0:00:02 > 0:00:03Welcome to A Taste Of My Life,
0:00:03 > 0:00:05cooking up and serving famous lives on a plate.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31Everything we cook and eat provides revealing clues as to who we really are.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36Which is why I'm going to be taking today's guest on a culinary trip back in time.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Today's guest hardly ever gives interviews
0:00:39 > 0:00:41but has become one of those rare breeds,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44a fine actor who is also a popular actor.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Cheerio.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Oh, I know you do!
0:00:54 > 0:00:58He has since gone on to star in countless TV dramas,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00including Holby City, Jekyll,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and alongside Joanna Lumley in Sensitive Skin.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- He's out there again. - Who?- The drugs dealer.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- Where?- Don't look, he mustn't see we've seen him.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- Because we'll have to buy something?- No, because then he'll know where we live.
0:01:13 > 0:01:21Most recently, he was nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in the BBC costume drama, Bleak House.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24You're quite the housekeeper now.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27- Do the sums balance?- Yes, I think so.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29I'm sure they do.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Yes, today's guest is Scottish actor Denis Lawson.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Coming up in today's show...
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Denis Lawson's mum takes him back to his childhood with mince and tatties.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43..Always playing cowboys and Indians, he was always the cowboy.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Friend and actor John Gordon Sinclair challenges me and Denis to make a Moroccan pie.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56I must have been the last person in the world to know you are Ewan McGregor's uncle.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- I am.- Yes, you are. I'm afraid so.
0:01:59 > 0:02:05The star of Bleak House shares in the fashion faux pas of his youth.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09I wore pink jeans, those cheesecloth shirts.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I bought this little hippy bell,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and he completely disowned me!
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- Denis Lawson, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.- Nice to be here.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23- You were born in Glasgow? - Yes, I was.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27- But you moved?- I moved when I was three. I decided to get out of there.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Both my parents are Glasgow people, but I'm from a really quite
0:02:32 > 0:02:35a tough background, as a lot of that generation were.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37- So not a well-off family? - Absolutely not.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41My father, you know, slept in a room with five other people until he was 16.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47They had to literally steal food to eat to survive.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- What were family mealtimes like? - It was fairly simple cooking.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55- Yes.- But very good. I remember there was kind of set days for things.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Usually, it was pies on a Saturday lunchtime.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Saturday evenings was quite a big sort of what you would call, I suppose, a high tea.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Was Mum a baker or pudding maker?
0:03:05 > 0:03:12- Yeah, absolutely. My favourite pudding, dessert, and still is, would be apple crumble.- Yes, please!
0:03:12 > 0:03:14She made a fantastic apple crumble.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18And I remember, too, that she would not serve it with custard,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23she served it with apple juice on the side, in a jug.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26First tip to making apple crumble
0:03:26 > 0:03:30is to treat your cooking apples as gently as any other apple.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Bruising is not good for the taste.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36But apple crumble, I find that hard to resist anywhere, wherever I am.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38So the best words in the world, really...
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Apple and crumble, you are just gone.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48If you are no good at making pastry, crumble is foolproof.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Crumble is quite an accommodating topping.
0:03:51 > 0:03:58You can substitute half flour for oats or muesli and throw in raisins or dried fruits.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04Spices like cinnamon and ginger give this classic pudding a great face-lift.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Apples aren't the only fruit.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11You could also try making rhubarb, gooseberry, or blackcurrant crumble.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16You remember a lot about your mum's cooking. Was there anyone else in the family who would cook?
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Uncle Alec. On a Sunday morning, Uncle Alec, who's a very funny man,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23used to make us pancakes.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Making pancakes is easy, fun and a great childhood treat.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35You can prepare your pancake batter well in advance of cooking,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38but don't keep it longer than 24 hours.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Make sure the pan is extremely hot, then add your butter or oil.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51When the batter hits the surface, tip it around until it covers the base.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56Visually, you are always looking for a brown speckly finish, and then flip!
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Nobody made them quite like Alec, I'm not quite sure what it was.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04There was something slightly romantic about it, because it was not what we had.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09So he would make a pile of pancakes,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I guess we had sugar on them, that was for sure.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- Very naughty! - Very, very naughty, very bad.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21These are thicker and smaller American blueberry pancakes.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24The batter for these contains egg whites and baking powder.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33In those days, were you what you might call a swot?
0:05:33 > 0:05:36In terms of school, I wish I could say I was a real rebel,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and out there on the edge, but I absolutely was not.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42I spent most of my time playing my drums kit in my room.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46It's a bit of a giveaway, because they know immediately
0:05:46 > 0:05:49you're not doing your homework. Because they can hear...
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Would you say it was a happy childhood?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Yeah, it was.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Everybody danced and sang.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00As with a lot of Scottish parties, everybody sang, everybody!
0:06:00 > 0:06:02They all do their little turn?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Absolutely. There was no, "I'm too shy" -
0:06:05 > 0:06:08you did it, you did something.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16- Tell me about Mum. - Well, I often refer to her as a kind of human dynamo.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22I think there is a generation of Scottish women who just never stop.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Talking of your mum, I have a little message for you.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27- Have you?- Yes.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Right, OK!
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Oh, God. Isn't it gorgeous?
0:06:33 > 0:06:36It is beautiful up there. Absolutely beautiful.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38I'm going to put the mince on.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41He loved...
0:06:41 > 0:06:45mince and potatoes because it had vegetables in it as well, carrots, onions.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49He wasn't a fussy eater, he ate everything that was given to him.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56He was outside all the time. He was playing cowboys and Indians, he was always a cowboy!
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I didn't have a gun, I had a rubber hammer.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08The first time I ever saw him in drama was at the high school here in Crieff
0:07:08 > 0:07:13I was so amazed. He was only seven, I could not believe it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19The attitude of him, the way he took to this part
0:07:19 > 0:07:22was just amazing. When I got home, I couldn't stop holding him.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26I said, "Denis, you were absolutely brilliant."
0:07:26 > 0:07:30"I thought I wasn't good, Mum." I said, "You were absolutely brilliant."
0:07:30 > 0:07:37But every time I see him on anything, I get the same feeling as I did when he was seven.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I get this amazing
0:07:40 > 0:07:43proud feeling that, "Is that my son up there?"
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I can't believe that, you know. Just as any mother would,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51very proud to have such a son.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56He makes me feel always good when I see him on anything at all.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01When he was at drama school,
0:08:01 > 0:08:07he wore a white rabbit-fur waistcoat and his hair was way down his back
0:08:07 > 0:08:12and he had these holey jeans on, holes everywhere!
0:08:12 > 0:08:13He was such a sight!
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Just to say, Denis, that this has been an incredible experience
0:08:20 > 0:08:25for me to do this and especially when it's all about you
0:08:25 > 0:08:30and you are such a wonderful son to me
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and I love you to bits.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Oh, my God! Mince and tatties.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- Oh, my God.- I mean, why not?
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- Absolutely brilliant. - Why don't we eat this stuff?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I haven't eaten this since I was a kid.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Mum's very proud of you.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02It's quite moving, actually.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Oh, my God, this is great.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It just takes you right back
0:09:08 > 0:09:10to where I came from.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18What sort of teenager were you like? I mean, were you Denis the menace?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I wish I had been a bit of a Denis the menace, a bit of a tearaway.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23You were quite a groovy dresser.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- I think I was pretty cool. - Pretty cool?!
0:09:26 > 0:09:28'68, I went to San Francisco.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32That had an effect on me, obviously.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37For nearly a year in Glasgow, I didn't wear shoes, really.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I wore pink jeans, those cheesecloth shirts.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43The ones things got caught in all the time.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Long hair and obviously this, the moustache.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52I used to wear a poncho which was grey and black with a pink lining.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53You see, I'm so jealous.
0:09:53 > 0:09:59I remember that summer, and my father refused to let me have anything to do with it.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03In the end, I went out and with my pocket money, I bought this little hippy bell.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06He completely disowned me!
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Were there things that you ate that made you feel sophisticated at that point?
0:10:11 > 0:10:15There was a place in Glasgow called the Ceylon Tea Centre.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18I'd go there on my own. Maybe nobody was very interested because it was salads.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22It was salads which were of a type that I had not really...
0:10:22 > 0:10:28- it was a new thing for me.- Salad has moved on since wet lettuce leaves.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32The general rule to a good salad is a leafy base.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34You can use rocket, spinach or lamb's lettuce.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39Carrots, and raisins or slices of orange. In a salad!
0:10:39 > 0:10:41I'd not, you know...
0:10:41 > 0:10:44I think sweet corn appeared at that time as well.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Yes. It was things like that.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49For a heartier and more substantial salad,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54you can use anything from beans, grains, nuts, to potatoes.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56The best rule with a salad like this orange one
0:10:56 > 0:11:00is always feel free to break the rules.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02A Scottish teenager, eating salad.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- Unheard of!- I know, it is strange.
0:11:07 > 0:11:14Herbs work well, as does an oil and vinegar dressing, but never overdress a salad - it ruins it.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19You know, I used to top off that outfit with a black ten-gallon hat.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Now, I'm not a tall man. So cool.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24- And salad?- Yes, and salad!
0:11:24 > 0:11:28I'd go there at lunchtime on my own, from drama school.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Feeling quite sophisticated.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I used to have tea, Earl Grey tea, with no milk, wow!
0:11:33 > 0:11:39Then, I would have these amazing meringues, coffee-coloured,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41chewy in the middle, with cream.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Oh, I know!
0:11:45 > 0:11:50The art of the meringue is making sure you mix your eggs and sugar
0:11:50 > 0:11:53till they reach stiff peaks.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57A neat tip is that older egg whites are easier to whisk than very fresh ones.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01For these Swiss meringues, you use twice the weight of sugar
0:12:01 > 0:12:06to egg whites, which means you must use your mixture immediately.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13The colour of these meringues simply comes from the colour of the sugar.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18Whisk your cream until it just holds its shape.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19I will have a meringue.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21I must have the salad first.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24You should be having the salad as well, Nigel.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Yeah...
0:12:26 > 0:12:28How did you supplement your income at that time?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Rocket.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Rocket flake!
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I was given a grant to go to drama school.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40What I would do then is work in the holidays.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I was a carpet salesman in Dundee.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47I say sold carpets, I didn't sell carpets.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- I was a terrible carpet salesman. - You were supposed to sell carpets?
0:12:50 > 0:12:55When I did manage to sell a carpet, I would always get the repayments wrong.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57They're still paying it off!
0:12:57 > 0:13:01My father would gently persuade me to go into the Army.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I think I had that talk, too!
0:13:04 > 0:13:10What I remember very well was my father driving me to the station
0:13:10 > 0:13:14one morning and he wasn't a man to heap praise on you, you know.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17He was driving along and said, "You're a very lucky man,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19"you know what you want to do and you're good at it."
0:13:19 > 0:13:23That was everything to me.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- So why did you actually want to become an actor?- Why?- Yes. - Actresses.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Still to come on a Taste Of My Life...
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Actor and friend Hilton McRae makes a pasta dish, perfect for those who can't cook.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37We live 25 yards from each other, maybe 30 yards.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40I try not to see him too often, it's too tedious.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45John Gordon Sinclair tells us about Denis' best qualities.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47He can do everything.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52He can sing, dance, he is charming, funny, just horrible, you know!
0:13:52 > 0:13:57And over his taste of success, Denis reveals how tricky it was working on Holby City.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- It's a bit like doing that, you know.- I can't do that.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- So, as a kid, you had quite a big circle of friends.- Huge.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Is that still the case? What is Denis the friend like?
0:14:12 > 0:14:16As an actor, in your working life you have to make very instant relationships
0:14:16 > 0:14:18with the people you work with.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Because you're working with them in quite an intimate way.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24You would have these really strong friendships and then not see them for two years.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28A circle of friends is incredibly important.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30- I've caught up with one of your friends.- You have?
0:14:30 > 0:14:34- Yes, and I have a bit of a message for you?- Oh.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Oh, dear, oh God, Den. I don't like it.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50Now, is that too annoying? It's really simple, I think it's anti-cooking.
0:14:50 > 0:14:57It is a tin of anchovies, a tin of tuna and some parsley, that's it.
0:14:57 > 0:15:04You just gently saute them in butter and oil, then you pour it on the penne, and you eat it,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09and you cook and have some more. But I can't bake. I can't like.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12As far as I know.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We live 25 yards from each other, maybe 30 yards.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20But I try not to see him too often, he's too tedious.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Put in the penne. I'm just guessing now.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28So this is what happens. They'll just dissolve.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31What do you think of Denis the actor?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35He's all right!
0:15:35 > 0:15:36Yeah, he's fine.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Presto.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44He did that year, two years on Holby City?
0:15:44 > 0:15:50When he started off doing it, I said, "Den, that bouffant hairdo has got to go."
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Because he's a wee boy, so he had his hair up,
0:15:55 > 0:15:56but that went!
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Before the hairdo went, he was really good!
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- Oh, boy, that looks great. - It is nice.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13A taste of friendship for Den. I hope you like that.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Bye!
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Oh, of course. Oh, my God.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26This is great, because you see it, then you get it!
0:16:26 > 0:16:32This is like this is like a real late night, "What on earth am I going to eat?"
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Hilty!
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Now, a familiar face.
0:16:35 > 0:16:42Denis' career started out in West End musicals, where he made a huge impact starring in Pal Joey.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45This set him up for a move onto the big screen.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51I've got to ask you, so many people, I think their introduction to you, was for the part in Star Wars.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- Yeah.- How do you feel about that?
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I feel bored to death.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03The weird thing for me about it, is that there is no acting involved.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05I did what I'm doing now.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- I sat in a chair.- You were very profound in that chair, though.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I promise you, Nigel, I was not.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16George Lucas is a very nice man, and a terrible actor's director.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22He is a great technician, and obviously fantastic, but he has no idea what actors do.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26I think there was a 28-page battle sequence and George says,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30"OK, action." And he would say, "Look at the size of that thing."
0:17:30 > 0:17:32And I'd say, "Look at the size of that thing."
0:17:32 > 0:17:37He'd say, "Look up there, and say, 'Look at the size of that thing.' Say it faster. Now look down there."
0:17:37 > 0:17:39That was it, it was acting by numbers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Unlike the film that I first got to know you in, which was the wonderful Local Hero.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46It's a completely different kettle of fish.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51Andrew, can you knock it off for a bit? Thanks.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It was the best fun I have ever had, then or since.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57It was quite a sexy film to watch.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Yes, I'm glad you think so. That's what I was going for, anyway.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I'm sure you were!
0:18:02 > 0:18:05I mean, delicious stuff.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10What a great running gag. A man who is always having sex with his wife.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Were there certain things that you started to eat because
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- you had suddenly become a success? - Yeah.
0:18:18 > 0:18:24The food that I associate around that period was tomato galette,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29tomato and basil galette, a very thin piece of pastry.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32I don't know... It's so simple.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Tomato and basil galette.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37First, cook and peel your tomatoes.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42Score across - it makes them easier to peel.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46The gorgeous thing about the tomato galette, they were very thinly-sliced tomatoes.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Yes, and very nice tomatoes. It is quite hard to get really good tomatoes in this country.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- And of course, basil. - Is that it?- I think it is.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56So simple.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02This is at heart a posh tomato pizza, but it's the care that goes
0:19:02 > 0:19:09into making the basil oil dressing and the sun-dried tomato paste that makes it so special.
0:19:16 > 0:19:22That kind of food I associate with arriving where I wanted to be, in a sense.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Salt heightens the natural taste of any tomato.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Did you know that a tomato's flavour is richer at room temperature,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37so don't eat them straight from the fridge.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42Denis Lawson's taste of success, a tomato and basil galette.
0:19:42 > 0:19:48I missed a role you had for quite some time, in Holby City.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49That was a...
0:19:49 > 0:19:53kind of probably, on the face of it, a curious thing for me to do.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56We can stay here and talk for as long as you like.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Will you let me do that, Will, just this one thing?
0:20:00 > 0:20:02I'm sorry.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06No!
0:20:06 > 0:20:09But also dealing with incredibly complex dialogue
0:20:09 > 0:20:15and doing incredibly difficult things, I mean, operations.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Sewing. We used to have a surgeon at our elbow, always.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23So you were doing exactly the right thing while getting out all this stuff.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- It's a bit like doing that. - I can't do that.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I know, exactly.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33- Of course, a very, very different character to John Jarndyce in Bleak House.- Yes.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36I adored Bleak House I just ate it up.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40It was everything I want a television drama to be.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- What's this?- Richard's been telling fortunes, sir.- Has he?
0:20:44 > 0:20:50What does fortune have in store for you, Rick? The question is, which profession will you choose?
0:20:50 > 0:20:55- I've absolutely no idea. - Was there ever a point that you felt, "I'm a success"?
0:20:55 > 0:20:58I remember when I did Pal Joey,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I shared a dressing room with about 15 women.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05- It was hell(!)- It was why you wanted to become an actor!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09It's true. And I had the number-one dressing room at the Albery Theatre,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12which is on the stage level, and it was absolutely enormous,
0:21:12 > 0:21:18and suddenly, I had a telephone of my own and a fridge. I thought,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22"Oh, yes, I've arrived."
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Denis, what sort of cook are you?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31I probably cook about six different dishes, something like that.
0:21:31 > 0:21:37- Do you follow the rules?- No. You'll be dismayed to hear this, but I'm not very good with books.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- I've caught up with one of your countrymen, actually.- Right, OK.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43The first time...
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Oh, it's Gordie!
0:21:45 > 0:21:48When we worked together, we worked on this film called Local Hero.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51He's the kind of guy you don't want to go to a party with,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54because within 10 minutes, he'll be sitting at the piano, playing songs,
0:21:54 > 0:22:00and all the girls will be around the piano, cooing over him, because he's just so cool.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02We wanted to be Denis Lawson for years.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05I still want to be Denis Lawson. He can do everything.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11He can sing and dance, he's charming, he's funny, he's just horrible!
0:22:11 > 0:22:17I think he is a foodie, and I think he is a wine-ie...a wino!
0:22:17 > 0:22:20He likes a wee bit out of the old brown paper bag.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I've seen him drunk a few times. I know he was recently in Morocco
0:22:24 > 0:22:27with James Nesbitt, filming something, and he really loved that.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I think he enjoyed all that. That's what I'd quite like him to do.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Denny Pops, if you're there, do something Moroccan. Get drunk.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42- Well, Denny Pops, are you up for it? - Definitely. Yeah, absolutely.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48John Gordon Sinclair's challenge.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- So, I think we'll do a pigeon pie. - OK.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Gorgeous big pie.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00I had this idea of the impoverished actor going home and making himself something to eat.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05- I was never impoverished. - All actors are impoverished!
0:23:05 > 0:23:12I remember, in fact, funnily enough, being in San Francisco and wanting to buy a belt,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17a really groovy belt, and knowing that if I bought this belt, I couldn't eat for a day.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19I bought the belt.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Actually, I lost a belt in Morocco, in Marrakech.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28I had two guys come up to me and say rather threateningly, "We want your belt."
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I didn't have a choice. I had to give it to them. They were very scary.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36They were so worried about my trousers falling down, they gave me theirs.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Their belt was actually nicer than mine!
0:23:38 > 0:23:41When you say spice, what spice?
0:23:41 > 0:23:43I've used a little bit of paprika.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- Right.- I put some turmeric.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Literally just tear a little bit of parsley. Chuck it in.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58- All of it? - Yeah. Poached in liquid.- Yes.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It's like carving a very small chicken.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I must have been the last person in the world
0:24:04 > 0:24:10- to know that you are Ewan McGregor's uncle.- I am.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Yes, you are, I'm afraid so!
0:24:12 > 0:24:14- It seemed to have... - Did it pass you by?- Yeah.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19We have a great relationship, we have a lot of laughs and share a sense of humour.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33- A bit of spice, bit of sugar.- Yeah.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38And as this bakes,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42it'll just become very crisp, but very light and thin.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Yeah, a bit like painting a room.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49A very small room, obviously!
0:24:49 > 0:24:53It is, it's turmeric and garlic and almonds and stuff.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- In the oven.- Wonderful.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- A pie.- A pie.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Smell the kasbah.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Cut in.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15It was my buttering, I think, that achieved that extraordinary effect.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Wow.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Well done. Yeah.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27I think I did really, really well. You were there, but...!
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Yeah.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35- I mean...!- Time to sum up Denis Lawson's life with his final feast.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Denis, your final feast.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39- Mmm.- Sumptuous.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- What have we got here?- Quails.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47This is a Moroccan dish. Quails stuffed with a sweet yet spicy
0:25:47 > 0:25:52couscous filling, using sultanas, sugar, cinnamon, almonds and honey.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57Stuffing birds in Morocco is a traditional way to use leftover couscous.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I thought, what would I like to have?
0:26:00 > 0:26:07I remember some years ago eating quails in a French restaurant in Monmouth Street.
0:26:07 > 0:26:14Honestly, I haven't had quails in a long, long time, but I just had a bit of a fancy for quails.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21Once you've steadily simmered your quails, set them aside and make the sauce.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Presentation is key to this dish.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31Place the birds on a bed of couscous and build your pyramid of quails.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37You've got roast potatoes.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41I love roast potatoes. I cook roast potatoes
0:26:41 > 0:26:47quite well myself - my limited repertoire - with garlic cloves in them and thyme.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49I just love roast potatoes.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52A well-roasted spud is wonderful.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53It is glorious.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55And you've got some little...
0:26:55 > 0:26:59This to me is one of the great starters.
0:26:59 > 0:27:06It's a very light pastry with tapenade, and then quails' eggs and hollandaise.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11It's just a great starter. I love it.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15The first step with this decadent starter is to make a tapenade
0:27:15 > 0:27:19with the finest anchovies and olives.
0:27:19 > 0:27:20Make a hollandaise.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Boil your quails' eggs.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And prepare your pastry base.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33To top it off, a sprinkle of paprika,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36and you're well on your way to heaven.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Have any regrets in your life?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I don't do regrets. It's a waste of energy.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46You do seem quite relaxed, and yet I think you've said before there is an inner turmoil.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50There is. I know that I have a sense of physical ease about me,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54and I seem like a very laid-back kind of person,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59but in fact inside, I can be quite stressed, tense.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03I do mask, sometimes, a bit of inner turmoil, yeah, absolutely.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05- Does it ever come out?- Oh, yes.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07It certainly does!
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- Do we want to be around it does? - Not really, no!
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Do you ever feel proud of what you've done and accomplished?
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Yeah, I guess. When I think to where I came from, the background I came from,
0:28:18 > 0:28:24the town I came from, to have come to this point and be the first in the family to make the leap,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27yeah, I do feel proud of that.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Denis Lawson, thank you for being my guest on Taste Of My Life.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32It's been such a pleasure.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Thank you.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk