5 minute read
Reginald D Hunter
Having moved to the UK in the 1990s, he’s consistently stormed the stand-up game with thoughtful material about sex, race and politics. Reginald D Hunter is back and in mischief-making form with new tour Bombe Shuffleur. In our Q&A he tells us which voice soothes him and who he’d like to haunt, before sharing his controversial theory about the long-lost pilot Amelia Earhart . . . 20
QUESTIONS
WITH REGINALD D HUNTER
Who should play you in the movie about your life? Either Edward Norton or André Holland.
Who do you think the casting people would
go for? It’s always about the money for them, so they’d probably go for Norton. The world is getting more non-traditional every day.
If you were to return in a future life as an
animal, what would it be? I’m having a hard time choosing between a bear and a moose. In fact, if it was possible, I’d come back as a bear-moose. I’m very slow and loping and ranging, friendly but hungry. That’s the bear part. The thing about the moose would be having great headgear.
Name two other people you’d recruit to
help you get out of an escape room? Steve Irwin and Amelia Earhart. I was obsessed with her story when I was nine or ten; I was given a few books about her and I was captivated by that mystery for a while. My over-riding theory is that . . . she dead!
When was the last time you were mistaken
for someone else? Two years ago, I had arrived in Gatwick and this older white guy came up to me and says, ‘I just want to thank you for impacting my life in a positive way’. And then he said, ‘do you have any new sauces coming up, Mr Roots’? And I said, ‘yes, I have a mayonnaise and cranberry sauce coming out next’. He left there thinking he was the guy in the know. But, you know, it doesn’t cost much to make people happy.
What’s the best cover version ever? The one that sticks in my mind was when I saw an episode of Knight Rider and a cover of ‘Beat It’ was in there.
Whose speaking voice soothes your ears?
Orson Welles. If I had to be an obese white man, I would be Orson Welles.
Tell us something you wish you had
discovered sooner in life? Indian food. I didn’t try it until about ten years of living over here. And lately I just can’t get enough of lamb chops; that wasn’t something I ever had when I was growing up.
If you were a ghost, who would you haunt? If you were a ghost you’d only want to drive someone crazy who deserved it. Someone like Henry Kissinger. If I was a ghost and haunted him, I wouldn’t drive him crazy, I’d be a vague annoyance to him because he’s already so evil.
Which day in your life would you relive? I met Sidney Poitier once. There was a lm that he did that is almost never listed in his credits, a little independent lm called Brother John, with music by Quincy Jones. I went over and spoke to him and asked him about the lm. It felt like he hadn’t thought about it for a long time but it seemed like it was a very fond memory; he was just about to answer my question on that but something like a gust of wind took him away from me.
Did you have a nickname at school? Some of the older kids were bullying the smaller ones and I jumped in front and gave them a telling off. I said, ‘every Sunday you’re in church praising the lord with your parents and you come out here and push these kids around: that’s the way to go to hell!’ And the bullies thought this was hilarious and started calling me Church.
What most recently astonished you? I watched the rst two episodes of series two of Star Trek: Picard and it was a vomitus experience. I’m blaming Patrick Stewart to a certain extent because he had to approve all of this. And I started to wonder how much he actually really liked being in Star Trek.
What tune do you find it impossible not to get up and dance to? EMF’s ‘Unbelievable’.
Which famous person would be your ideal
holiday companion? Probably Edward Norton. He has an intensity in his work that De Niro had in the 70s and early 80s. If you see his name in something, you know it has a chance. He can make bad material average. Maybe Billy Bob Thornton as well. He seems like an interesting cat.
As an adult, what has a child said to you that
had a big impact? I was talking to my sister one day while her granddaughter was there watching TV, and my sister was talking about the difference between shame and embarrassment. And this 14-year-old said, without looking back, ‘the difference between shame and embarrassment is that with embarrassment you need other people’.
When did you last cry? 2006. My mum had died and I nearly descended into weeping despair but I stopped myself because my mum always held her death over our heads as kids. I felt my nose had been rubbed in that all my life, so when she died I refused to cry. But I make up with that now with laughing and farting.
What’s the most hi-tech item in your home? I got to say my laptop but it’s on its last legs. Let’s say it has been dropped. A lot.
What’s a skill you’d love to learn but never
got round to? Coding.
By decree of your local council, you’ve been ordered to destroy one room in your house and all of its contents. Which room do you
choose? Frankly, I would wonder about the council’s power to enforce that. I would have to call a lawyer rst: ‘hey, the council are getting a little unruly’.
If you were selected as the next 007 where would you pick as your first luxury destination for espionage? I also have dif culty with this question because I don’t think MI6 works like that. You can quote me on that.
Reginald D Hunter: Bombe Shuf eur, Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, Friday 29 April; Perth Theatre, Saturday 30 April.
NEXT TIME
May is the month with a true spring in step and so it made sense for us to get our dancing shoes on for features about the pioneering Nederlands Dans Theater and Strictly star Oti Mabuse. Star Wars fans can get over-heated too as the TV spin-off Obi-Wan Kenobi takes us back to a galaxy far, far away, starring Ewan McGregor, Indira Varma and Hayden Christensen. You can also read about shock cinema, Aye Write, Black Scot Pod, Michelle Collins, C Duncan, Catherine Bohart and whisky.
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