Billy Crudup may have a host of Emmy, Tony, and Critics’ Choice awards on display at his house, but did you know he also owns a shelf worth of The Simpsons memorabilia? The Almost Famous and Jay Kelly star gives us a lowdown on his current London life as he decamps to the city for his latest play, High Noon, and dishes on his more unconventional collecting habits.
Home is…
Well, right now it’s some kind of executive apartment type deal near Bond Street Tube station. I love London. I’ve been coming here for 30 or 35 years or so to see plays, and I’ve worked here many times before. As a New Yorker, I feel very at home here.
Where was your first flat in London?
This flat on the way to Heathrow Airport. I was here doing a film called Charlotte Gray. It’s just before you get on the highway towards London. Some of my favourite places in New York are some of the more seedy areas, and it’s the same here.
When I was doing a play in London a few years ago, they put me up in Camden, and that was as comfortable as anywhere else to me.
Where would you recommend for a first date?
London is a fantastic walking city. You’d have to assess your date properly, but I would suggest a walk through Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park or along the canals by Camden Lock. In New York, we don’t have the same history in our architecture. In London, I’m constantly stopping by some plaque or another about who has lived in this townhouse.
Which shops do you rely on?
Once when I was working here and living in Kensington, there was a Marks & Spencer around the corner — I got a couple of shirts that I must have worn for 15 years or so.
What’s the best meal you’ve had in London?
A chicken tikka masala. It was a special kind of chicken masala that I’d never had before that is still a memorable meal for me today. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but it was like a dive on a street corner.
Where would you most like to be buried in London?
There’s a very special spot in Hyde Park just west of the Royal Albert Hall with a series of benches where I found tremendous peace while working on a very complicated project.
If you could buy any building and live there, which would it be?
The Natural History Museum.
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
A day of free theatre.
What makes someone a Londoner?
The same thing that makes someone a New Yorker: time and involvement. You participate in your community, in your building, at whatever capacity, over a period of time. Doesn’t matter if you were born there or no.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
Great question for an American to get thrown under the bus. David Bowie.
Where do you let your hair down?
I have a couple of friends who live in Notting Hill, so going to visit them at their townhouse is always a treat.
Who do you call when you want to have fun in London?
Matthew Goode is a good friend of mine, so now the show is up and running I’ll probably bother him a lot to come and hang out with me.
What’s your biggest extravagance?
Golf, or golfing trips. I can’t think of anything more extravagant than travelling for something so stupid. A trip with a couple of knucklehead friends down to Florida? That’ll run you a couple of grand too. That, or the college education for my son.
What’s your London secret?
I don’t know the statute of limitations for graffiti here, but there’s a bench — a different bench — in Hyde Park with my initials on it.
What are you up to for work?
I am doing a production of High Noon in the West End with Denise Gough.
Who is your hero?
Professionally, Meryl Streep. Personally, my son. But don’t tell him, because he’s a 22-year-old and they’ve got attitude.
What’s your favourite London grooming spot?
I recently went to The Bath House by Banya London, where you can do a hot sauna followed by a cold plunge, and then you sit and they bring you pierogi to eat. I highly recommend it.
What do you collect?
The Simpsons memorabilia. I became obsessed with The Simpsons for a while, and I was clearly referencing them every chance I got, because during my birthday or during Christmas, people were giving me a lot of Simpsons paraphernalia. Coincidentally, I used to do voiceovers for MasterCard, and they had a campaign where they partnered with The Simpsons, and I got to record on the same mic with Dan Castellaneta, who does Homer and so many of the other voices. I told him I was a fan and he had a producer bring me a box full of Simpsons memorabilia which I had to get shipped to New York. It had its own shelf in my apartment. That is, until I told that story to someone I was beginning to date. “And she said, ‘You have a shelf [full of Simpsons memorabilia]?’ And I said, ‘Well, not anymore!’”
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As told to Maddy Mussen
Billy Crudup is in High Noon at the Harold Pinter Theatre until March 6
