Under the microscope
Actor Brian Blessed, 84, takes our health quiz
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?
YES, indeed. I do a tremendous fitness programme, partly out of vanity but also because I want to go into space. I’m a black belt in judo, I run two miles a day and do two hours in my gym at home. I can bench press up to 320 lb, which is a kind of world record. I do a tremendous amount of weights and a lot on the bike. I’ve been up Mount Everest and I’m the oldest man to have walked to the magnetic North Pole. I hate all this age rubbish. It’s not how old you are, it’s how you are old — and I’m physically about 30 years of age.
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
I EAT a tremendous amount of vegetables, bags of fruit, plus Quaker oats. My favourite food is Bulgarian yoghurt [which has a more sour taste].
EVER DIETED?
NEVER. I’m a natural 17 st 10 lb man. I’m a bit of a stunted giant, with a huge body and slightly shorter legs — I’m 5 ft 11 in, with a 56 in chest and a 45 in waist. When I go to different countries on my expeditions, all the porters and Sherpas call me Brian Yeti. I look in the mirror in the morning and see a great big beard, very heavy and fit, and I love myself. I would hate to have a very thin body — I like the fact that I look like a gorilla.
ANY VICES?
NO, I don’t drink or smoke.
ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
NO, MY dad lived until he was 101 and my mum was 87. But, unfortunately, I lost my brother about 40 years ago. He was a cheerful boy but he never knew a day’s good health. I wish I could have given him some of my health and strength. He died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
WORST ILLNESS/INJURY?
YELLOW jaundice, when I was seven. There was only one doctor for the whole area and then suddenly, in 1948, we got the National Health Service and there was a huge rejoicing in the land. And I must say it has been heroic in this lockdown — I do charity work for the NHS.
POP ANY PILLS?
VITAMINS B6, B12, C and E — they give me energy, feed my bones and balance my body.
HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?
NO, BUT I do have a pacemaker because I had an arrhythmia. It’s the most advanced in the world — I’ve had it for about three years. It only took doctors 15 minutes to insert it, and within half a day I felt about 20 years of age. Before that I’d felt I was slowing down a bit. If I go on a great big adventure, they adjust the speed: ‘There you go, Brian, it will be just perfect for the North Pole.’
COPE WELL WITH PAIN?
I DISASSOCIATE from it — I tell it to f*** off.
IS SEX IMPORTANT?
I WILL never need the f***ing blue pill. I am as sexually potent as I was when I was 17.
EVER TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES? NO.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED? NEVER.
HANGOVER CURE? I DON’T drink. I’m afraid I’m a dull subject for you.
ANY PHOBIAS? NO, NO, no.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
YES, and I shall. You’re as old as the Earth and the Universe. Death doesn’t exist. Death, f*** off. n Brian is the voice of the king in new video game Evil Genius 2 (released March 30).