THE KING OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The actor on losing a friend to hyenas, dodging poachers, and spying on amorous sea lions
Alaska blew me away. Flying into Kodiak, with its pine-topped hills, snowy peaks and extraordinarily crystal-clear lakes was like something from a film.
Rutting sea lions look like they’re having a fight. I’ve spent much of the past 12 months filming, exploring America’s islands and got incredibly close to a colony of seals and sea lions on California’s Channel Islands. We had to hide in these odd, sand-coloured boxes on wheels, which were designed to stop them from seeing you. At one point we were literally 60cm away.
I cried when my friend Mugie the lion was killed by hyenas. I was in Kenya filming a documentary about lion rehabilitation. The idea was to teach him to hunt on his own, but he didn’t make it. I’d spent three years getting to know him, so it was heartbreaking when he died.
My daughter had an even closer encounter with big cats in SA. We were in the back of an open-top Rover and came across a pride of lions. Emily started crying and all the lions’ ears pricked up. They recognised the sound of a young creature — potential prey. The driver put his foot down.
I was almost hunted by poachers while filming in Kenya. A guard had pinpointed a hunted elephant’s corpse on his GPS, which we [the film crew] decided to find. The director and I — following our guard on foot — got entangled in a thorn bush during the search. As our guard vanished into the distance, we heard goat bells — the telltale sound of local AK47-toting Somali hunters. I don’t know what would have happened, but we got out of the thorn bush as fast as we could.
I used to love visiting theme parks but I’m no longer a fan. While filming Islands of America I spent a day on this rickety, old, wooden roller coaster in Coney Island, New York. I was petrified and kept picturing myself being decapitated by one of the wooden beams inches above my head.
The Peloponnese islands were fantastic. We visited an island called Kilo, which was beautiful. There were no cars, only donkeys, but it was really picturesque and brought me back to holidaying in Greece as a teen.
My favourite restaurant is Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. I love the whole experience: the ferry-ride across from Rock, the dining room and the service. I’ve been countless times and have never had a bad meal there (pictured below).
I wouldn’t recommend Mongolian mutton. Once, when I was travelling with a family of nomadic Kazakhs, I was given the honour of carving one up. I remember cutting through this soft bit of muscle around the top of the scalp and passing it on to one of the elders. I’d rather not have gone through with it but would have caused offence if I’d refused.
I came face to face with a cat-size lizard in Malaysia. I was staying at the Datai Langkawi and one night I heard this weird barking noise in the restaurant, which turned out to be a lizard. The creature was eventually hooked off the ceiling by one of the waiters. Then, just as I turned off my bedroom lights, I heard another bark just by my bed. I turned the light on and found another lizard the size of a cat.
Learn how to say ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ in every language. And smile. It makes a big difference. L Nick McGrath, ©The Daily Telegraph