Hoff The Record is back tonight (May 6) for a second series on Dave, with David Hasselhoff himself welcoming an array of exciting guests to join his odd-ball entourage.
Brett Goldstein
Ahead of the show's return, we got the chance to chat to Brett Goldstein, who plays personal trainer Danny in the series, to find out what we can expect going forward...
You're returning to Hoff The Record for its second series - what should fans expect from the new episodes?
It opens with us faking David Hasselhoff's death, which really helps his album sales and his autobiography but obviously leads to trouble and builds from there.
How is David to work with?
I tell you what, it's my dream come true. I used to love Knight Rider, my favourite toy was a Knight Rider super stunt set and it's very surreal that I now get to work with David Hasselhoff. I've not really got my head round it.
He's great and he lets you do anything and I wondered if there was a line with him, but I haven't yet found the line where he says 'no more'. It's a joy.
Can you tell us a little bit about a typical day on set filming Hoff The Record?
First thing's first, the catering's amazing! Typical day starts with a really big breakfast and everyone gets together on the bus and talks about what we're doing that day. Then we go to set, run a scene, offer up ideas and film it and we'll do that until we have a really massive lunch.
Fergus (who plays Max) will eat all the desserts and I will try not to eat all the desserts, so then Fergus will eat my dessert, making it easier for me to resist! Then we'll have more fun in the afternoon, but you don't get dinner. Which I mean, that is the problem - no one gives you dinner at the end of all this so you have to go home and cook for yourself like a normal person. It's disgusting, the way they treat us.
How much of it is scripted? Are you able to improvise?
It's semi-improvised, so there is a script in that it's very well structured but on the day, we will then improvise around what was on the page. Particularly the talking heads that you see - they're all improvised, apart from the questions.
Last year David said John Cleese wanted to be in the second series - did that happen?
No, but we've got some very special guests that we're all excited to work with. It was like every week I was working with a hero of mine - we had Jessica Hynes, Kevin Eldon, Sarah Hadland and Shaun Dooley who were incredible.
What was your favourite episode of the second series to film?
I think my personal favourite, which I'm not sure if I should say it as not everyone's in it, but I really loved episode 3 - the wedding episode. It's a really funny episode, it's a funny premise and it was really fun to do, but also Sarah Hadland and Shaun Dooley are so good. As actors we were all intimidated, like we had 'proper actors' here on set, proper good actors! It was just nice to watch them.
As an actor who clearly enjoys his comedies, who are some of your favourite comics?
Patrice O'Neal, Richard Pryor, Katherine Ryan, Lou Sanders, Sara Pascoe, Dave Atell - God I love him, he's so naughty. Brian Gittins. I feel like I'm missing out a lot of my friends who I also love.
You've worked on movies as well as TV shows - how do the two compare?
To be fair most of the films I have done have been independent and low budget so have been quite fast. I have heard films are a slower process but not for me, Superbob we did in 18 days so I'm used to working really fast. You know the car wreck sequence? Four hours! I remember seeing the schedule and thinking, 'we need a week for that!'
Films take longer to come out than TV shows. Drifters you film in the Autumn, then it's on the beginning of the next year, whereas Superbob didn't come out for a year and a half and Adult Life Skills I shot a year ago.
What can you tell us about Adult Life Skills?
Adult Life Skills; It's got Jodie Whittaker in it, Lorraine Ashbourne, Alice Lowe, Rachel Deering and Ed Hogg and a little boy called Ozzy, and it's a really lovely, warm film.
It's about a daughter, he mum and grandma and her friends in this little place in Yorkshire and there's something really real about their relationship. You really feel like this is a family, and they're her best friends. It's a very warm and unusually well depicted portrait of friends and family. It was a lovely job.
Despite lots of TV acting work, you're still regularly gigging on the live circuit too. Is it hard to juggle the two careers, giving good attention to both?
I don't think so, but then I like working all the time. I don't think it's hard because stand up is at night and acting is in the day, unless you're doing night shoots. I don't need to sleep and I think they all inform each other.
Hoff the Record Series 2 starts on Friday 6th May at 10pm on Dave, catch up with the first series on UKTVPlay.
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