{"id":295813,"date":"2025-11-20T16:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/295813\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:44:09","slug":"matt-smith-on-working-with-nick-cave-and-his-summer-of-oasis-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/295813\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Smith on working with Nick Cave and his summer of Oasis fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s taken 16 years for someone to turn Nick Cave<\/a>\u2019s sordid 2009 novel The Death Of Bunny Munro into a TV show \u2013 and it sounds like he\u2019s pleased about it. When they met, the gothic post-punk icon congratulated star Matt Smith by purring in that unmistakable Aussie drawl: \u201cFinally, someone has had the balls to tell this unholy tale\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Set in and around Cave\u2019s seaside home of Brighton, The Death Of Bunny Munro follows its titular anti-hero while he conducts his horribly twisted business. Addicted to sex, booze and generally being an unpleasant arsehole, Bunny\u2019s many faults include cheating on mentally ill wife Libby (Sarah Greene) and ignoring their sweet little boy Bunny Jr. (Rafael Math\u00e9). But when Libby can\u2019t take it anymore and hangs herself from the curtains, Bunny\u2019s days as a sleazy lothario are numbered. Can he turn over a new leaf and be the loving father he never had?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, that\u2019s not going to happen. But the six-episode miniseries is worth watching for the banger-stuffed, \u201890s-obsessed soundtrack alone (not to mention Cave and Warren Ellis\u2019 wistful original score). Smith himself couldn\u2019t help getting stuck in, offering up suggestions for needle drops cherry-picked from his own music-obsessed brain. Read on for an intimate portrait of the Northampton-born lad\u2019s youth as a fashionable head boy cum trance DJ cum Oasis<\/a> megafan\u2026<\/p>\n

Do you remember the first time you became aware of Nick Cave?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure exactly. In this country, he\u2019s sort of woven into the fabric [of things]. He\u2019s in the [public] consciousness for so many different reasons. I\u2019ve had so many ports of call with Nick Cave over the years, things that I\u2019ve become attached to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MattMatt Smith in episode one of \u2018The Death Of Bunny Munro\u2019. CREDIT: Sky<\/p>\n

Were you a young fan or a more recent convert?<\/p>\n

\u201cYounger. I mean, I\u2019m 43 now, unbelievably. God, help me. When did that happen? Tuesday, it turns out. My birthday was on Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you\u2019re a Scorpio?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of my badges. I\u2019m really into being a Scorpio. Don\u2019t cross us.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you come to be in The Death Of Bunny Munro?<\/p>\n

\u201cI got an email through the inbox. You know, \u2018Death Of Bunny Munro: Nick Cave\u2019. You have my attention! But just before then I\u2019d watched the documentary about him called 20,000 Days On Earth<\/a> and it was fucking brilliant. He talks about the process of writing in it. He says: \u2018Writing\u2019s easy. You just make a character do one thing after another.\u2019 And it\u2019s fucking true man!\u201d<\/p>\n

When did you meet him?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went for breakfast. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever met Nick, but he\u2019s a pretty vivid image. He\u2019s really tall, really angular and immaculately dressed. Almost intimidating \u2013 and I was sat there having breakfast with him and he\u2019s having a boiled egg and soldiers!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheRafael Math\u00e9 and Matt Smith in \u2018The Death Of Bunny Munro\u2019. CREDIT: Sky<\/p>\n

What advice did he give you about playing Bunny?<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point, I hadn\u2019t read the book. I\u2019d only read the pilot script. He said: \u2018I think you should read the book, man.\u2019 So I read it on holiday really quickly and then I listened to the audiobook a lot when I was preparing because he narrates it really well and I wanted to get Nick Cave in my head a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the soundtrack, do you have a favourite needle drop in the series?<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018A Forest\u2019 by The Cure<\/a>. They played it for me through a speaker on the shoot at night time. It\u2019s when Bunny is driving into the trees. And there\u2019s a little touch of Kylie Minogue<\/a> when he\u2019s leaving the funeral, because in the book that\u2019s really prevalent. The \u201890s was such an important period for me, musically. Sometimes I look around now and I\u2019m like: \u2018Where are those fucking bands, man?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What was Matt Smith like as a teenager in the \u201890s?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I got quite into fashion labels \u2013 Moschino this, Ralph Lauren logos everywhere. I was always in River Island and then I\u2019d go and buy a pair of Armani jeans\u2026 Patrick Cox shoes. And, obviously, I\u2019ve always worn Reebok Classics. I still only wear Reebok Classics for trainers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a huge Oasis fan \u2013 did you go to the reunion shows?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I went to eight of them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Eight!?<\/p>\n

\u201cI did Cardiff, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley\u2026 I love Oasis. It was blow-your-ears-off, blow-your-socks-off good. What\u2019s amazing about that tour is the shit they\u2019ve left out. \u2018Columbia\u2019, \u2018She\u2019s Electric\u2019 \u2013 and that\u2019s not even getting on to the later albums. Bangers. Just when you think [it\u2019s slowing down], they go: \u2018Here\u2019s \u2018Slide Away\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Little By Little\u2019 went off at Wembley\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Little By Little\u2019 goes mad! \u2018Half The World Away\u2019 goes fucking off the chain! And that\u2019s before they\u2019ve even got to fucking \u2018Wonderwall\u2019, \u2018Champagne Supernova\u2019. I just think culturally, as a country, we needed it. When was the last time we all got together and went \u2018fucking come on\u2019 across different generations?\u201d<\/p>\n

What other music did you love as a teenager?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really into rap. Nas<\/a>\u2019 \u2018Illmatic\u2019 is one of my favourite albums. And then Biggie<\/a>, those first two albums. I was really into that whole East Coast vs West Coast battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MattRafael Math\u00e9, Matt Smith and Johann Meyers in \u2018The Death Of Bunny Munro\u2019. CREDIT: Sky<\/p>\n

And then you had a career as a trance DJ at the same time as being head boy?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I had the fucking keys to the castle because I had the fund, right? And the teacher goes, \u2018So, usually we do a yearbook.\u2019 And I went, \u2018Woah, I\u2019m gonna stop you there. We\u2019re gonna throw a real big party and, by the way, I\u2019ll be DJing!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

How did your classmates enjoy that?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sixth formers would come up and go, \u2018Matt, can you play something we know?\u2019 \u2018\u2026No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What were you playing?<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018For An Angel\u2019 by Paul Van Dyk, all random trance or house tunes. It was \u2018no requests\u2019. You can have the decks when it\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been your favourite gig experience of all time?<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw Arcade Fire<\/a> in Chicago with my then girlfriend. We were staying in a hotel and there was this big silver bus outside. I was like, \u2018That\u2019s got to be a band.\u2019 And as luck would have it, this woman came out and said: \u2018Oh hey, did you used to be in Doctor Who? This is Arcade Fire, do you wanna come and see them? They\u2019re doing this thing at the end of the gig where you can put a bobblehead on and be on stage.\u2019 Obviously, I said yes. It was amazing. I changed all my plans and drove from Chicago to Toronto and did exactly the same thing at their next gig too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Death of Bunny Munro\u2019 is available on Sky and streaming service NOW<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s taken 16 years for someone to turn Nick Cave\u2019s sordid 2009 novel The Death Of Bunny Munro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":{"0":"post-295813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}