STEVEN MACKINTOSH, 41, has appeared in more than 70 film and television
roles, most famously as Winston in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and
with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ewan McGregor in the surfing movie Blue Juice.
His latest film is the prison drama The Escapist, with Brian Cox and Damian
Lewis. He is married with two children and lives in London
One of my strongest holiday memories is of my dad underneath one or other of
the old VW camper vans we had, busy reassuring us that he’d get us there
before the holiday was over. My parents liked camping and cara-vanning.
Soggy fields were involved. And turning the aerial on the portable TV round
and round, trying to get a picture that didn’t look like a snowstorm. The
couple of package holidays we took to Spain seemed so exotic in comparison.
Then I went on a few holidays with mates to Greece. It all got a bit messy, as
you can imagine. In fact, I was awful. I blush to think about what we got up
to. But I think those first holidays, with no mum and dad looking over your
shoulder, are an important rite of passage. Whether the Greeks appreciated
that is another matter. And whether I’ll appreciate it when it’s my kids out
there doing that sort of thing, I’m not so sure.
I’m well aware how lucky I am that we get to travel in this business, and that
we get to see some amazing places. Because film-makers and their scouts are
always looking for “wow!” locations, you often find yourself in this
beautiful spot where you think, “I never would have found this as a regular
tourist.”
Mind you, sometimes you find yourself acting in the teeth of a gale on the
cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, as I did last November, doing The Daisy
Chain with Samantha Morton. I liked it, though – staggeringly beautiful
beaches, very raw and invigorating.
But we’ll be overdubbing a few lines that got blown away during filming.
I was filming in New Zealand for three months recently, and I had some free
time, so I took off and travelled a bit. It was summer down there and winter
here, though I had to play that down a little with my wife, who was stuck at
home: “No, it’s not toooo cold, thanks.” Actually, the weather was glorious,
as was the country.
What’s amazing about New Zealand is how small it is, yet how varied.
The South Island is dramatic, with mountains and stunning lakes, and the north
is quite tropical, with beautiful beaches. And empty. It was high season,
and I was thinking, “Where are all the holidaymakers? How do the hotels make
money?” It’s the sort of holiday I really enjoy, with forward momentum,
moving from place to place.
Most recently, I was in Budapest. I was there quite a few years ago, when it
was just postCommunist, and the contrast was amazing. You could argue
rampant capitalism is turning it into a cloned city. You find yourself
looking at a Hungarian Marks & Spencer and thinking, is that a good
thing? But it is as beautiful as ever, and places like the Gellert baths are
just as I remember, full of fat old men playing chess. You can still get a
massage where they hit you with sticks. Not sure what that’s all about.
Maybe originally it was to make people feel better about Communism when you
left: ah, well, it could be worse, they could still be beating me with
sticks.
When the children were quite young, we took them on a driving holiday to
America. Everyone said we were mad, that the kids would hate being in the
car for so long, but I worked it out carefully so we didn’t do too many
miles each day. We set off from Los Angeles, on Highway 1, and stopped off
at Santa Barbara and at a surfing place called Pico Creek, where I had a go
on the boards. I’d done a surfing movie in Cornwall, but this was completely
different. It’s so much nicer when the water is warm and the sun is
Californian.
We also stopped at Big Sur, the place where the road hugs the cliffs above the
ocean. You’ve seen that winding section in so many movies. We stayed at the
cabins there, which are tremendous – they must be 100 years old. Great
breakfasts, too. I love the service in America, and those places where the
breakfast menu is an encyclopedia.
We also shot inland to Yosemite. I remember one of the vistas from a lookout
point, the acres of pristine forest, waterfalls with little rainbows over
them, and El Capitan, this great hunk of granite towering in the background,
and thinking, “This is a painting. It can’t be real. Nothing’s that
perfect.” But it was.
Here's a link to one of those 2 million quid cars from the Beijinj to Paris. Looks like an absolute bargain! http://www.pekingparis.com/galleryb109.html
James, Jakarta, Indonesia
Love that big talented fatty! What an engaging writer.
Elan Durham, Santa Monica, CA/US
Robbie "My one big passion is cars – a trip I’d love to do is the vintage-car race from Beijing to Paris..." Well I offer you an alternative to that expensive race.: a Citroen 2cv race in Mongolia next summer 2009. Can't be any cheaper and more fun than that! Contact me for full details.
AJ, Christchurch, GB
When your kids are happy that's as happy as you'll ever be. Wow!
Dermot, Halifax, Canada
Very good Robbie you are a man after my own heart especially those dark and stormy seas
Peter, Vancouver. BC., Canada