Monty Python star Michael Palin has revealed he might resort to writing his next dramatic role himself, as he rarely comes across an older character he feels suited to play.
The 71-year-old actor, writer, comedian and TV presenter has just appeared in spine-chilling drama Remember Me, as Tom Parfitt, a lonely Yorkshire pensioner whose admittance into a care home triggers a series of inexplicable events.
Palin said he does not often come across a dramatic role strong enough to persuade him sign up.
He said: "If there were more parts like Tom Parfitt I would do them, but there aren't that many really.
"There are a lot of parts which I think other people do much better than I do. Sort of late middle-aged men having a crisis and all that stuff, I'm not quite so interested in that.
"I love characters, I like there being something extra, something extraordinary. But certainly if there were a part like Tom Parfitt, a character part."
He added that he could take the initiative and write his own.
"I've written myself parts before, in films like The Missionary and American Friends, and they've always been quite straight parts," he said.
"I remember Terry Jones saying you always end up as the straight man in your own films because you have to anchor it all together, and the other people around all paying wonderful characters. It's a very good thought really, maybe I should write myself something, maybe I will."
Three-part drama Remember Me, written by Gwyneth Hughes and directed by Ashley Pearce, sent shivers through the nation when it aired on BBC1 in the Sunday evening slot usually reserved for cosy period dramas.
Palin said he found it just as frightening being in it.
He said: "I read the script and I felt the hairs going up on the back of my neck, and then we filmed it and I felt the hairs going up on the back of my neck. And I watched it and I felt the same again. It's frightened me all the way along the line, and that's because I think it's been really well done."
The comedian said that if there is a demand for him to take on more dramatic roles as a result of the show, he is keen to do so.
"I just really want to see what people's reactions are. I'm always influenced by popular reaction to what you've done.
"You have to be, in some shape or form. How people react to what you've done before gives you an idea of what you might want to do next. If something like Tom Parfitt came along, some really good, meaty character."
Remember Me is available on DVD and iTunes from ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
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