Shoebox Zoo
Simon Callow is Wolfgang
the Wolf
For the multi-talented Simon Callow, playing the Shoebox
Zoo character of Wolfgang the Wolf provided the ideal opportunity to
practise his howling technique.
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"Yes, my howling really was exceptional,"
grins the actor, probably best known to viewers as Gareth, the bon viveur
who dropped down dead at a Highland wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
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"It has stood me in good stead since as I have
gone on to own two dogs. They seem to like my howling too."
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A wily individual, Wolfgang is always on the lookout
for number one and his main role in the drama is to act as spy for evil
Professor Toledo as he attempts to find the Book of Forbidden Knowledge.
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"He is a cunning, wicked individual," explains
Simon, who has won acclaim as a director and a writer as well as an
actor.
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"Wolfgang had ideals once, as a young wolf cub
but life has taught him to be cunning."
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For Simon, who is set to appear as Andre in the forthcoming
film of Phantom of the Opera, working on Shoebox Zoo had a special significance
because it meant he finally got to work with his old friend, Shoebox
Zoo lead writer Brian Ward.
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"We have known each other for over 25 years,"
he says.
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"I had a partner back then who was Turkish and
he attended the British Film School with Brian. Brian was one of a wonderfully
anarchic Scottish contingent at the school and we all got on wonderfully
well.
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"I would have done Shoebox Zoo anyway because it
is wonderfully written and a fully imagined world but it had added significance
for me because Brian was involved."
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For Simon, the few days spent recording the voice of
Wolfgang were "hugely enjoyable".
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"Voiceovers are fun because you don't have to worry
about how you look and you are not obliged to learn your lines. It means
you can be more flexible.
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"I have done quite a bit of work as an animated
character, working on James and the Giant Peach as a giant grasshopper
and George and the Dragon, as the dragon."
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It was the first time Simon had worked alongside fellow
Shoeboxers and he admits he enjoyed it immensely.
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"We all screamed with laughter as we each recorded
our parts.
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"It's interesting that they record you as you say
your lines to see how you move and so on because I don't think I am
particularly lupine.
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"You might think Alan Cumming is not particularly
bear-like but there was something very cuddly about him!"
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For Simon, the next part of the fun, he says, will
be viewing the series as a completed entity.
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"When you record voices, you are only involved
in a production for a very short period and you know nothing of the
live action.
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"I am really looking forward to seeing the completed
series. I think it is going to be fantastic."
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