Duncan James Interview, Digital Spy 02/11/08

Duncan James ('Plus One')

Friday, January 2 2009, 06:40 GMT

By Lara Martin

With
a CV boasting success as a singer, actor, West End performer, radio DJ,
television presenter and even competitive ice-skater, you would think
Duncan James would be satisfied. It appears not. The former Blue boy
has now decided to try his hand at comedy, with a starring role in new
Channel 4 sitcom Plus One. The comedy follows unlucky-in-love Rob,
whose life is turned upside down when girlfriend Linsey runs off with
'Duncan From Blue', played by Duncan From Blue. We caught up with
Duncan (From Blue) to find out more.

How did you get involved with Plus One?
"I
was approached with the script and it just made me laugh. They had
written the part with me in mind, which I'm not sure was a good thing
or not! But I fell in love with the script. I thought it was a real
piece of comedy genius and I just wanted to be a part of it."

In
the show you play a warped version of yourself. What made you agree to
play a character which essentially just makes fun of you?
"Well, I
thought 'why not?'. I don't take myself too seriously, which I guess a
lot of people don't know about me because they just see me through the
media. I'm always taking the piss out of myself and my mates. That's
just my kind of humour, so taking the mickey out of myself was normal."

Your
character, 'Duncan From Blue', is supposed to be the perfect man –
kind, generous, handsome, rich.... That must have been good for your
ego!
"Whether he's actually perfect in every way depends on the way
he's looked at. Rob sees me in a completely different way, which is as
an ice-skating bastard. The first time you see me on screen I'm dressed
up like a James Bond villain and I'm out to get Rob! I'm like Blofield
with a cat, being a really evil bastard! Some people might think he's a
good, jolly, decent bloke or they might think he's really an asshole.
So I'm kind of playing two perceptions of myself."

So do you find most people have a false impression of you?
"Yeah.
I shock a lot of people who only see me on television and that's how
they get their impression of me, which is cool, but when they get to
meet me they all say I'm not like they thought I would be. I like that
though, because it adds mystery to your character – it's good to keep
people guessing about you."

Be honest – does it annoy you when people call you 'Duncan From Blue'?
"No,
because that's what people know me for. Although for me, I wasn't born
'Duncan From Blue' – he was just created in my twenties. But it's not a
bad thing to be known as, because Blue were a pretty cool band and we
did well for ourselves and we have the statistics to prove that we were
successful."

Do you still talk to your former Blue bandmates?
"Massively.
Simon, Lee and Antony are really good friends and we talk all the time.
I was a big supporter of Simon when he went into the jungle and I
thought he did really well. A lot of people said he came across really
boring but Simon is a really lovely guy, he's very down to earth and
very chilled. Unfortunately living in the UK we have a bitchy persona,
where we say what we want and talk about other people to distract from
our own issues, but I guess that's just part of this country we live
in."

What about rumours of a Blue reunion?
"No, it's not
going to happen. We've all established ourselves now in different areas
and I think we've grown up from those days. We might get back and do
the odd tour here and there or the odd gig but we're never going to go
back and do another studio album. I think Take That did a remarkable
job but it's not the right time for us and to be honest, I don't think
we were as successful as Take That."

What can we expect from you next?
"Maybe
Hollywood - I'd like to have a go at doing a movie one day. I have a
house in LA already which I bought when I was in Blue. I rent it out as
a business at the moment but I'd like to have an opportunity to use it
because I never bloody go there! Now, I'm just really excited about
Plus One. It's already opened a lot of doors for me and I hope we get a
commission for a second series."

Plus One airs Friday, January 9 at 10pm on Channel 4.

Mercii pour les new =)

de rien !

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j'lirais sa demain si j'ai le courage

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