Francis Greenslade

Yet Francis’ acting work expands well beyond the Micallef Universe. With extensive credits** in live theatre, other television programs, and now starting to embark on film roles, it befuddles us how such a prolific and talented actor remains so under recognized. We wanted to know more about Francis, so we sent out the SMOWAH gorilla to capture him and subject him to interrogation. This is what Koko came back with:

Are you from an artistic family?
There is some thespianism on my mother's side. I have an uncle several times removed who was "Lucky" in the first English production of "Waiting for Godot", my father drew and painted very well, my sister plays the violin in a band and one of my daughters is learning the recorder.

So, no not really.

Had you always aspired to be an actor or did you accidentally discover it?
I had always been fascinated by the stage - my first role was the parlourmaid in a school production of "Pygmalion. I never thought that it was a realistic career choice but at Uni I did less and less work and more
and more theatre until I was completely unequipped for anything except the life of an unemployed actor.
Not so much a deliberate decision as a refusal to do anything else.

Do you have a preference between live theatre work, television, and film? Do you find one medium more satisfying than the others or do all three offer you something unique as a performer? 
I haven't done much film. Theatre is more generally more challenging but much more poorly paid. Television can be extremely boring because of the technical requirements - you wait around for hours for lights to be set and then you have no time to rehearse. 

On the other hand TV can be enormous fun and you only have to do it once whereas if you're in a bad play you have to do it over and over again which is probably the worse torture. 

When I was on Full Frontal I would sometimes go home in the evening having spent the whole day doing nothing except wearing a silly hat and standing in the background in one sketch. It was well paid but then some of the theatre you do, you're singing, dancing, playing an instrument - using everything you have, but then you can’t afford to buy lunch.

Is there any role or performance in your career that you look back upon and cringe slightly?
There are too many bad performances for me to go into in any depth. There was a motoring journalist who got sexually turned on by cars on a show called "Get a Life" which fortunately only got seen on cable. The others I have wiped from my psyche.

Is recording audio books an enjoyable process? Of the books you have narrated, do you have a favourite?
Narrating books is one of the few jobs I do where I always go to work looking forward to the next few hours. It does require a bit of concentration but it's also very meditative. Generally the better written the book is - the easier and more rewarding it is to read. It's quite hard to make a trashy thriller sound good even if it
reads well.

When working with Shaun, what kind of input do you have into the material being written and performed?
Not much, I'm just the actor that does the lines. I do have some latitude to create stuff in performance, but my attitude is how to make the lines work rather than how can I make the lines better.

It appears as though you have been pretty game as an actor to do almost anything in the name of comedy. Was there ever a sketch idea or character you refused to do?
I have bucked at a few things - if my characters name is Francis then I think I have to be a bit careful of what I do since it's easy to confuse the character and the actor. But my standards as to what I will do are
pretty low I think.

What current music, television shows, and films do you enjoy? Any that you dislike with a passion?
I love "Malcolm in the Middle". I think that's the funniest show on TV. The Dad on that treads such a beautiful line between completely over the top and yet very disciplined.

A very big and heartfelt thank you to Francis for participating in the Q&A. We'll hire you any day because we think you are GREAT!!!!