By Kate Rodger
Scottish comedian Billy Connolly has made a career out of being funny, so it's no surprise the man is naturally funny in the flesh.
Despite the fact his new animated Pixar movie Brave is a family outing, there was no topic off-limits in this interview.
It turns out Connolly has been bungee jumping in New Zealand.
“I did it before, I did a naked one. The one which went into the gorge in Queenstown.”
And the reason he did it naked?
“I wanted to hear my penis slapping off my stomach at the bottom.”
But he can’t remember exactly what happened.
“I was too frightened, I felt like such a pervert in a way. On the way down I felt really brave. But when you bounce up in the sitting position, bare-arsed - I thought oh god I'm a pervert.”
He even told Peter Jackson, the world's most revered director of Tolkien, a man who had just cast Connolly in The Hobbit, that he had never read The Hobbit.
“He said, ‘have you read The Hobbit?’ And I said no. And not only that, ‘I don’t like people who have...’ He thought it was funny.”
Connolly is currently based in Wellington filming The Hobbit.
“I’m covered in armour, its like wearing a Volkswagen. Dunno how I’m supposed to fight with it on.”
But Connolly is here to talk about Brave, a film the comedian's very proud of.
The story's set in the Scottish highlands and tells the story of feisty princess Merida. Connolly plays her one-legged ferocious-softy dad king Fergus.
“The father-daughter relationship I recognise very much from my own, I’ve got four daughters.”
And Connolly's impressed to see a children's movie with such a strong female character leading the charge.
“It’s really lovely to see this wee girl becoming herself, and taking charge of her life. It’s good for girls to go and see a thing like that.”
Brave is out this weekend in New Zealand.
3 News
source: newshub archive
