Jeremy Bulloch started his illustrious and successful acting career in 1950 at the tender age of 5 when he appeared in his first school play and hasn't looked back since. Destined for the acting profession he attended the Corona Academy Drama School, and made his first professional appearance aged twelve when he appeared in a breakfast cereal commercial.
Appearing many times on children's television, Jeremy's big break
came in 1963 at the age of just 17 when he landed a major role
in Summer Holiday, which starred Sir Cliff himself. Not long after this, he became a household name by
starring in a BBC Soap Opera called The Newcomers, which ran for
3 years. In 1969, Jeremy was off to Madrid in Spain to play the
leading role in a musical film called Las Leandras and this was
followed by two other major films: The Virgin and the
Gypsy (1970) and Mary Queen of Scots (1971).
During the 1970s, he made many other screen appearances on
television and film, including the James Bond franchise, in which he portrayed
Q's assistant 'Smithers'. The most iconic film I remember him in
personally, was the sprawling, surrealist musical, O Lucky Man (1973)
which was directed by the late, great Lindsay Anderson
where Jeremy played a character that represented the alter
ego of Michael Arnold Travis played by Malcolm McDowell. There is one
particular scene I remember vividly where Travis finds
Jeremy's character covered up in a hospital bed and pulls back the
sheet to reveal that he has been transformed into a
pig. Truly horrifying.
1977, Jeremy spent six months in the Far East, where he travelled
extensively to the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and
Indonesia, filming a BBC drama documentary called 'The Sadrina Project'
which was essentially designed to teach English to people in the Far
East, mainly the Chinese.
In 1978, he was starring in the television comedy
series Agony (1979), which was co-written by an American called Len
Richmond. It was during this series that Jeremy was asked to play a small part
in Star Wars Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back (1980). The part, of
course, was Boba Fett - proving the old theatrical saying, "there is no
such thing as a small part"! Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the
Jedi (1983) soon followed and Jeremy was invited to reprise the role of
Boba.
Since the early 1980s, Jeremy has played many roles on television and on
the stage in London's West End. He has also done two worldwide theatre tours
covering the Middle and Far East where Jeremy was instantly recognised by
hundreds of people who said they had learnt their English back in the
70's from the Sadrina Project.
Jeremy appeared regularly in the favourite television series Robin
Hood(1984), in which he played the part of Edward of Wickham. 'Robin of
Sherwood' has an amazing following around the world, and when work permitting,
Jeremy attends the convention 'Spirit of Sherwood' in Novi,
Michigan. Another popular series he has appeared in is Doctor
Who (1963) where he played Hal the Archer in 'The Time Warrior' with Jon Pertwee, and also Tor in the 'Space Museum' with William Hartnell starring as the Doctor.
Since the re-release of Star Wars in 1997, the interest in the character
of Boba Fett has meant that Jeremy has been invited to many Sci-Fi conventions
and events all around the world. His fan mail is ever increasing, and he
manages to somehow to reply to everyone that takes the trouble
to write to him. Whenever I have met him at Sci-Fi conventions and
Comic Con, he has always had time and consideration to chat about all of
his acting roles and answer any questions put to him. A true gent.
Without Further ado, please see the full interview below:
K&J) You have appeared in two episodes of Doctor
Who, the first in 1965 alongside William Hartnell and the second with Jon
Pertwee in 1974. How much had the filming process changed between your
experiences? And were there any noticeable differences due to the evolution of
the show?
JB) There were noticeable differences in that the
later episodes were filmed in colour, and the stories were getting more and
more interesting.
K&J) Having worked with both William Hartnell
and Jon Pertwee, how did their approaches differ when it came to playing the
Doctor? And how did you feel whilst on set with each of them?
JB) William Hartnell was very particular in doing
things his way, but nevertheless I thought he came across as a very good
Doctor. Jon Pertwee was completely
different in that he was very jolly thoughout the whole series, and we had many
giggles which had to be stifled in between filming.
K&J) What was the highlight of your time on the
set of Doctor Who?
JB) Just being involved was the highlight
K&J) Were you a fan of Doctor Who before you
were cast in the show? Do you watch it at all now?
JB) Yes I was when I was younger, but nowadays I do
not get so much time to watch it.
K&J) Doctor Who was still relatively young when
you first landed a role in ‘The Space Museum’. How did you come by this role?
JB) Talent!!
No seriously – I was called in for an audition, and was lucky enough to
be chosen for the part of Tor.
K&J) You have become a prominent actor in the
Sci-fi genre, was Doctor Who your first step into this? And did you ever expect
to be involved in such big projects as Doctor Who and Star Wars?
JB) Dr. Who was the first sci-fi series I was
involved in, and Star was the second.
Amazingly both have been to prove very popular.
K&J) How were you offered your second role in
Doctor Who? Did it help that you had worked on the show before?
JB) Although the second role was a different
character, it probably did help when I talked about my first experience in Dr.
Who.
K&J) ‘The Time Warrior’ episode from 1974 was
the very first appearance of a Sontaron Warrior; these are now iconic villains
in the world of Doctor Who. They look like potatoes, live to kill and mass
produce armies of strong compact creatures. What was your first impression when
you saw Kevin Lindsay made up as Linx for the first time? And why do you think
these creatures are so well loved in the who-niverse?
JB) When I saw Kevin made up as Linx my first
reaction was to laugh, because he looked quite funny. Once he started talking he then came across
as quite scary. I think these creatures
are so well loved because they all look so similar due to cloning.
K&J) I read that after ‘The Time Warrior’ you
were considered as a permentant companion for the Doctor alongside Elisabeth
Sladen, is this true? And if so would you have been interested in the role? And
how do you think it would have affected your career to date? You might have
never gotten to be Boba Fett.
JB) Yes there was talk of me becoming the male
companion to Elisabeth Sladen, but in the end it never happened.
K&J) Not long ago the show celebrated its 50th
year how does it feel to be a part of something that iconic? And why do you
think the show has stood the test of time?
JB) I have been in several shows that have become
iconic ie: Star Wars, Bond films and Dr. Who plus the very popular TV series
Robin of Sherwood. I think Dr. Who has
stood the test of time because it appeals to all generations.
K&J) If you received a call today offering you a
part in the new series of Doctor Who would you say yes? And what type of
character would you like to play? Perhaps a villain having played a protagonist
if both of your appearances?
JB) If the call came of course I would be delighted
to be involved once again in Dr. Who. I
would not be too bothered about what type of character I played.
K&J) The internet is writhe with rumours since
the announcement that Disney would be taking over the rights to Star Wars, one
such rumour is that a standalone Boba Fett film has been confirmed. Have you
heard any such news? And how would you feel about something like that?
JB) I have only seen what everyone has on the
internet, and do not have a hot line to Disney!
K&J) Some people feel that the mystery behind
Boba is better left un-discovered and that some of the revelations about his
backstory have taken away from the character. I know that as a child I often
wondered what was under the mask. What do you think about the development of
Boba Fett? And how does it fit with your own imaginings of his back story?
JB) I have always said from day one that you should
never see the face of Boba Fett – that way his mystery remains intact. I do look forward to seeing what they do if
his own film comes out.
K&J) Having come face to face with one of the
Sontaron warriors who are tough, strong and determined creatures, how do you
think Boba Fett would hold up in a battle with Linx? Who would win?
JB) He would win hands down.
K&J) Finally, what does 2014 hold for you?
JB) A very busy year with travel plans including
trips to Australia and South America - all tied up with Star Wars.
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