Rafe Spall was born in Camberwell, south London, in March 1983. He joined the National Youth Theatre at 15 and despite rejection by Rada threw himself into an acting career, inspired in part by his father, Timothy. He has appeared in more than 50 films and TV shows, notably Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy, Life of Pi, Black Mirror and the BBC’s The War of the Worlds. Spall is married to the actor Elize du Toit, with whom he has three children, and is starring in the one-man show Death of England at the National Theatre until 7 March.
1. Music
CASisDEAD
I heard a song called Pat Earrings by the London rapper CASisDEAD a couple of years ago and was so struck by it that I got his email address from Instagram and emailed him, saying: “Damn, this is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard.” Now we’ve struck up this friendship, but only over text message. No one’s ever seen his face – he raps in a mask. He’s only released a couple of mixtapes so far, but his particular brand of hip-hop fits in the apex of my musical tastes: it’s a bit like London Posse crossed with Kate Bush – and I just think he’s the best rapper in the UK right now.
2. Poetry
I’ve been into performance poetry since I was a teenager (the Saul Williams film Slam had a huge effect on me), but I don’t go to live events these days because I’ve got three kids so I watch online instead. One of my favourite YouTube channels is Button Poetry, where you can find a Canadian poet called Sabrina Benaim. Not only is she a brilliant poet, she’s a fantastic performer too – I find her extremely engaging and watch her poems a lot. She’s a chronicler of love, disappointment, depression and all of the other stuff that makes for great performance poetry.
3. Book
This is one of the most moving books I’ve ever read. You can’t believe one person can take so much pain and then become a world-renowned poet, performer and intellectual. It relates how Sissay’s mother came to the UK from Ethiopia to study, got pregnant, and was forced to give him up for adoption. He went through the brutal British care system and was subject to abuse and humiliation, but he was in possession of an extremely fine mind and started writing poetry. Our culture is a deluge of terrible news and pain but there are still these examples of human goodness and resilience, and to me he embodies that.
4. Theatre
I saw Fairview at the Young Vic before it finished: it’s about race and the depiction of black people in popular culture. I don’t want to ruin it, but it features one of the most heartstopping endings I’ve ever experienced in a theatre. The play is about a middle-class black family in America and to begin with it could be an episode of The Cosby Show, with a gaudy set and exaggerated acting style. Then the scene is replayed but with white people commenting over it. Then the white people turn up in the scene and act out stereotypical depictions of black people. It was beautifully performed, wonderfully staged and it has really stuck with me.
5. Comedy
Growing by Amy Schumer, Netflix
I’m doing a one-man play at the moment and to get my head around it I watched a lot of standup. I’ve always had a fascination with standup and I’ve watched pretty much every comedian’s TV special in the past three years. The one that really made me piss myself was Amy Schumer’s Growing. She is absolutely at the top of her game. It’s just masterful and so funny my wife was worried about me because I was laughing so much. Schumer was talking about pregnancy, with moments of seriousness and weight amid the laughs. It really is relentlessly, sidesplittingly funny.
6. Restaurant
William’s, Nailsworth
I moved to the Cotswolds last year and as a dyed-in-the-wool Londoner and lover of restaurants I was worried – I thought I was leaving good food behind. But the nearest town to me, Nailsworth, has a fish restaurant and deli which I can hand on heart say is absolutely world class. It’s one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to but it’s an everyday place – you’d go there all the time. The food is really fresh and cooked with love – they do the greatest fish stew known to mankind – and the staff are amazing. It’s a lifesaver: it’s made my move to the countryside a whole lot easier.
