An Interview with Martin Freeman (continued)

So you want to quit comedy despite your huge success in funny films and TV shows?
Well, although I love comedy, my background isn't in comedy. I don't want to do novelty comedies for too long. But it's just going to look like I'm trying to validate myself if I play something like a child killer. That would be like, 'Look, I can do this as well, mum.' So the part would have to be carefully chosen.

Do you think Hitchhiker's is going to be the movie that will allow you to follow your Office co-star Mackenzie Crook's footsteps into Hollywood blockbusters?
No. Nothing is going to take me to Hollywood, mate, rest assured of that. I accept the compliment that I deserve to be in blockbusters, but I don't equate it with meritocracy in that way. It's like when people say, 'It's a compliment, you're famous.' That's not a compliment, Himmler was famous as well. People have either heard of you or they haven't, that doesn't interest me. My interesting journey is to try and be good in good films and shows. Mackenzie is a delightful and talented person, but I've got my taste and he's got his and they're not exactly the same.

But you had a taste of Hollywood blockbusters in the spoof deleted scenes for the DVD of the film. Didn't you enjoy making them?
Yes I did. The fake deleted scenes are for the people who thought we'd ruin the Hitchhiker's legacy by gearing it towards the Americans. So we shot some ridiculously Hollywood-like, horrible, over-the-top, clichéd, action-movie scenes. But I enjoyed playing Arthur as a Terminator-style hero, with a sub-machine gun.

Hasn't that given you the desire to be in action films?
Not at all. I didn't become an actor to run around in a sweaty vest. It's just shit. I got into acting to be like Twelve Angry Men. I want human stories, and that's why I love Hitchhiker's, because it is such a human story. I don't really give a shit about action films. That's not to say I sit around all day watching Three Colours White, because I hate that as well. I've just got a poor taste in films, I suppose.

How boring is it shooting a big, drawn-out production like this, compared to the smaller TV shows you're used to?
There's the potential to be bored for longer, because you're spending eight hours of your day instead of two hours hanging around. But you have a sense that there's more money around, more people and bigger sets. You have nicer cars taking you around and more choice on the menu, that's for sure. I was Arthur Dent, so I was well looked after.

Does that mean you had the nicest trailer?
No, we didn't have trailers. We had lovely dressing rooms and they were all quite similar - because I checked. In fact, Jennifer Aniston moved into my dressing room when I left, so if it's good enough for me, it's good enough for her. I mean, the dressing room was much nicer than some of the places I've lived in. And it beats a lot of theatre dressing rooms.

Talking of the theatre, you're about to perform in new London play, Blue Eyes And Heels. Are you an everyman in that?
Well, I'm still working on what I'm doing in it. It's by Toby Whithouse, an excellent playwright. I did a play of his at the Soho Theatre five years ago and I can't wait to be in this new show. I play an ambitious TV producer who wants to bring live wrestling back to the small screen. So essentially, it's another bleak comedy.

Despite your desire to break away from comedy, you seem to be part of a new trend of British comics playing parts in each other's films.
Yes, I was in Simon Pegg's zombie flick, Shaun Of The Dead. And I'm in the new League Of Gentlemen film, and of course, they provide the voices of the Vogons in Hitchhiker's. All the people in British comedy know each other and I think it's a really good time to be British, under 45 and funny. Everyone goes on about the golden years of the 1970s, but I think it's great now. There's Julia Davis, Simon Pegg, The League Of Gentlemen and me, why not?

You've got Confetti coming out soon as well. The film's plot seems to be under tight wraps, so could you tell us a bit about it?
Yes, it's a mockumentary with a lovely comedy current in it. I'm marrying Jessica Stevenson in the film, which also stars comics like Julia Davis and Jimmy Carr. It's an improvised film, which I haven't done before. I don't know when it'll see the light of day, because, obviously, editing it will be a nightmare. It's about three couples who enter a competition to create the most unusual wedding possible, and the winner gets millions of pounds.

Is it more fun doing an improvised film than having a script?
Well, I'm quite happy when there's a bit of both. A rough script is the best way to go. But it can be quite scary when you don't know where the story's going. There's a fine line between having a rough idea of the story, and making it all up - which is what we had to do - while trying to get a few laughs at the same time.

Finally, at the end of the Hitchhiker's movie, Bill Nighy's character Slartibartfast asks what changes you'd like to make to the second version of Earth. What alterations would you like to see on the planet?
The fact that you can make a film and not have to drone on about what you did eight months ago for five days. That's no disrespect to journalists; I love you all, of course. But I'd like to slink away into the woods and play with my Action Man – that's not a code word.