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Hustle - Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughn)

"Albert Stroller. Habitual gambler. Gee gees, casinos, card games…Albert plays them all."

To some, he is Lee from The Magnificent Seven, to others he is Superman's arch nemesis, in Superman III. But to most, Robert Vaughn is Napoleon Solo, the hugely popular, heroic spy in the early '60s classic, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

"It was more like being a rock star than an actor when I was in The Man from U.N.C.L.E." explains the incredibly well-preserved septuagenarian.

"There were so many young people who loved the show and they would normally be jumping up and down at the Albert Hall for a rock star but they were jumping up and down at airports for David McCallum and me - that was very strange. When I became an actor I never thought I'd get mobbed by screaming girls!"

Vaughn's newest incarnation is Albert Stroller - a veteran of the long con who's charged with picking the right targets for his team of con artists who make their money from elaborate and ingenious scams.

"Somebody described Albert as 'Napoleon Solo: The Later Years', having gone over to the other side," jokes Vaughn. "He'd have picked up his pension and have nothing to do these days so it's funny to think he might have put all the knowledge he had gained over the years into conning people!

"I don't think I have ever been conned unless it was so good I never knew!" laughs Vaughn. "I'm very sceptical about people who I don't know."

Like his Hustle co-stars, Vaughn was quick to see the similarities between his profession and that of his character.

"Con men are very much actors. They are playing roles all the time to create the right atmosphere for a particular con. They'll rent rooms and all the props including people who they are paying as actors, like extras in the movies.

"Most of the high level con people the Hustle team find are very wealthy people who can afford to lose a small amount of money.

"But more importantly, they would be appalled if anybody else found out that they'd been conned - they'd rather lose £100,000 than call the police and tell them that they'd been conned out of the money."

Vaughn's career has spanned five decades and to his Hustle co-stars he's the master. In fact, Vaughn had a temporary knighthood bestowed upon him by his colleagues because there was constant confusion having two Roberts on set, so Robert Vaughn was known as Sir Robert.

"Marc (Warren) calls me 'the legend'!" laughs Vaughn. "He'd say, 'Where's the legend? Bring on the legend!'"

But Vaughn is quietly modest about his success and his position in Hollywood's hall of fame.

"I'm glad that I've lived long enough to reach that status, if indeed I have! People are very nice. They come up, introduce themselves and say, 'You made my childhood'. Although I notice that the women saying that are getting older and older - they are great grandmothers now!"

However, it was quite possible that if he'd trusted his gut instincts at the beginning of his career, Vaughn may never have achieved this legendary status.

In 1960 Vaughn was cast alongside Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz in a film that would become celebrated the world over - The Magnificent Seven.

However, Vaughn recalls how the seven relatively unknown actors at the time thought the film would be an unprecedented flop.

"We were filming for about three months and most of the time we'd sit around playing poker saying what a piece of shit this movie was going to be because there was no script!

"Every day at about midnight they'd push something handwritten under the door and it was your script for the next day. We really thought, 'Oh no! This is going to be dreadful' but we were wrong obviously!"

But that wasn't the only time Vaughn's judgement had been way off course.

"Steve (McQueen) called me and asked me to play the lead in his first picture as producer," explains the New York born actor. "So I read it but I thought it was the dumbest script I'd read in my life!

"I turned the movie down a couple of times but by the time they wanted to shoot they still hadn't cast the part so I agreed to do it. I said, 'I know I'll regret it' but I was wrong once again because the film was Bullitt.

"Two legendary pictures, two pictures that I would have dropped out of if I could have. I've proved that my taste is wrong!"

For many of the younger generation, Vaughn is known for his dastardly acts trying to do away with Superman. In fact, this role not only further established Vaughn as an acting great but also made his son, Cassidy, a local celebrity at his school.

"My son was about eight years old and 90% of the kids who went to his school were kids of investment bankers so didn't understand what I did for a living. But when Superman III came out, it was, 'Cassidy Vaughn's dad tried to kill Superman!'

"I'd go to the school plays and the kids were fascinated with me but they were also scared! However, I didn't succeed in killing Superman so that was OK.

"Cassidy was a hot young thing at school after that. His stock went up 1000% but it would have been a different story if I'd succeeded in doing away with Superman, I'm sure!"

After such success as a film and TV star, it's surprising that Vaughn isn't much of a viewer himself. However, there is one show Vaughn and his wife can't bear to miss.

"We get 91Èȱ¬ America. We absolutely love The Office – we'd watch it 24 hours a day if it was on!"

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