heroes or villains

[mikotyk]

Hello Tom,

Thank you very much for answering my question last month. It was quite a treat for me to be able to talk to my childhood hero.

Over your career, you have played a variety of roles from the heroic (The Doctor, Sherlock Holmes and even a doctor on Medics) to some very villainous characters (Rasputin (whose look you captured perfectly), Professor Moriarty and Prince Koura to name a few. Other than the Doctor, Koura is one of my favorite charcters you've played). A lot of actors have said in interviews that they love playing the villain because the villain gets to do so much and that the part of the villain is 'more fun' than playing the hero. When choosing roles, do you have a preference? Would you rather play the hero or the villain?

My very best regards,

Mike

[Tom Baker]

Dear Mike,

I don't see the difference. The villain is only the villain to those who disagree with him. Moriarty thought of Holmes as the villain. Lucifer probably thought of God as a villain. We know what God thought of the devil and how annoyed he was when he, the devil, who is a master of disguise, crept into the Garden of Eden and soft soaped Eve. But then the Devil was the first talking snake she had met. I think if one of the moths which flutter on my book as I read in the middle of the night suddenly spoke to me I would be impressed. It would not need to say anything impressive though; if it just said: "Hello Tom, the man across the street is reading that book, too, and seems to be enjoying it." That would impress me and I would instantly be vulnerable to a suggestion that I should eat an apple.

If you love gardening you would probably think of a Jack Russell terrier as a villain simply because he digs up your plants. Or a beautiful herd of fallow deer cropping gently all night long in among your fruit trees would surely be called villainous. I think of any actor who gets the part I want is a villain. I'll stop there and let you get on with your life.

Toodle Ooh

Tom