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The Office star Martin Freeman swaps his suit for a dressing gown and a towel, as Arthur Dent, the last man on Earth, in the long-awaited big screen version of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It is another everyman role, but British funnyman Freeman insists that he can play bad guys, too.

Is there any of Arthur Dent in you or vice versa?

I suppose we cross over in that I'm English and the right species. I think I'm a little bit more forward than Arthur. I'd like to think I'm not quite as ordinary.

Do you see any similarities between Arthur Dent and Tim Canterbury, your character in The Office?

I think because I'm doing it people see that. I think if Hugh Bonneville was playing it they wouldn't say, "He was a bit like Tim from The Office." But I am using the same vocal cords and the same ears for both parts so I'm not going to be cast as many 70-year-old black women. You know, he's an ordinary bloke who hasn't got a girlfriend, who does chase down love to a certain extent, but apart from that I don't see any similarities.

You do get cast as likable guys quite a bit. Do you think you have a particularly likeable quality?

[Sticks two fingers up] No. Yes. Probably. Yes. No. [Gives two V-signs] Or whatever. Do you know what I mean? I can play a really nasty character, and I have. What people don't know, and why should they, is I have been acting for 10 years. So what people mean when they say I'm likable is this and The Office, or Love Actually. Again, you can't answer it without sounding defensive or chippy, but I've virtually not had any time out in a decade. My first forays into telly were as sort of drug-taking rent boys who didn't know whether to f*** you or kill you. They were all these kind of people and it was, like, "Oh, he's got an edge, this guy Martin." Now the cycle turns, and it's, "Oh, he's so lovely."

Did you have any reservations about stepping into this role given the fans' expectations?

I didn't have any reservations, no. You're aware that there is that external thing of don't mess this up. And, of course, this story means a lot to a lot of people, which we have to respect. But you can't be dictated to by that, because you can't make a film that's going to please Colin in Cleveland and whoever in where else. You just have to make whatever version and vision you think is truest, and I think that's what we've done.

One of Douglas Adams' unofficial biographers, MJ Simpson, was scathing about the film on the net.

Yeah, I heard he gave it a terrible review. Thank God I don't really go on the internet, which is where most of that stuff has been going on. From the time it was announced there was going to be a film, and from the time it was announced I was in the running for it, some people loved the idea, some people hated the idea. You know, fair play to MJ Simpson. I couldn't say he doesn't have a right to the opinion, of course he does. And I've met him. He's a nice guy. But, ultimately, he's also a grown man who wears a Darth Vader tie. Norman Mailer he ain't.

What's your favourite scene in the film?

I do really, really like the scene where Slartibartfast takes Arthur round the planet factory. I think it's quite moving. I've only seen it once but I thought it conveyed... OK, I thought I conveyed it well. I wasn't terrible - Arthur's sense of wonder and awe at what he's seeing, and that was a nice contrast to what Bill [Nighy] does with Slarti, which is kind of throwaway and quite mundane.

Is a sequel in the works?

I'm not exactly sure. I'm not being cagey. Of course there's a stipulation in the script [contract] that says we're going to consider Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, or whatever it is. But this took 20 years to get to the screen. And this is Douglas's script. We don't have Douglas anymore so it would be a brave man or woman who steps into those shoes, and says, "Alright, I'm going to write Restaurant..." So I don't suppose that will be any time soon. And I think there'd be something wrong with it if it were, because you'd hope it would take a bit more time. But if it's going to be the same cast and the same team that would be a good thing, as opposed to just getting into a big sort of franchise. That's not very appealing. But to do nice, enjoyable work is appealing.

Have you tried to find out the meaning of 42?

Not as much as the people on the internet have.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is released in UK cinemas on Thursday 28th April 2005.