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The Lightsabre Interview Ian Liston
Welcome to
Lightsabre. We’re thrilled to
introduce to you our latest Lightsabre guest, Wes Janson himself and the
founder of the Hiss and Boo Company, Ian Liston. Q - Ian, welcome to
Lightsabre. A -
Thanks Mark. I’m flattered that you’ve asked me to be part of your amazing
web site. Q – You’ve been in
numerous episodes of Coronation Street, Brookside, Crossroads, appeared in
Silent Witness and played Mister Chairman over 3000 times, and yet you are
internationally best known for your role as Wes Janson in the Empire Strikes
Back. How do you feel about that? A – Astonished. I don’t think anyone associated with
the original films, when they were made in the late 1970’s, ever thought they
would still be so popular three decades later. Q – Empire is
probably the best loved and most critically acclaimed episode of the
saga. What is it about that film that
strikes so many chords with both Star Wars fans and cinema fans alike? A –
It’s the definitive adventure story. It has all the classic elements of good
versus evil, the victor vanquished only to return and win the day and come
away with the best bird on the block on his arm. Q - Tell us something
of your career. How did you begin in
entertainment and what led you to where you are today? A –
I am so old! - 57 this year. I am old enough to have started in the
theatre when they didn’t even have backstage relays / tannoy systems and so
had to have a ‘call’ boy’ who went round knocking on the dressing rooms doors
to warn the actors that they had impending entrances in the play. That
happened in 1961 on an amateur production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s
‘Iolanthe’ at The Winter Gardens Theatre, Waterloo (near Liverpool). I was
bitten by the stage bug from that moment on and have since been involved with
every branch of entertainment. – No sooner had I left college than I found
myself working as a ‘runner’ (dogsbody / tea-boy – the lowest of the low!) at
ABP Studios Elstree on a series called ‘The World of Jason King’ which
starred Peter Wyngarde. How ironic that I
should go back there several years later, to the very same sound stage where
that was filmed, to do all the blue-screen work for The Empire Strikes Back. I went back in
similar circumstances to Granada TV in Manchester (where I had previously
worked as a Prop man / floor assistant n Coronation Street) to play the
part of Danny Burrows for three months
in what is still my favourite ‘soap’! Before I became an
actor, one of my first jobs was with The Beatles company, Apple Films, as a
location manager. I loved that job and worked on several films including
Little Malcolm and his Struggle against the Eunuchs, Gumshoe, O Lucky Man and
Sitting Target on the ‘other side’ of the camera. Q – What has it been
like to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- I’ve been to many places
and met countless people and had lots of fun being part of the Star Wars
‘universe’. I don’t regret one moment of it. It’s been fun all along the way. Q – We often hear
funny stories from the sets of the movies, especially from the Red Squadron
and Rogue Squadron members. What
memories do you have of being stuck in a cockpit in front of a blue screen
with Dennis Lawson? A –
Who’s Dennis Lawson? – We never met on the set of
the film as all our stuff was filmed ‘front on’. If he appears to be in a
shot with me, it’s a double...and vice versa. Q – Your character
Wes Janson has had a great fiction life beyond your portrayal of him in
Empire. What is it about Wes that has
made him such a popular character in the Expanded Universe, and do you like
to keep up with his exploits? A –
I love the books. It’s been great fun reading them and seeing how the
character of Wes has developed. He’s always been a bit of a practical joker
and sees the funny side of things. A bit like me in real life! I always look
forward to the next book. If nothing else, to ensure he’s not been bumped
off! – I’ve met Aaron Alston a few times and we get on well so, hopefully,
Wes will hang on in there for a while yet. – Just how far up the ladder of
promotion can he go? Q – What would you
change about your Star Wars experience if you could go back and do it again? A –
Nothing…except, I might have kept script pages / call sheets / taken photos
on the set but I didn’t know such things would be so prized and valuable over
25 years later.
Q – Your company Hiss
and Boo has been an unqualified success, taking productions across the
country to great acclaim and applause.
Roy Hudd, the Beverley Sisters, Jimmy Cricket and Danny La Rue are
just some of the great British theatre names you have worked with. How did the concept of Hiss and Boo come
about? A – It started around the time
of Empire Strikes Back…in fact some of the money I earned from ‘Empire’ went
into setting up the theatre company. It started as a way of creating theatre
work in pubs / clubs / theatre venues for a group of actors, like myself, who
didn’t like being out of work. The same holds true over 25 years later but
now we play bigger theatres and take the shows overseas. Q – There’s talk of a Star Wars TV series. Would you be interested in a role, maybe as
the older and wiser Wes Janson? A –
When do rehearsals start? Q - What do you
foresee in the future for yourself and Hiss and Boo? A –
We’re now well established in the UK as a company who produce top quality
pantomimes and Christmas shows. Some of our work is traditional: much of it
is innovative. I just want to keep on doing more of the same…and doing it
better and better. Q – A quick question
about our site, Lightsabre. I noticed
you had a quick look for Wes in our guides sections! Any comments? A –
He’s missing (AT THE TIME OF THIS INTERVIEW) but let’s hope he’s found before
too long! Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Widow Twanky, Buttons and Wishee-Washee are
all on stage at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre in the panto production of
`Return of the Jedi – All the Galaxy’s a Stage: The Musical’. A Rancor appears behind
the three of them and the crowd screams “It’s behind you!” Which one turns first, which one doesn’t
believe the audience and which one ends up as a toothpick? A –
Buttons turned and ran off when he received a message from his agent telling
him that George Lucas had offered him a part as third Wookie on the left in
the new Star Wars film. Widow Twankey had a touch too much ‘yub-yub’ and was
so overcome to even know what an audience was. Wishee-Washee fell
foul of an itinerant bounty hunter in the Dagobah system and was eventually
tracked down to the Lichfield Garrick where he mistook a Coruscantian
lumberjack for a dentist…silly man - too trusting by half! Nurse, they’re out of
bed again! Thanks Mark…and best wishes to all on Lightsabre. |
