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"I play such a weirdo."
Richard Coyle plays Jeff, who has heaps of advice about dealing with the opposite sex, but very little practical experience - until now. In fact Jeff is in a serious relationship with his boss Julia, who he first got together with in the stationery cupboard at work: "I have a lot of fun with the role," he laughs. "It really is silly. I play such a weirdo. I like that, because I think I’m a bit of a geek as well. Jeff is a pubescent boy trapped inside the body of a man, still obsessed about his relationship with his mother. But this new series sees him still in a relationship, more competent when it comes to matters sexual, and there is a lot of pathos in this series, which I’ve loved playing.
"I also love the freedom to be smutty with the part - I’m nothing like Jeff, but I love playing him. It’s a chance to play the fool and dash around. I enjoy all the great comedy stars like Laurel and Hardy and Harold Lloyd, and this is my chance to have a go at doing what they did! All of us have that child inside us, and I can let that out when I play Jeff."
Richard finds he is constantly recognised as Jeff: "People frequently come up to me and say 'Breasts' - which can take a bit of explaining to people who don’t know the show!" Richard says he would love to see a young Chevy Chase playing Jeff in the American version: "He’s my hero!"
Richard left the Coupling cast at the end of series 3.
Test your knowledge of Jeff in the quiz.
More Richard:
Richard took the title role in the BBC series Strange. Watch an interview with him, or read a transcript, at the bbc.co.uk Cult site »»
A gallery of alluring pics of Richard as John Strange »»
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