Celebrity Interview – Michael Maloney
by Steve Orme
…the difference between a theatre Poirot and a TV Poirot is it has to be more active. You don’t have the luxury of a television or film close-up
When someone mentions the Agatha Christie character Hercule Poirot, who comes to mind: David Suchet who played the Belgian detective on television for 20 years? Or do you recall Peter Ustinov, Albert Finney or even Kenneth Branagh in the role? Now another actor is hoping to put his own stamp on Poirot: Michael Maloney.
Michael has been acting for more than four decades. He’s been on several theatre tours, performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in more than 30 films.
On television he’s taken parts in everything from Midsomer Murders and Death In Paradise to the 2022 BBC series Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz in which he played publishing boss Charles Clover.
Now Michael who spent a year at a school in Long Eaton is preparing for what could be his biggest challenge since he played Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the age of 47: Hercule Poirot in Murder On The Orient Express.
How did he get the part? “It was a great day. It was my birthday and I was going on a river trip, my birthday treat from my partner Katie. And I got an email. It said would I be interested in going up for the part of Hercule Poirot?
“It never occurred to me that this part might be a possibility. That was what was so interesting about it. So I said let’s have a look.
“I chatted with the director Lucy Bailey and she was sensational. Two weeks later we started having a look at the play and that was great.”
Michael who chats with enthusiasm and passion about his profession isn’t worried about being compared with other great actors who have played Poirot.
“You’re never far away from other people’s contributions. I’ve watched Kenneth Branagh a lot, I watched Albert Finney before that. I’ve watched of course David Suchet who’s dominated our TV screens. Even now you can see him in a Poirot every hour of the day almost anywhere around the world. I take these performances with me – I don’t reject them.”
Murder On The Orient Express has been described as “one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a final twist that is among her very best”. It has been performed a few times in this country but this will be the first British tour of the play which has been adapted by American playwright and screenwriter Ken Ludwig.
“Ken has given us a lot of humour,” says Michael. “The difference between a theatre Poirot and a TV Poirot is it has to be more active. You don’t have the luxury of a television or film close-up – it has to be more expressive. You have to use language to create close-ups with the voice.
“You can get lots of character traits from the book from which you can use your imagination.”
Michael points out that the stage play was commissioned by the Agatha Christie estate which manages the rights to Agatha Christie’s works around the world. That means it won’t stray too far from the original.
“The estate has managed to produce something that’s extremely worthwhile and they’re happy with it. I think that’s very important.
“People come to the show saying ‘I know the story, so let’s see what else you’ve got on offer.’ At the end of the show, should you meet them, they might go ‘I had no idea that’s what happened in Murder On The Orient Express. I knew the story but I wasn’t expecting that.’ There’s a lot that one doesn’t remember. And so we can exploit that.”
Michael Maloney was born on 19 June 1957 at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. His talents were spotted before he left drama school and he secured his first television part as well as making his West End stage debut when he was 22.
He says Nottingham has a special place in his heart because he fondly remembers seeing Peter O’Toole in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot at Nottingham Playhouse in 1971 when Michael was 14.
But the theatre landscape has changed considerably since then, mainly because theatres are struggling financially. Without getting too political Michael thinks this is something that has to be addressed at national level.
“When I went to see Waiting For Godot, there was an extraordinary number of people there including the future head of the National Theatre, Richard Eyre, who was artistic director at the Playhouse. There were also people who went on to dominate the national landscape including playwrights David Hare and Howard Brenton, and all sorts of actors. All this has gone missing.
“My daughter Martha has just graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. That will close in two years’ time.
“The theatre industry brings billions into the country. The government has to see the value in theatre and the arts and has to help with the financing because local councils can’t afford to put their money into the arts when they’ve got people who are on the breadline, to put it politely.”
In 1999 Michael appeared on the Nottingham Playhouse stage alongside Peter Bowles, who grew up in Hyson Green, in Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth.
Five years later Michael played Hamlet on the Theatre Royal stage at the age of 47. A few eyebrows were raised because of Michael’s age; Shakespeare describes Hamlet as being about 30. Since then Sir Ian McKellen has played the tragic character – and he was 82.
This gives Michael, who has played Hamlet twice, optimism: “Maybe I’ll get a third go at it. Interestingly enough I quote a lot of Hamlet in this production of Murder On The Orient Express. Ken Ludwig is such a Shakespeare buff as well as a Shakespeare scholar and expert. So it’s a real pleasure to be quoting those lines again.”
Michael admits that Hamlet is in a class of its own because of the size of the role: “Hamlet will always be a great challenge for anybody and that’s what’s so exciting and attractive for actors who want to play it. It’s always been in my life and it continues to be in my life. It’s a challenge but a very welcome friend too.”
Since last September Michael has been taking on the challenge of playing Poirot whose facial characteristics include his ever-present moustache. That initially proved problematic to Michael.
“We did a publicity shoot way before we started the play. They stuck a really great moustache on me and it fell off! So I grew my own. I was lucky because I had six to eight weeks’ notice, so by the time we got to the stage it was a reasonable state.
“Then I didn’t cut it for another 12 weeks. I got really Mr Curvy after that, very creative, a bullhorn type of moustache. It’s been great fun.
“On the whole people don’t look at me funny in the street any more. I’ve managed to calm it down during the day and curl it up by night.”
Michael also had to work hard on Poirot’s Belgian accent: “I’ve used not only what I’ve learned from a fantastic voice teacher but also from what other people like Peter Ustinov, Albert Finney and David Suchet have left for us. I have a slight amalgamation of what they do as well as my own observations.
“We don’t want to get in the way of disrupting people’s perceptions of Poirot. We’re going to do that anyway with a lot of the script – we’re going to throw out red herrings so you don’t quite know who the culprit is in Murder On The Orient Express.
“Poirot’s voice is very important. I’ve given it Franco-Belge. How about that?”
Michael is known for his work on television, film and stage. So which does he prefer?
“I’m so happy touring and living out of a suitcase. A lot of people in my life are probably less so. I’m really enjoying it. Touring theatre for me is the future. Many of the company of actors on Murder On The Orient Express are very young and they’re going to cities and towns for the first time so everything is a new experience. Everybody is so decent, everybody is such a good person.
“But if I had a choice to make, I’d be in film all the time. I’d be in any kind of film that makes it to the cinema because film is larger than life, it uses the eyes and the face without language. It’s a shared experience and a great deal of time and care are put into making it a great experience. It’s good for the head and the heart for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a bad film, even one that’s been reviewed as a bad film because something happens to me each time and it sets me thinking in a different way.”
The tour of Murder On The Orient Express continues until May and Michael has nothing in the diary after that.
“There’s all sorts of talk at the moment, none of which is crystal clear. I do know that this production of Murder On The Orient Express is touted to go to China to do a 12-week tour. I’m not sure whether I’m going to be contracted to do that. We’ll soon find out.”
Even if Michael doesn’t carry on playing Poirot in China, no doubt he’ll get a phone call or another email offering him a part in yet another exciting project.
I’m looking forward to seeing his Poirot. It sounds as if he’s on the right track to stand alongside other memorable portrayals of this famous fictional detective.
Murder On The Orient Express will be at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham from April 1st until 5th.
