Trivia / Rik Mayall

• The Character Died with Him: After his death the writers of The New Statesman wrote an obituary for Alan B'stard.
• The Danza: His characters Rick in The Young Ones, Richie in Bottom, Richie Rich in Filthy Rich & Catflap, and Rest Home Ricky in Shock Treatment.
• Deleted Role: He played Peeves the Poltergeist in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but he was let go and the character was cut because the child actors couldn't keep straight faces whenever they shared a scene with him.
• Money, Dear Boy:
  • Mayall starred in a series of at least eight adverts for Nintendo in the UK in the early 1990s (see them here and here). He spent his vast fee on a house in an expensive area of London, which he named Nintendo Towers.
  • In at least one interview he admitted that he didn't care that he'd been cut from the first Harry Potter film as he'd been paid in advance.
• Typecasting: He was always playing self centered, badly behaved and over the top characters. Even on the Region 2 Drop Dead Fred DVD cover it says "Rik Mayall gives a Bottom style performance."
• What Could Have Been:
  • Had "Dimensions In Time" not been the 30th anniversary special for Doctor Who, then there were plans to have Mayall be the villain of a serial called "Dark Dimension", an alternate universe story where the Fourth Doctor never regenerated. Think about it for a moment. Instead of a serial that is widely decried by fans and critics alike, we could've had Rik fucking Mayall play a villain in what sounds like an epic serial. You may cry now.
  • He was cast as Peeves for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and shot some scenes but he was let go and Peeves cut from the cinematic version of Harry Potter because his antics, while spot-on for the character, were so funny and distracting that none of the child actors could stay in character around him.
• Written by Cast Member: He co-wrote The Young Ones, Bottom and Guest House Paradiso.

---