SIBLING SUCCESS BEATS TV ACCOLADES SAYS GORDON “LITTLE JOHN” KENNEDY
GORDON KENNEDY AND THE PORTRAIT
Saturday 3 July, 18.30 on BBC ALBA
Scots actor Gordon Kennedy, who during the last three years has made a name for himself as ‘Little John’ in the BBC production of Robin Hood will be featuring in the one-off programme ‘Gordon Kennedy and The Portrait’ to be broadcast on Saturday 3 July at 6.30pm on BBC ALBA.
Gordon Kennedy who grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, reveals his personality in an exclusive interview with presenter Maggie Cunningham whilst during the programme, emerging Scottish artist Sarah Muirhead creates a unique portrait of the actor.
Sarah Muirhead, a 2009 graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, who has been praised for her work by Charles Saatchi, takes inspiration for her first portrait commission from watching Gordon as he engages in conversation with herself and presenter Maggie.
During the interview a box of personal memorabilia helps to open the door to Gordon’s life and personality, and in the programme he shows a highly valued photograph of his brother Euan scoring a try for the first post-war Grand Slam against England at Murrayfield. No matter how many Oscars he might win, or even being awarded a Nobel Prize, Gordon admits that this personal photograph will represent the biggest moment in his family’s life.
Being very involved in rugby helped Gordon come to terms with his ‘Little John’ character. In order for the actor to get a picture in his mind of who he thought this ‘Little John’ person was in a modern way, Gordon reveals that “bizarrely” he pictured the Scottish internationalist Jason White. In Gordon’s mind Jason was: “a big, very quiet but quite violent Scottish rugby player who really helped me form him in terms of how he walked……I’ve never told him so he probably wants payment now.”
The actor also talks to Maggie Cunningham, a former joint head of programmes at BBC Scotland, about his life and work which includes three years filming in Budapest for Robin Hood and also his time as co-presenter of the first National Lottery Show which had an audience of 20 million.
The programme concludes with the intriguing revelation of Sarah’s artistic interpretation of the actor, his life and work.
‘Gordon Kennedy and The Portrait’ has been produced by mneTV for BBC ALBA and directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who directed The Flying Scotsman and whose credits include the TV series Jekyll and also Dr. Who.