Anthony Head

Not just anybody: the alternative PM

Little Britain’s Anthony Head, 52, believes in homoeopathy, horse-healing and being well by willpower.

You play the Prime Minister in Little Britain but spent seven years in Los Angeles doing the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Did it turn you into a Californian health freak?

Not at all. In fact, I am not sure how healthy I am. I have certainly never thrown myself at exercise or healthy food.

You didn’t even get into rollerblading?

I did buy some rollerblades, I admit. When you are living by the ocean and there are dedicated routes everywhere, you might as well. But now they’re somewhere in the loft.

So a body beautiful isn’t a big deal for you?

Not really. I have never been particularly sporty. My partner, Sarah, has to force me to go to the gym. I find running mind-bogglingly tedious. I have to fight my body’s natural inclination to put on weight.

A weakness for biscuits?

I do love chocolate and biscuits and all the rest.

Are you the wash’n’go type off screen?

I don’t spend a great deal of time in front of the mirror.

Ever consider a nip’n’tuck?

I would rather not.

Not even a Hollywood smile?

I’m lucky because I think I have worn quite well. I have good skin and it is still fairly elastic. The only thing that I am afraid of is my nose and my ear lobes continuing to grow as I get older. Some people get really craggy and cool as they age. But I am afraid that my proportions will go all wrong.

Nothing else keeps you awake at night?

I try not to be one of life’s victims, constantly going from one illness to another. I believe that being well is something that is in our power to control. If you give in to a cold, for example, it can bog you down for weeks.

So staying healthy is all in the mind?

Well, I also take a supplement called Wellness Formula, which includes echinacea and vitamins that can boost your immune system. But mainly I try not to get stressed. I believe that if stress is untreated, it will come out somewhere along the line through your body.

Sounds as if you are a man in touch with your feelings?

I used to think that I was very normal, but when I moved to the States to do Buffy I began to realise that I do have some dysfunctional stuff going on; things that I should work on.

Such as?

There were moments in my life that I wanted to revisit. I have always felt that there were vast swaths of my childhood that have vanished, leaving me with little lily-pads of memory. I had eight sessions with a hypnotherapist who was trained in regression. It was fascinating. I was able to go back to particular moments, such as a fear of puppets, and I found a different set of emotions from what I had thought all these years.

Make any difference?

Discovering the difference between an overriding embarrassment of being afraid and just fear itself has helped me to move on

Tried anything else unusual?

I would rather use alternative medicine than anything else. I often take homoeopathic remedies. When you are feeling a bit off-centre, they put your body back in sync. I took one a while back when I was being short-tempered and accident-prone.

You’re a bit of a Mr Bean?

I can be. I recently played an ageing rock star in a pilot for a new series in America. In one scene, I whacked my face with my guitar and gave myself a black eye and a bump on my forehead the size of Mount Vesuvius. In another, I flung myself back on stage and popped a ligament in my knee.

Sounds bad. Apparently it is a common sporting injury, but it was very, very sore.

How did you get back on your feet?

I went to see an acupuncturist who had a week to get the knee back into shape for the pilot. She did.

How do you wind down after a hard day’s work - do you have a taste for a tipple?

I don’t drink to excess, but who knows? I’ll usually have at least a beer at the end of the day. I am aware that one should have at least one night a week without alcohol. Sometimes I do that.

And the smokes?

I gave up four years ago in the middle of Buffy. I didn’t smoke for four weeks because I had a cold, and then I just thought, what the hell would I want to start that again for?

You became a household name in the Gold Blend adverts. Still enjoy a caffeine fix?

I don’t drink an enormous amount of coffee, I try to stick to water. It really does affect your vibrance. Yesterday I was thinking that I looked a bit peaky and it was because I hadn’t forced myself to drink a good old slug of water.

Your partner, Sarah Fisher, is a horse whisperer. Do you believe in the healing power of animals?

Yes. I was mucking out an old pony at our farm in Somerset the other day, and with the horse munching away, it just felt peaceful and satisfying. I thought, everybody should do this once in a while.