Interview with David Arrondelle

Lead actor in the new seven part series Hector Vs The Future talks about working on the podcast, working with James Hamilton, and gives advice to young people

Interview with David Arrondelle

What first inspired you to get into acting?

I always enjoyed standing up and making an idiot of myself and figured I'd try and do it for a career.

How did you go about pursuing that passion?

Studied acting and performance at every level and did countless shows during every spare minute I had.

How did you first meet James?

University. Like all of the other white, middle class people that make comedy together. I once asked him for a cameo in a show he'd written… and then changed all the lines and did my own thing. He didn't like that. He beat it out of me in the end. He probably actually wrote all these interview answers.

Whose idea was it to start Casual Violence?

All Greg's. Well, no… Casual Violence is the demented brain child of James and he's the one that got it up and running. James was writing and putting on sketch shows through the drama society and eventually this became Casual Violence.

Has his writing changed over the years, and if so, how?

Definitely. It's got better. Way better. James has always had a great handle on creating great characters and this hasn't changed. As he's got older and grumpier and pushed himself even harder, he's become a fantastic gag writer and there's a lot of subtlety in his writing now. There's also incredibly terrible jokes that are so hidden that they're barely even jokes.. but we like them.

What was it like working with him on the podcast? Is it different to working with him in Casual Violence?

Not massively so. I tried to approach this project as a completely separate entity but working with James is working with James. It's ridiculous amounts of fun and very hard work. James and I did a lot of one-on-one work for HVTF and he's brilliant at pushing you a bit further, getting you to really think about the delivery of every single word. Every. Single. Word. I wouldn't have it any other way. Sitting in a café and repeating the same sentence over and over again until it's funnier is tremendous fun.

How much input did you have on the script for Hector Vs The Future?

The creative team – James Hamilton, James Huntrods and Andy Goddard – gave the whole cast lots of opportunities for input. They allowed everybody to be instinctive and make vital decisions about their characters. There were frequent read-throughs and rehearsals where all script suggestions were taken on board. They'd also yell at you and call you a c*** when your suggestion was terrible (this was mainly Hamilton, to be fair to the other two. He means it affectionately).

Some may know that Hector was born from a Casual Violence sketch, and that you are reprising the role for Hector Vs The Future. Was it difficult bringing the character from stage to a podcast?

I had to audition and get the part before even thinking about that. Yup.. auditioning for a character I've been playing for four years. Like that episode of Friends where the Days of our Lives producer makes Joey audition to play the identical twin brother of his old character. Probably would have given up if I didn't get this one...

It was extremely helpful to already know the character quite well and obviously it aided me in the development process. The main challenge was adapting my performance to a different medium. It was a blessing and a curse. It can be quite easy to slip into autopilot mode with Hector and make everything sound quite similar. The biggest challenge is finding variety in the vocal performance. Because nobody can see my sweaty, gurning face on a podcast.

How long did it take to record the series?

The recording process lasted 3 months. We recorded it over four nights in front of a live London audience.

How did you find the process of recording HvTF? Is it something you can see yourself doing more of in the future?

We were incredibly lucky to have a wonderful cast and an even more fantastic production crew. It's been a fantastic project to work on. Series producer Andy Goddard has been an absolute saint in pulling it together. Voice and radio work is generally incredibly fun to be a part of and it's something that I'm planning on doing a lot more of.

What was the most challenging aspect of recording?

The venue we recorded in was hotter than the sun. Oh, and also the fact that we recorded the finale at the same time that England were getting humiliated by Iceland in Euro 2016 – whenever there was a goal the pub below exploded with noise that flew straight into our recording mics…

Conversely, what did you enjoy most?

For me it was the fact that I got to work closely with some amazing talent. There is no sense in naming names because every single person that was involved in the show was absolutely brilliant. I got to work with some phenomenal performers that I have always wanted to work with, that was pretty awesome for me. And I got two songs. Which I nailed.

Do you have a measure of success in your head for the podcast?

I'd just love people to listen to it and to enjoy it, then to tell some other people to do the same. I've no idea if it will go down well or whether it will fade away into obscurity. It should probably be the latter really, Hector would love that.

Do you listen to podcasts personally? What are some of your favourites?

I do indeed. I spend a lot of my time listening to football related podcasts (The Football Ramble, Arseblog: the Arsecast) but in terms of scripted 'casts, there's some amazing stuff out there. Wooden Overcoats is a bloody revelation and is a series that's really pushing the podcasting format as a legitimate channel for audio drama. It's a terrific format. You're putting content straight onto people's phones and you can reach a hell of a lot people. I find that really exciting.

Would you like to see other characters for Casual Violence get fleshed out stories? Which do you think would work well?

We've played with lots of our favourites in other projects already. Like the Poppyman and Roger Nostril. But I feel like an origin story of my Soviet bubblegun seller is long overdue. James hates that sketch now. But he's wrong.

Do you have any plans for a solo show?

I'd never rule it out. I've got a few characters rattling around somewhere but I can't remember where.

What advice would you give to young people who want to follow in your footsteps? Where can people find you online?

First thing I'd say is don't ever refer to yourself as 'aspiring'. I hate that word. 'Aspiring actor', 'aspiring filmmaker'. Don't aspire. Be.

Don't rest. Surround yourself with good people who want to make shows and try new things. It's ace how easy it is to create your own opportunities these days.

Where can people find you on social media?

You can find me on Twitter @davidarrondelle

Do you have anything you'd like to promote?

I'm the lead in a half decent podcast sitcom called Hector Vs. The Future. Give that a listen. Otherwise, I did a film with Charlotte Ritchie from Fresh Meat and Call the Midwife last year. That was pretty cool… So look out for The Time Traveller's Support Group.

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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