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 Friends and Crocodiles
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Robert Lindsay plays Sneath
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Two words drew Robert Lindsay to Friends and Crocodiles: "Stephen" and
"Poliakoff".
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The actor portrays Sneath, the chameleon-esque former
polytechnic lecturer and current hanger-on and social commentator.
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Initially, he forms part of Paul's eclectic salon at his dreamy country
house. However, when Paul crashes and burns, Sneath drops him faster
than you can say "eyes on the main chance".
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This eternally slippery
character then keeps cropping up throughout the story to pass judgment on pivotal events. He is an observer rather than a doer.
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He also provides a key link with Poliakoff's follow-up film, Gideon's
Daughter. In that film, Sneath plays the vital role of narrating the
compelling story of Gideon (Bill Nighy) and Stella's (Miranda
Richardson) unusual love affair to an eager secretary who is compiling his memoirs.
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Sitting in his caravan, trying to grab a well-earned rest - shooting two
films back-to-back is an exhausting process - Lindsay reflects on what
made him accept the part.
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"When I agreed to play the role of Sneath, I
hadn't even read the script. But when Stephen approached me, all I thought was 'I'd love to work with you'. And I have not been disappointed!"
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He goes on to laud the writer-director. "You know, what he's written is
quite extraordinary, and it's incredibly stimulating to work on it. Stephen
has a unique take on the world, and that is reflected in his drama. He's a
complex man, but ultimately it's astonishingly rewarding to collaborate with
him."
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The actor, who has given memorable performances in everything from GBH
and Richard III to Citizen Smith and My Family, is now operating at the
very top of his game. He is one of the most versatile and popular actors in
the business.
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Lindsay starts by saying that he comes not to praise his character, but
to bury him. He describes Sneath as "the archetypal parasite. Sneath's a
very good name for a parasite, isn't it?
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"He's making notes all the way
through, but never actually participates in anything. He's a reptilian creature,
always ready to denigrate his formerly powerful friends when they're on
the way down.
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"And he has an uncanny ability to change according to his surroundings.
When he's a polytechnic lecturer at the start, he has an unadorned
Nottinghamshire accent. But as Paul rescues him from his job at the
poly and begins to introduce him to high-up people, Sneath takes on a much more RP accent."
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The actor adds that Sneath is "a complete social climber. He really knows how to use people. If he's talking to someone, he'll always be looking over their shoulder; if someone more important catches his eye, he's off.
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"You could say he was like someone who goes star spotting at The Ivy, but that would be too glib. The characteristation is far more deep and political than that.
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"I think the character is a comment on a certain type of journalist there
is a parasitical strain to some columnists. Having said that, you can
find people with Sneath's more reprehensible characteristics at any level of
society."
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But, Lindsay stresses, what makes the character fascinating is that
he's not cut and dried.
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"Sneath may at first seem savage; my daughter said,
'He's a baddie, isn't he?' but it's not as simple as that.
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"The genius of
Stephen Poliakoff is that he doesn't write black and white. Like Michael
Murray, the character I played in Alan Bleasdale's GBH, Sneath can sometimes be quite likable and vulnerable."
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