What’s On TV caught up with Toby Jones on the new Dad’s Army film, released early next year, and he said the experience of playing Captain Mainwaring was 'terrifying'.
Toby co-stars alongside Daniel Mays (Private Walker), Bill Nighy (Sergeant Wilson), Tom Courtenay (Corporal Jones), Bill Paterson (Private Frazer), Michael Gambon (Private Godfrey) and The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison (Private Pike).
“Playing Captain Mainwaring in the Dad’s Army film has been terrifying!” Toby told us. “I spent the whole time trying not think about what I was doing. When I first heard about the film I thought it was a really bad idea, but then I saw the script and realised it was really clever because it's based on something true that happened. The other actors are so great, too, it would have been hard to turn down."
Toby says he thinks it’ll be inevitable for fans to compare his new movie version of Captain Mainwaring with Arthur Lowe’s original character in theclassic Dad's Army TV series.
“We’re not trying to be the same,” he insists “When I looked at the other actors they were sort of half doing the original characters, but with a new spin on them…”
At the recent Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards, Toby also spoke about his time filming Marvellous, the BBC2 drama in which he played real-life Stoke hero Neil Baldwin, a unique local character who has never let learning difficulties stop him from achieving his goals in life, like become Stoke FC's kitman.
“It was a happy job from start to finish – it was totally blissful,” says Toby, who is still in touch with Neil Baldwin. “One anyone who meets Neil Baldwin is then interconnected in the community of Neil Baldwin!”
