Dressed in pyjamas and wellies, the great actor talks about his
astronaut training in
Russia, the original Cats – and putting his might behind his daughter Rosalind’s very personal plays
![Brian Blessed: All my life, 90% of men have bored the arse off me](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9a89f13ccbbedecc1d61f2aabcfa9174594e8165/0_65_5760_3456/master/5760.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=6153d89b563783e942d4b706f3e59216)
On a shelf in Brian Blessed’s study is a plastic toy, a replica of himself as Prince Vultan in the film Flash Gordon. There is a resemblance but, with this actor, the very idea of a miniature seems wrong.
The mountainous original is sitting at his desk, wearing a striking winter morning costume of red fleece, pyjama bottoms and wellington boots. He must be the hairiest 83-year-old man in existence, his huge head crowned by a thick grey thatch, his neck Tudor-ruffed by what seem metres of white beard.