s play *Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell*, a role O’Toole famously performed to acclaim. The phrase itself originates from a note used by *The Spectator* magazine when journalist Jeffrey Bernard failed to meet a deadline.

The drama is set in the Old Vic theatre’s dressing room where O’Toole performed both plays, and it delves into themes such as success, failure, love, aging, and the struggle to accept one’s true self. Brydon praised the script as “wonderful” and appreciated the authentic rhythm of O’Toole’s speech, explaining the difficulty of capturing the essence of another person. “It’s as if you sort of drift… it was a constant battle to kind of stay in the saddle,” he commented, emphasizing the ongoing effort required to stay true to the character’s voice and mannerisms.

Peter O’Toole, who received eight Academy Award nominations, including for his role as T.E. Lawrence in *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), was honored with an Academy Honorary Award in 2003 and passed away in 2013 at the age of 81. Brydon highlighted O’Toole’s distinctive and beautiful voice, admitting that after recording, he sometimes found himself speaking in O’Toole’s mannerisms. Discussing the dramatic contrast in O’Toole’s career, Brydon noted, “O’Toole’s Macbeth did well on ticket sales but only because people wanted to see it because they heard it was terrible. And then years later he’s back in that same dressing room, and he was the talk of the town, the toast of the town, for Jeffrey Bernard [Is Unwell].”

In addition to this radio project, Brydon recently completed filming a new installment of *The Trip* alongside Steve Coogan, directed by Michael Winterbottom. The series depicts exaggerated versions of themselves traveling and dining across various locations, with the latest episode set in Scandinavia. Brydon described their on-screen dynamic as “very bickering and very passive aggressive, or some of it is, other times just aggressive,” though he clarified that this does not reflect their real-life relationship. “You just look for seeds of truth and exaggerate them for conflict and comic effect,” he explained. The new season, *The Trip to the Northern Lights*, is scheduled to air on Sky and NOW in December, while *Peter O’Toole Is Unwell* is currently available on BBC Sounds