Rory Kinnear in Conversation @ the NT

This was chaired as usual by Al Senter so we had to wait through a good five minutes of his smug and laborious pedantry waffle before the demure and patient Rory had a chance to charm us. It was worth the wait.

Rory quietly held the audience in his hand with his obvious but elegant adoration for his father.

He said that on the fourth day of shooting Quantum of Solace (at that point, unnamed) it actually dawned on him that everyone would see him in this. He didn't understand his lines and he was 'snoozy' at the premiere.

He also talked about his time as Laertes with Ben Whishaw and Sam Roukin (who was in the audience). The production started at 7pm and he was done by 7:23 with no need to return until 9:50. When asked how he coped with such a long period off stage he said he coped by living two minutes from the theatre. The European Cup was on at the time and he would go home, make beans on toast and watch a match. Sadly, the last match against Portugal went into penalty time so he missed the end of it but could hear people listening to it back-stage. I can't remember the details but while he and Sam were rolling around on the stage, there was some competitive provocations.

On another occasion he went to see a friend in a production down the road at the Young Vic. It was a short piece so he had a drink in the bar with him afterwards and David Lan (artistic director) spotted him and said he hadn't realised the Hamlet had closed already. Rory replied that it hadn't but he wasn't due back on for another 20 minutes. Apparently, Mr Lan gave him a look that said 'I will never cast this man in any production of mine'.

I really must drag that production out of the V & A archives for a look soonest.

Monica Dolan was also in the audience & I was dying to ask her what we might see her in next. I embarrassed myself by waiting for Rory to sign a postcard afterwards but it was an orderly organised line with him sitting at a table rather than an unholy fight at the stage door.