Neil Morrissey goes on tour to clear £2.5m debt

Oct 4 2009 by Zoe Burn, Sunday Sun

MEN Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey has revealed that despite his financial woes, his North Yorkshire pub is going from strength to strength.

And the star admits he can’t wait to get back behind the bar of Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn at Marton Cum Grafton, York, but that for now, he’s too busy working.

“The pub is great, it’s proving very popular and my only regret is I’ve not been able to spend as much time there as I’d like to – I’ve got too much work on at the moment,” he revealed.

The 47-year-old hit the headlines last month when it emerged that he owed a reported £2.5m after his former business invested in three pubs and hotels in Wales.

Facing bankruptcy when the firm went into liquidation, the star instead opted to enter an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) – and vowed to pay back every penny.

In a bid to claw back every bit of cash to pay his creditors, he has embarked on a three-month tour of the UK playing the autistic savant Raymond Babbitt in the stage production of Rain Man.

“It’s hard work and can be quite a tiring and draining role, but I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “Raymond is such a complex character that it has been a nice challenging role to sink my teeth into.”

Morrissey plays the character made famous by Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman in the famous 1988 box office smash.

But he believes his interpretation of Raymond is different to Hoffman’s in many ways, not least because his is played out in front of a live audience without the lavish Hollywood sets.

“In theatre it is always different, you don’t have the luxury of a set and multiple takes, so you have to pull the audience in with your acting, nothing more.

“Yes, I’ve seen the film once or twice but I didn’t sit down and study Dustin Hoffman in it. I needed to apply myself to the part in a different way.

“Raymond is actually based on a real person so there was always going to be some bits that were scripted in, but the rest of it is my interpretation of the character.”

Neil admits he had his work cut out researching the role.

“I read medical studies and projects to get as good an idea as possible about this condition.

“Raymond is an autistic savant, a man who has been institutionalised for the last 26 years of his life. He knows only what is there in front of him, but he has an amazing ability for numbers and maths.