Face Off

After picking up a BAFTA for Fonejacker, Kayvan Novak has decided to forego the anonymity of being a crank caller and created something called Facejacker. The characters and voices that perplexed the general public are to be made flesh or something very much like it as Novak explains… So tell us more about the Fonejacker concept. The idea is that I play some of the characters from Fonejacker, some of the animated characters, but I play them in real life. So we’re achieving that by heavy prosthetic make up that’s transforming me into the characters. Now that you’re playing these characters face-to-face as opposed to over the phone, does it feel very different to perform? Do you prepare differently? Over the phone, you can only say things to people and hope that they accept it and react in the right way. There is more of a jeopardy being face to face. For the first few minutes of the interaction, you’re never quite sure that you’ve convinced them. You always wonder what they’re thinking. Ultimately, I’m a 31-year-old Iranian dude wearing a plastic helmet, putting on a voice and trying to convince them that I’m a character. I try and come across like a tornado, destroying everything in my path, so they have no choice but to accept them. It’s credit to the make up that you can stand face to face with people and convince them. The comedy potential then is massive; it’s much bigger than on the phone. You must have to spend half your life in the make-up chair. Each character takes about three hours. But it’s worth it, because the transformation is pretty awesome. Terry Tibbs is a good example: we gave the picture of Terry Tibbs to our make-up guy, who then took a cast of my face and then tried to make a mask that looked like Terry. And the results are pretty sensational. I’ve been going round as Terry Tibbs quite convincingly. People have heard the voice and then seen the face and gone "My God, it’s Terry Tibbs!" Who are the original animations based on? Well, Terry Tibbs, for example, is two people that we Photoshopped together. We got the massive skull and cranium and suit and shirt and neck of one guy that we found on the internet, and we merged him with my Polish mechanic’s features, his eyes, nose and mouth. Have there been any characters from Fonejacker that aren’t in the new series? Yeah, there are some guys who I can’t play in real life. For example, as much as I love the ‘Internet Service Providings’ guy, he’s a small, meek dude. I’m a tall, proud, arrogant man, so it just doesn’t work physically. With others, I put on the fat suit and I’m off. What have been the best reactions you’ve had from people? Has anyone ever tried to hit you? No-one’s tried to hit me yet, but we’ve still got some filming days to go, so fingers crossed! Although Nigel Benn gave me a little warning tap, because he figured out something was going on. He’s a lovely guy, and he only did it in jest, thankfully. Which characters do you particularly enjoy playing? Terry I like. This series, there’s Brian Betonde, the guy who sounds like Brian Sewell, but with a speech impediment means everything he says starts with a ‘b’. We weren’t sure how he’d look or what he’d wear, but he’s turned out really well. I was at an MC battle last Saturday as him, and I actually won my battle, which was a bit surprising. I think he’ll be a popular character. Have you enjoyed making the series? It’s been a challenge, but if you feel that you’re being frustrated, and you feel challenged, and you’re on edge, then you’re probably in the right place. That’s the one tiny piece of wisdom that I’ve garnered from this life. When you find yourself saying ‘Why does everything have to be so difficult?’ then you’re on the right track. If things are coming too easy, then you’ll be underwhelmed with the results, guaranteed. In your other life, you’re a screen actor; you were blown up by George Clooney in Syriana… Yeah, that was great. Four days in Casablanca, in Morocco, filming there. I really enjoyed it. And you’ve just done a film directed by Chris Morris, a comedy about Jihadi terrorists. Four Lions, that’s right. I’ve just come back from Sundance; it was premiered out there. It was a great experience. I did the pilot for Facejacker, finished that in March, and then went off to film with the amazing Chris Morris for ten weeks… You won a BAFTA for Fonejacker. How did that feel? It was totally unexpected. We just assumed no-one at BAFTA would give a shit about a bunch of prank calls. The success of Fonejacker was so unexpected. In 2008, when we were doing the second series of Fonejacker, we just seemed to win every award we were up for, which was just bizarre. How do you feel about this series? Now most of it is in the can, are you pleased with the results? Very pleased. I think we’re making something that’s never been made before, and that’s exciting in itself. Not only is it pioneering and original, it’s also very funny, which is ultimately what you want.