- 2 days ago
Matt Smith, national treasure, noted music fan and star of new TV show 'The Death Of Bunny Munro', tells us about adapting the cult Nick Cave novel for the small screen – and reveals he attended a whopping eight dates on this summer's Oasis reunion tour.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00I know you were a huge racist fan.
00:02Yeah.
00:02I've probably asked everyone I've interviewed for the last six months,
00:05but did you get to go to one of the reunion shows?
00:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:09Which one did you go to?
00:09I had to eight of them.
00:10Eight of them?
00:11Yeah.
00:12I did Cardiff, I did Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley.
00:15That's amazing.
00:15Yeah, I love them.
00:16I love racists.
00:17Tell me more about, like...
00:19It's fucking brilliant.
00:20What's to tell me?
00:21It's like, blow your ears off, blow your socks off.
00:24Do you know what I mean?
00:26I have the finest range of beauty products for named Mankind.
00:30100% plant oil.
00:32Natural fragrance.
00:33Barry White's in a bottle.
00:35It's a big bottle, isn't it?
00:36Now...
00:36Hi, I'm Alex from NME,
00:38and today I'm joined by actor, national treasure,
00:40and noted music lover, Matt Smith.
00:43How are we doing?
00:43I'll take that, brother.
00:45Oh, yeah, I'm doing really well.
00:46It's nice to see you again.
00:47Excellent.
00:48Yeah, so as we're here to talk about the death of Bunny Munro...
00:51Yeah.
00:52...adapted from the Nick Cave novel,
00:53I thought we would just start by looking at some really fucking cool pictures of Nick Cave.
00:57Fuck yeah.
00:58So...
00:59Because everyone loves Nick Cave.
01:01So, start with that one.
01:03Yeah, come on.
01:03That's a really famous one, though, isn't it, I think?
01:07So we've got it.
01:07It's with the birthday party at The Venue,
01:10which I've never heard of,
01:11which is in Victoria,
01:12or was in Victoria,
01:13in London, in 1981.
01:15Wow.
01:15I hadn't even been born then.
01:18That's kind of the early, early Nick Cave,
01:19with the quite sort of almost Robert Smith-esque haircut.
01:22Yeah, just looking like a bad boy.
01:24Just a man who looks good in black and white,
01:26and a bit of a smoky ambiance.
01:27And you know there's a lot going on there, don't you?
01:29You can tell.
01:31I've got two on here,
01:32but we'll start with the first one,
01:33because I know that you love your football,
01:34and I thought that might enjoy that.
01:36That's backstage at Pink Pop Festival in Holland in 1990.
01:41Wow.
01:41Do you manage to get a football on set,
01:44shooting this?
01:45On this?
01:46Oh, no.
01:48Sort of bait him into a penalty shootout or something?
01:49Oh, yeah, I actually didn't, sadly.
01:51I mean, if there was a football in this room now,
01:54I'd have been playing with it all day.
01:55I love it.
01:56Just having a football anywhere.
01:57Like, I love getting up in the morning,
01:58I go out in my garden,
01:59I just boot my football to the other end of the garden,
02:01and I'm like, yes.
02:02And last picture,
02:03purely because it's a favourite era of mine of Nick Cave,
02:06and you can't go with the Tash,
02:08which is the famous handlebar.
02:11Because, yeah, exactly.
02:13And that was...
02:14That feels like a really sort of memorable moment for him, doesn't it?
02:19I wonder what sort of spurs you on,
02:22like, in your life at that age,
02:23you're like, right, it's time for the moustache.
02:25Everyone just has to wipe out at one point.
02:26I guess it's just Nick Cave, isn't it?
02:27He just does what the fuck he wants, man.
02:29When's your moustache?
02:31I don't think I can put it.
02:32When's yours?
02:32I actually think you...
02:33I bet you've had one, haven't you?
02:34It's very blonde.
02:35And my dad has had a moustache from the age of, like, 21 until now he's 67.
02:42Classic.
02:42And he actually shaved it off sort of a couple of weeks before he got married to my mum,
02:45and she refused to marry him unless he grew it back.
02:47Oh, really?
02:48So she really...
02:48Because my dad had a moustache for years,
02:50and then he shaved it off,
02:51and at first you go,
02:52wow, that looks a bit strange.
02:54You know what I mean?
02:54When he's had it for so long.
02:56Yeah.
02:56Did your dad grow it back in the end?
02:57No, he didn't, actually.
02:58Once it went, it went.
02:59Yeah.
03:00But he had it for years.
03:02Do you remember the first time you heard a Nick Cave song or you were aware of him?
03:07I feel like in this country, in Australia probably,
03:11he's sort of woven into the fabric a bit here.
03:14Yeah.
03:14Do you know what I mean?
03:15Yeah.
03:15Like, he's in the consciousness, obviously from the Bad Seeds,
03:19but, like, as well for so many different sort of reasons.
03:25And I guess I've had sort of so many ports with Nick Cave over the year
03:31that I've been attached to.
03:32I don't remember the...
03:33I don't remember where I was, no.
03:35But sort of roughly time period would have been when you were younger?
03:38Yeah, yeah.
03:38A recent convert?
03:39Younger, but again, I mean, I'm 43 now.
03:42Unbelievably.
03:44God help me.
03:45Fuck me.
03:46Why did that happen?
03:49Tuesday, it turns out.
03:51I, yeah.
03:53Is it your birthday's on Tuesday?
03:54It was on Tuesday, yeah.
03:55My birthday's on this Saturday.
03:56Come on, Scorpio.
03:57Exactly, yeah.
03:58Get in, my son.
03:59Do you remember when they sort of very briefly changed the sort of,
04:03those star signs around so that we got moved to...
04:06I can't remember what it was.
04:08You might have missed it.
04:09No, no, no.
04:10We're Scorpio.
04:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:12But they changed it like a few years ago.
04:13They've changed it back.
04:15No, mate.
04:15I'm fucking keeping that, mate.
04:16That's one of my badges.
04:17I'm really...
04:18I like being a Scorpio.
04:20But what does that mean to you, being a Scorpio?
04:22It just means you're a fucking Scorpio, mate.
04:23Do you know what I mean?
04:24What are you, Scorpio?
04:25You've got a sting in your tail.
04:27Exactly.
04:28Don't cross us.
04:29Fast forward then from when you sort of were first aware of Nick Cave.
04:32You're now working with him.
04:35Yeah.
04:35That must have like slightly blown your mind a bit.
04:37It did actually.
04:37It was one of those, I got an email through the inbox, you know,
04:40so Death Buddy Monroe wrote, Nick Cave, you have my attention.
04:44Do you know what I mean?
04:45And like even sort of...
04:47From your agent, not from Nick Cave.
04:48Not from Nick Cave.
04:49I wouldn't like to make anyone think that's watching this that Nick Cave does emails
04:52because he definitely doesn't.
04:53He's too cool for that.
04:53Yeah.
04:54Well, he does though, doesn't he?
04:55There's the red letters.
04:56Oh, yeah, of course.
04:57Yeah, on his website.
04:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:58Which are amazing, by the way.
04:59If you've not had a look at them, do.
05:01I hope that that's kind of just plucked from his head and someone else uploads it, though.
05:05Yeah, maybe.
05:06I mean, who knows?
05:06He's Nick Cave.
05:07What was I saying?
05:10And then I think just before then I'd watched one of the Andrew Dominick documentaries,
05:16A Perp of Nothing.
05:16And then what was the other one?
05:1720,000, it's the doc.
05:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:20Fucking brilliant.
05:21One where he talks about watching Scarface with his kids.
05:23Yeah, yeah.
05:24And he talks about the process of...
05:26He says something about writing.
05:27He says, well, writing's easy.
05:29You just make a character do one thing after another.
05:32And I'm going, yeah, that's fucking true, man.
05:34Yeah, and so, and then I got this, you know, sort of message and I was like, okay, wow.
05:42And then we went for breakfast and I'd read the first pilot.
05:46But you can't, I don't know if you've ever met Nick, but there's like, you know,
05:51he's a pretty sort of vivid image.
05:54Yeah.
05:55Do you know what I mean?
05:56Almost intimidating.
05:57I've seen him on, so, red carpet events where he might sort of, he never does the red carpet,
06:02but he might, he came to watch Earl Cave in, I can't remember what the film was,
06:05his son, obviously, and he was just around with Susie.
06:09Yeah.
06:09And it's just sort of his presence is a bit like...
06:11Exactly.
06:12Because he's a tall guy as well, isn't he?
06:13He's really tall and he's really angular and he's sort of immaculately dressed.
06:18He's just unmistakable.
06:20And so then you're having breakfast with him and he's having a boiled egg.
06:23A boiled egg?
06:24And soldiers, yeah.
06:25And, yeah, I was like, even that's kind of cool, isn't it?
06:30I'll have an egg and soldiers.
06:31You're fucking so alive, mate.
06:32Great.
06:33And we talked about this project and I just was like, God, that would be amazing to work
06:40with you, you know?
06:41And I mean, he's done all the music for it as well.
06:43You did an interview a long time, I think, before it even shot, but you said that you've
06:47met him once and this must be that meeting.
06:49Yeah.
06:49And he said, finally, I'm not going to do the accent, someone has had the balls to tell
06:53this unholy tale.
06:55True.
06:55Yeah.
06:56He did say that.
06:57Not at that meeting, but he did say that, yeah.
06:59Because, go on.
07:00Was that sort of, the way he said that would have made me feel a bit, oh my God, maybe I'm
07:04letting myself in for something here.
07:07No, I was like, fucking yeah.
07:09Let's run towards the Nick Cave shaped light.
07:12Do you know what I mean?
07:13What advice did he give you in the rest of that meeting?
07:16When we talked about the character a bit, but see, at that point, I had to say,
07:19I hadn't read the book.
07:20I'd only read one of the scripts.
07:23So he's like, I think you should read the book, man.
07:26Did you read it or did you listen to the audio book?
07:28I did both.
07:29Because that's...
07:29I read it first and then I listened to it.
07:31Which is brilliant because he does more music and also he reads it in his voice, which makes
07:35it sound even better.
07:36Yeah.
07:36And he reads it really well, doesn't he?
07:38Yeah.
07:39And actually, and the music in that, I think we sort of borrowed a bit of a tone of that in
07:42this.
07:43It's really beautiful, obviously, that him and Warren do.
07:46I think, did Warren do that as well?
07:47Probably.
07:47Yeah, so I read it first on holiday really quickly and then I listened to it a lot when
07:52I was preparing just because I wanted to sort of get Nick in my head a bit.
07:56Let's talk about the soundtrack then.
07:58Yeah.
07:58Because, I mean, an embarrassment of riches.
08:01Yeah.
08:01Kylie, The Fool, The Cure, Blondie, Simple Minds, Nick Cave, of course.
08:05Yeah.
08:06It's like banger after banger.
08:08It is.
08:08Did you have any involvement?
08:10Did you get to suggest any songs?
08:12Yeah, but no one listens to me.
08:15And actually, I mean, props and credit to the guys at Clerkenwell.
08:18They're really good at that stuff.
08:20And then I think what Nick and, because a couple with that, what Nick and Warren have done against
08:24that with the score, because then you sort of lean into this often really beautiful sort
08:29of ethereal, you can hear that violin over it and you kind of think, what do those two talk
08:36about when they're just making all that, do you know what I mean?
08:39Down in Brighton somewhere and in some big fucking warehouse.
08:43But yeah, no, I was like everyone at Clerkenwell made me feel really involved in all of the
08:48big decisions.
08:49Do you have a favourite Needle Drop Drop in the show?
08:53Do you know what I really do like, which wasn't my idea, but it was Isabella and she insisted
08:58on it.
08:58And actually, I played it.
09:00They played it for me through a speaker on the shoot at night time is A Forest by The Cure.
09:07Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:08That ends one of the episodes, doesn't it?
09:11Yeah, when he's driving.
09:12Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:13Don't, don't, don't, don't close in and see, see into the trees.
09:18That's a great song.
09:19And then I like, there's a Joy Division song, I don't know if it's still in there, where
09:22he walks into the golf club, the start of a Joy Division song there, which I really like.
09:29And there's a little touch of Kylie Minogue when he's leaving the funeral.
09:31Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:32Because in the book, that's really prevalent.
09:34It's because we've got that sort of jammed in there.
09:36Yeah.
09:37But yeah, it was like the 90s and the early noughties.
09:40It was really important for me.
09:42Yeah.
09:43Musically, I don't know how old you are, but you know, sometimes I look around now.
09:4765.
09:47Yeah.
09:48Where are those fucking bands, man, you know?
09:51Yeah.
09:52Right now, that boy needs his father.
09:56Your dad's not brilliant at looking after anyone who isn't your dad.
09:59I've been talking with mummy.
10:01What?
10:01Well, that brings me on quite nicely to, I'm quite interested in teenage Matt Smith and
10:08his music taste.
10:09But more kind of like, I know you were mad into football.
10:12Yeah, yeah.
10:13But what clothes did you wear?
10:14What silly haircuts did you get?
10:16What bands did you want to look like?
10:17Oh, fuck, yeah.
10:18Well, the clothes, I was, I got sort of, I got quite into fashion.
10:23Labels, mate.
10:23I was labelled up.
10:24Oh, really?
10:25You know this.
10:26Ralph's everywhere.
10:27Are we talking like Liam Gallagher kind of clothes or like more sort of winkle pickers?
10:30No, no, not winkle pickers, but I would, I'd go down like, I was always in like River Island
10:37and then I'd be like, I'd go and buy a pair of Armani jeans or like, do you know what I mean?
10:41I just, I was fucking labelled up.
10:44And then even before that, it was like, middle school I was into, like, you probably don't
10:47remember, there was a thing called Naf Naf, Naf Naf 64, you don't remember that.
10:51You're too young.
10:52What was Naf Naf?
10:53Naf Naf was, people who are my age will know, they'll be going, no, you don't know Naf Naf.
10:58Yeah, and Stussy and all that.
11:00I look forward to the hate on Instagram.
11:02Nah, nah, it's all love.
11:04I was really into clothes.
11:05Yeah.
11:06Patrick Cox shoes, I spent a load of money on them when I was young.
11:10And obviously, I've always wore classics.
11:12I still only wear Reebok classics.
11:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:15For trainers, I don't wear.
11:16Do you have a deal with them?
11:17What's that, Reebok?
11:18Come on, man, show some love.
11:21If I see you in an advert in a month, I'll be like, oh, you did that.
11:24I fucking love Reebok, man.
11:25I know you were a huge racist fan.
11:27Yeah.
11:27I've probably asked everyone I've interviewed for the last six months, but did you get to
11:32go to one of the reunion shows?
11:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:34Which one did you go to?
11:35I've been to eight of them.
11:36Eight of them?
11:37Yeah.
11:37I did Cardiff, I did Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley.
11:40That's amazing.
11:41Yeah.
11:42I love them.
11:42I love races.
11:43Tell me more about, like...
11:45It's fucking brilliant.
11:46What's to tell me?
11:47It's like, blow your ears off, blow your socks off.
11:50Do you know what I mean?
11:51Did you get to meet either of them during the tour, like...
11:53Yeah.
11:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:55Tell me more.
11:56Yeah, I mean, I fucking love Oasis.
11:59It was...
12:00I went to watch them twice at Milton Keynes Bowl when I was 15.
12:03Yeah.
12:04Two nights on a trot.
12:05And I remember just me and my mates, there was like a...
12:09I just loved it.
12:11I loved the atmosphere of it.
12:13Do you know what I mean?
12:13It just made me feel fucking on top of the world.
12:16What was your favourite song on the...
12:18Well, that was...
12:18It was...
12:19What's the Story was out then, so it was...
12:21I mean, look, where do you begin?
12:23And what's amazing about that tour is...
12:26The shit they've left out.
12:27The new one, yeah.
12:28They're Columbia.
12:29She's electric.
12:30Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:30And that's not even getting on to, like...
12:33Like...
12:34The other three albums, four albums, you know.
12:37I couldn't have picked a single song on it,
12:39because I was at one of the Wembley dates
12:40that they could have left out, to be honest, though.
12:42They were all so good.
12:43Bangers.
12:44Banger.
12:44And that's what's amazing about the gig.
12:45You go...
12:46Just when you think, no, no, no,
12:47they go, slide away.
12:50And they haven't even got to fucking talk to...
12:53Do you know what I mean?
12:53Just go...
12:54One of the songs I was surprised by
12:57that everyone went absolutely nuts for
12:59that maybe wasn't quite as big a fan favourite
13:02back in the day was Little by Little.
13:03Little by Little goes mad, mate.
13:05It's massive, yeah.
13:05It goes mad.
13:06Half a world away goes fucking off the chain.
13:08Do you know what I mean?
13:09And that's before they've even got to fucking
13:11Wonderwall, champagne supernova.
13:14You just go...
13:15And every time you leave, you go,
13:18fucking fair play.
13:19And I just think culturally as a country,
13:21it's been, I think we needed it.
13:23Yeah, definitely.
13:23When was the last time we all got together
13:25and went, fucking come on?
13:26And across kind of generations as well.
13:29Yeah, yeah.
13:29It wasn't just like,
13:30just all the mad for it,
13:31it's the bucket hat.
13:32No, no.
13:33I mean, I remember that point in my life
13:36really clearly,
13:37like Blur Oasis,
13:38the race for number one.
13:39I remember sitting there
13:39in my lounge at home
13:42listening to Neil Fox,
13:44Dr Fox,
13:45on the top ten countdown
13:46and being disappointed
13:47that Oasis come in at number two
13:48with Roll with it.
13:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:51The famous chart battle.
13:52Yeah, yeah.
13:53And then that album went off
13:54and just, you know,
13:55nailed it off.
13:55Not to say I don't love Blur,
13:56because I do.
13:57But then also as a teenager,
13:58I was really into rap music.
14:00Yeah.
14:00So like Nas, Illmatic,
14:02one of my favourite albums.
14:04So Stillmatic.
14:05And then Big E,
14:06those first two albums,
14:07I think are just,
14:08you know,
14:09and then like,
14:10I mean,
14:11I was really, again,
14:12I was really into that whole
14:13East Coast,
14:14West Coast battle vibe.
14:17And then, yeah.
14:17And then you had like a,
14:18sort of a trance DJ kind of,
14:20didn't you?
14:21Yeah, I did have a bit of a trance.
14:22That was a career, mate.
14:23And I read about this,
14:24and it was like,
14:25you were a DJ,
14:26you did house party,
14:27stuff like that.
14:27Yeah.
14:27And I read that you also
14:28head ball,
14:29and I was like,
14:29how do those things
14:30sort of interact?
14:30Well, I'll tell you how
14:31they interact,
14:32because then I had the
14:33fucking keys to the castle,
14:34because I got the fund.
14:36And the teacher goes,
14:37right,
14:38so usually we do a yearbook,
14:39I'm going to stop you there,
14:41we're going to throw
14:41a real big party.
14:43But I think it's nice
14:44if they have something to,
14:45I'm going to stop you there,
14:46I'm going to throw a ball,
14:48and,
14:48which by the way,
14:50I'll be DJing at.
14:51So you can save money
14:53on that.
14:53And then it was like,
14:54people were like,
14:55and we used to play these parties,
14:56and like,
14:56the six forms would come up
14:57and go,
14:58Matt,
14:58can you play something we know?
14:59No.
15:00And I'm playing like,
15:01For an Angel,
15:02Paul Van,
15:02like just,
15:03or just random trance tunes
15:04or house tunes.
15:05Did you have a sign
15:06that was like,
15:06no requests?
15:07Yeah.
15:08I have that all the time,
15:08any party.
15:09Can we have,
15:10no, no, no,
15:10you can have the decks
15:11or the tunes
15:12when it's right.
15:13I hate that,
15:13can you just play it?
15:14Oh, fuck off.
15:15Favourite ever gig experience?
15:17You've spoken about Oasis.
15:18Ever.
15:18Yeah, I mean,
15:20I mean,
15:20like all of the above
15:21with Oasis.
15:22I think this time round,
15:23it couldn't have got any better,
15:24and it actually did.
15:25Like,
15:26the Open at Cardiff,
15:27a couple at Wembley
15:28have just been
15:29fucking off the wall, man.
15:30Will you be,
15:31if,
15:32fingers crossed,
15:32they do those four
15:33Nedworths
15:34that they're sort of
15:34going to be doing
15:35this summer,
15:35possibly?
15:36If they do it again?
15:37Will you be there?
15:37You're fucking right,
15:38all four?
15:39Yeah.
15:41Why wouldn't you?
15:42People go,
15:43aren't you bored?
15:44No.
15:45No, I love it.
15:46I'm just going to be there,
15:47in the crowd,
15:48trying to spot a few people.
15:48Not Matt Smith,
15:49because I know you'll be there.
15:50I will be there, mate.
15:51But,
15:52I saw Arcade Fire
15:53in Chicago
15:55with my then girlfriend.
15:57We were staying
15:58in a hotel in Chicago,
15:59and there was this big bus
16:00outside,
16:01silver bus.
16:02And I was like,
16:03that's got to be a band.
16:04And as luck would have it,
16:06this woman came out
16:07and was like,
16:07oh, hey,
16:08did you speak Doctor Who?
16:10I was like,
16:10yeah, yeah, I did.
16:11She's like,
16:12oh, you know,
16:12blah, blah, blah,
16:12and got talking.
16:13I was like,
16:13who's that?
16:15She said,
16:15it's Arcade Fire.
16:16Do you want to come and see them?
16:17I was like,
16:19do I want to come and see them?
16:21Yeah.
16:21And then she's like,
16:22oh, and also,
16:22they're doing this thing at the end
16:23where you can put a bobblehead on
16:24and be on stage.
16:26Do you want to be on stage?
16:27And I was like,
16:29yeah.
16:30So we went to Chicago
16:31and then came on
16:32for the last song on stage
16:33and then the week after
16:34they were playing Toronto.
16:35So I changed all my plans
16:36and drove from Chicago to Toronto
16:39and did exactly the same thing again there.
16:42But I saw them here
16:43at Wembley Arena
16:44when they played the,
16:46did you see the Boxing Ring album?
16:48Yeah, yeah.
16:48And that was fucking brilliant.
16:51That was right up there.
16:52I could chat to you about music for...
16:54All day.
16:54All day.
16:55This has been a top interview, mate.
16:57Thanks so much, mate.
16:57Cheers, mate.
16:58Thanks so much.
16:59Well, this world is plain to see.
17:03Maybe we don't have to be salesmen anymore.
17:06Christ, you're a good boy.
Recommended
0:30
|
Up next
1:13
24:19
0:45
3:49
1:16
Be the first to comment