Dougray Scott: ‘Kathy Burke was the best onscreen kiss I’ve ever had’

The Scottish actor answers your questions on poisonous toads, Desperate Housewives, working with Mick Jagger and getting punched in the face by Taggart

Dougray Scott: ‘Kathy Burke was the best onscreen kiss I’ve ever had’

Your performance in 2001 war thriller Enigma – adapted from the Robert Harris thriller with Kate Winslet and Tom Hollander – is one of my favourites. But would you make a better backroom boy or globetrotting spy? catwhowalksbyitself

I like to think a better globetrotting spy because I have a sense of adventure, curiosity, don’t mind risk-taking and I love travel. I did have to prepare for quite a few months beforehand to get my head around all the mathematics. So I went to visit this professor at Cambridge, and spent time at the National Museum of Computing in Milton Keynes, being taught about the concept of codebreaking. I love doing research, so it was bliss.

Scott in Enigma, 2001. Photograph: Intermedia/Allstar

The other thing that people forget is that Enigma was produced by Mick Jagger, because he’s fascinated by this particular period of history. Having a rock legend behind the camera most days was surreal. But it was great because I got to hang out with Mick Jagger!

You completely nailed Sir Percival Glyde – surely the most horrid villain of all time – in the 2018 BBC miniseriesThe Woman in White. What’s the secret to playing evil? MomDoc

If you play someone who’s perceived as being of questionable character, you have to also find the opposite: like, they’re trying to be good but they just can’t help themselves and ultimately make the wrong choices. With Percival, an inheritance went wrong, so he has to figure out how to support his lifestyle. When you play a villain, you try to find their charm. It’s the opposite with goodies, where you find their flaws.

Were you tempted to tone down Scottish Man United football manager Matt Busby’s accent in 2011’s United? Would it have been helpful to have a disclaimer explaining that he genuinely spoke like that? flyinggraham

I’ve had quite a few people say: “You nailed his voice.” And that’s great. I think it was accurate and authentic. I listened to as much tape of him that was available. I think perhaps the family were upset that he wore a trilby and looked like a gangster, but he did wear a camel-hair coat and a hat a lot.

With Teri Hatcher in Desperate Housewives. Photograph: AJ Pics/Alamy

Where did you get the inspiration for the super-posh British accent you used in Desperate Housewives? RJValentine

It’s like any accent: you listen to many different people. New York, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Ireland … I love to listen to different people from the same area, because they still have different sounds, and pick out the bits I like. I don’t know why Americans associate the English accent with bad guys. Maybe it’s something to do with the British empire? But my character wasn’t a villain; he was a good guy.

I have recurring nightmares about you tied to that coffin and drowning in Twin Town. How did you film such a terrifying shot, and how much did you enjoy having to wear a Rangers top, as a Hibs fan? SaorAlba1314 and cipher1978

I hated wearing a Rangers top! We filmed in Swansea Bay. I was tied to half a coffin at the end of a platform off the end of a boat. I guess, if it had slipped, I’d have been at the bottom of Swansea Bay and it would have been: Bye bye, Dougray! It has a lot of leg, that film; it’s become quite a cult hit. Even yesterday, someone came up to me and quoted a line. I said: “Wow. You know more lines than I do.”
I loved the BBC’s 1996 miniseries The Crow Road, based on the Iain Banks novel. What are your memories of filming with such a great Scottish ensemble cast, including Joe McFadden and Peter Capaldi? TeeDubyaBee

Oh, goodness me. It was just glorious. There’s so many great actors in that production. I remember we filmed during Euro 96, and [English producer] Bradley Adams got really upset because we – as Scots – were cheering for Germany. He couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t cheer for England. Iain Banks has written some extraordinary novels. I was reading The Bridge the other day, which I think is a national treasure for Scottish literature. It’s such an extraordinary concept, but works so well. Doing The Crow Road was one of my absolute favourites.

Did you really handle live poisonous toads in that episode of Taggart? Thelorincame

Were they poisonous? Er … no. But that was another thing I loved, because of the research. I went to work at London zoo for a bit and they showed me how to handle the poisonous snakes and taught me about venoms. I applied for membership from some amphibian society but with my character’s name, Colin Murphy – I’m amazed I can remember his name! – then got this membership card with my face and his name. Mark McManus [Jim Taggart] punched me for real, because he thought it would be great for the film. He caught me and floored me. I had a great time!

With Kathy Burke in This Year’s Love, 1999. Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy

The 1999 British romcom This Year’s Love, with Jennifer Ehle and Kathy Burke, remains one of my favourites. What are your memories? Rockchick76

I had such fun doing that film. I play an artist, so I started painting again, which I haven’t done since school. Plus Kathy Burke was the best onscreen kiss I’ve ever had in my entire life, let me tell you. It’s one of those things – you’ve either got it, or you haven’t got it, and she’s got it. Have I got it? Not as much as Kathy!
Which piece of work are you most proud of? PaperAxe

I made a little movie called Last Passenger with English director Omid Nooshin, who sadly died aged 43 a few years ago: this wonderful old-fashioned thriller with elements of Hitchcock. It’s a very simple premise: a guy and his son (who live in suburbia) get on a train, the train doesn’t stop, they realise the driver has hijacked the train and they have to stop it before it hits the buffers at the end of the line. It was filmed on a small budget, but with such incredible film knowledge. We talked a lot about Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and Duel, David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, the art of film-making, and why great films are successful. I really loved working with Omid and was really proud at the end.