PLUME: Do you think that when you came back, as opposed to when you left, there was more of a feeling of you have opportunities, you can explore things?

FROST: No. No, not at all, really.

PLUME: What was your goal when you actually got back? Did you have any “Well, now I have to do this.” What were you doing to make a living when you got back?

FROST: Well, I was a waiter. The girl that I followed home was a waitress in a restaurant called Chaquitos which is a Mexican restaurant in a place called Staples Corner in London. I followed her back and she got me a job as a waiter. As a bartender, actually, at first.

PLUME: Was it a job you took to?

FROST: Yeah, yeah, I was great. I was an amazing bartender and a great waiter. I think, in a way, that was my acting school.

PLUME: Would you describe yourself as a sociable person prior to that?

FROST: No… (Laughs). I don’t describe myself as a sociable person now. I can be quite… you know… grumpy? Is that a word? I guess I can be a bit grumpy. You know, I like… I’m a bit… what is the word? I would be happy living on a massive ranch in Montana and not seeing anyone except my friends and family.

PLUME: So you’re a…

FROST: A hobbit. A hobo. What’s the word?

PLUME: A bit of a hermit?

FROST: Yeah, yeah…

PLUME: An introvert?

FROST: Well, I mean… there was a thing happened to me about four years ago which made me more of a hermit: I was beaten up. But as a man you always have it in the back of your mind that this could happen to you, but you never imagine it would - but then it does, and you think, “F***ing hell, that was quite frightening,” and I don’t really like going out anymore.

FROST: No, not at all, it was just… I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and five men decided to pound me senseless.

PLUME: They must have been Spaced fans.

FROST: Yeah. They were saying, “Why isn’t there a third series, you c**t?”

PLUME: Yes, “You bastard, how could you!?! If Simon Pegg were here, we’d be doing this to him!”

FROST: Yeah. “Instead of you! Take this message back…”

PLUME: Was this after a night of being out? Or just a…?

FROST: Yeah, no, I’d been out partying and I was waiting to get a cab home on a street corner. And just five guys came up and started to get a bit funny with me, and just kicked off in the end.

PLUME: Were they caught?

FROST: No, not at all. Not at all. I think the last kind of memory I had before I was kicked unconscious is them actually taking penalties with my head.

PLUME: Oh nice. Well at least they made a sport of it.

FROST: Oh yeah. God, everyone had a turn.

PLUME: Well, you can’t fault them for not sharing.

FROST: Well, yes, exactly. So there is hope for those idiots. Most of my life I’ve been thinking: god, it’d be awful to get beaten up by men. And then during the actual beating I remember thinking to myself, “It’s not so bad, actually.” And then about two or three minutes later I then remember thinking, “Oh, actually it’s awful.”

PLUME: Well I hope the recovery period was quick after that.

FROST: Oh yeah, yeah, it was fine. But, you know, as much as you say “No, it’s not going to affect me,” there is still that - you know, you still get that…

PLUME: Well I would imagine it would affect your comfort level to be out in those kind of situations.

FROST: Yeah, I mean, god… it’s just a bit awkward, you know?

PLUME: Of course, it would be a shame if they drove you to a hermited life.

FROST: Yeah, I see your point. But then, you know, every time I do feel slightly hermit-like I kind of think to myself, “Well, look, statistically, I’ve now had my beating, so I should be able to wander the streets with impunity.” But I’m not sure if it works like that, Ken.

PLUME: But there must be a quota system. I can’t imagine the same thing happening twice.

FROST: (Laughs) God, yeah, you’re right.

PLUME: Unless you’re cruising the streets looking for it.

FROST: Yeah, saying, “Come on, you pricks. There’s going to be no third series.”

PLUME: Exactly. Or you just need to travel the streets in a band of your own.

FROST: Yeah. Exactly. Where were we? I’d come back from Israel. Yeah, I didn’t really want to do anything. But the thing is, I think looking back, I didn’t even think about it, do you know what I mean? I never even thought: f***, I’m a waiter, I should think about becoming… something else, you know? I didn’t give it a minute’s thought. I just found a group of nice people and a nice restaurant. And the thing about working in a restaurant as well is you get stuck in a rut, because the people you work with are also the people you hang out with and the people you eat dinner with and the people you live with and the people you go to parties with, you know, because you’re all waiters. I literally looked at my watch and I was twenty-six. And you think, “F***ing hell, I’ve been here for five years!”

PLUME: You recreated that sort of fellowship of the kibbutz there in the restaurant…

FROST: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. That’s exactly what it was like. Because, again, being a waiter, it’s a high turnover business for staff, you know? You’re getting three dollars an hour or four dollars an hour and you come in, people work for three months and think, “F*** this, I’m off.” And they’re off. So again, you get used to people leaving and disappearing.

PLUME: Obviously you were there for a quite a while. How did the management view your tenure there? Was there any upward movement or were you content where you were?

FROST: No, I was perfectly content. I was perfectly content. I loved being a waiter and I was a really good waiter and I made, you know, I made some good money. I think a few times they tried to get me to be a supervisor and things like that, but I just couldn’t… I just didn’t really take to it. I enjoyed being out on the floor and, every now and again, I would say to them, “Look, I now hate the general public and you have to move me into the kitchen.” So, you know, every now and again I would go and work in the kitchen for six months.

PLUME: Then you’d go, “I’m so lonely, I have to see the public.”

FROST: Yeah. “I hate working in the kitchen. It stinks. I want to now work back on the floor, please.”

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