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Michael Sheen as Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa! (2006)

#michael sheen #kenneth williams #fantabulosa #such a good film #and kw's diaries are extraordinary #his centenary is on the 22nd #my gifs

Came across the above tweet on my TL earlier today, and it immediately made me think of Michael (who played Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa). For anyone who may not know, Kenneth Williams was gay, but had a tremendous amount of conflict around his sexuality. A lot of this was due to internalized homophobia stemming from the cultural strictures and constraints of his era, but this affected him to the point of avoiding sexual relationships with men altogether. Michael, in playing Kenneth Williams, conveyed this repression, this sense of self-loathing mixed with desire, so painfully well--and in one particular scene, the idea of being so close to getting what you truly want, but not ever being able to actually have it.

The layers go even deeper when you think about Good Omens season 2. The pub scene hits so differently because I'm now wondering if this was something Michael thought of when he read/filmed this scene, especially having read KW's diaries extensively as he prepared for the role. Michael surely would have read the entry mentioned above, and I can see him incorporating the coding of that--that according to certain cultural standards, only certain types of men drink sherry--and what that conveys as a method of expressing one's sexuality in a time and place where it can't just be said out loud.

What's even more interesting is that Crowley's line to the bartender was apparently ad-libbed by David, so the whole "A sherry for Lady Bracknell" (not to mention all the other names/titles David threw in in the bloopers of that scene) was a deliberate and specific choice to further add on to that queer coding--both of who Aziraphale is, and what his and Crowley's relationship is.

So I can't help wondering if this was something Michael and David discussed--either briefly or at length--prior to filming, knowing fully what was being heavily implied and referenced here, and in the rest of the season as well. That what Michael brought to the role of Kenneth Williams was somehow also present in Aziraphale--both in this scene and in the heartwrenching final fifteen minutes. That something about Kenneth Williams resonated deeply in Michael and knowing that every role he plays is "him" to some extent, it brought forth emotions from all sorts of places and made what we saw on screen even more poignant than we could have imagined...

Michael Sheen talks about his role in Fantabulosa and the lingering effects of playing Kenneth Williams. I wonder what effects he will notice 20 years from now from playing Aziraphale.

As I was listening, I wondered if he was going to comment on the black hole double entendre he made and then he did! 😅🕳️

Full clip above, link here