DailyMail.co.uk – 17th May, 2015

By Clare Geraghty for YOU Magazine

The thesp and perfumer chats to us about baked beans, bugbears and meeting Barbra Streisand.

Guilty pleasure? Eating Christmas pudding once a month.

Ever had therapy? Two years of psychoanalysis that saved my life when I was 42.

Who would play you in the movie of your life? Boris Karloff – he’s got the forehead for the job!

Your most memorable kiss? Learning to french kiss with Betsy Clapp when I was 12.

Earliest memory? The smell of home-made fudge.

Your most embarrassing moment? When my voice broke halfway through reading an essay aloud at school.

Your biggest bugbear? Intransigence and incompetence.

As a child you wanted to be… An astronaut.

Best friend? [Actor] Steve Martin.

Secret to a happy relationship? Keep talking and keep sleeping in the same bed!

Your USP? Relentless energy.

Where is home? Richmond, London.

Last meal on earth? Truffle risotto, seafood, Christmas pudding and a box of lychees.

Dream dinner date? Mae West.

Your recurring dream? I don’t have them, post-analysis.

Advice to your teenage self? Acne does disappear eventually, along with maths exams.

When you look in the mirror, you see… My late father if he had lived to my age.

Your big break? Getting cast as Vyvian Withnail [in Withnail & I] in 1986.

Secret skill? Playing the flute.

On a night off we’d find you… Watching box sets and eating baked beans
on toast.

Starstruck moment? Meeting Barbra Streisand.

Your hangover cure? I’m allergic to alcohol.

What did you have for breakfast today? Porridge and grapefruit juice.

Your karaoke song of choice? Queen’s ‘Radio Ga Ga’.

Cat or dog? Dog.

Number one on your bucket list? To visit outer space.

Career plan B? Perfumer for my unisex brand Jack.

Motto? You only have one life – go for it all.

Worst job you’ve ever done? Hudson Hawk with Bruce Willis [in 1991].

Love is… Worth everything, beyond measure.

First record you ever bought? ‘My Boy Lollipop’ by Millie Small.

Book that changed your life? Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Favourite cliché? Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

Which Mr Man are you? Mr Chatty.

Signature dance move? The slinky trance.

Brains or beauty? Brains last longer.

Money or sex? The former is likely to outlast the latter.

Optimist or pessimist? Optimist.

Style icon? David Bowie.

Favourite villain? [From Russia with Love antagonist] Rosa Klebb.

Tech essential? All things iApple.

Most loved fairy tale? Pinocchio.

Most underrated virtue? Courtesy.

And most overrated? Virginity.

You’re most envious of… People who can sing.

Favourite tipple? Pomegranate juice.

Celebrity crush? Barbra Streisand in What’s Up, Doc? and Julie Christie
in everything.

Richard’s new fragrance Jack Covent Garden, £95, is available at Selfridges, selfridges.com