):Wandering Star
Jason Isaacs
British actor Jason Isaacs, 45, is as well known in Hollywood as he is in this country. He plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, much to the delight of his two young daughters.
Favourite journey
Before we married and before the kids, my wife Emma and I rowed down a river through the rainforest in Belize. It was poorly planned, stupidly dangerous and utterly thrilling. There was a beautiful tree they called the 'give-and-take tree'; it had spikes laced with lethal poison sticking out of its trunk, but if you broke the spike off, the paste inside would cure you. Terrifying and reassuring, all at the same time.
I can't leave home without…
A backpack groaning with a stupid amount of gadgets: phone, BlackBerry, iPod, Jawbone (Bluetooth headset), camera and Powerbook. I can't leave home without all of the above, but I can leave for home without whatever I've brought with me. There are hotel lost-and-founds all over the world with my number on speed dial.
Worst travel experience
Colombia, for my brother's wedding, Pablo Escobar had just blown up an airliner, so things were insane - particularly at the airport. I walked a mile in 100F heat, from the international to the domestic terminal, with my terrified parents and all our luggage. When we arrived at Cali, a car had been Bonnie-and-Clyded and lay on its side, riddled with bullet holes, as blood ran down the gutter. My brother and I tried to distract our parents by pointing out some mango trees. It didn't work.
Holiday horrors
Emma gets horribly seasick. We went whale watching once off the coast of Mexico and came across a pod of sperm whales flipping somersaults to attract the women (I've tried it - without success). It was a magnificent sight, Emma was laying down flat on the deck of the boat, retching. "Get up, darling, get up…it's incredible," I shouted. "Video it," she groaned, "I'll watch it later".
Best childhood holiday memory
My eldest brother Geoff would take us camping in the Lake District. No permits, no running water, no maps. Just drive, park and pitch in fields, Sheep, cows and mystery animals would try to get into the tent at night. We'd have huge fires and eat incinerated sausages and potatoes baked into lumps of coal. I took my own family camping recently in Rhode Island and served up the same to them. My girls were repulsed, but it tasted like childhood heaven to me.
I definitely won't go back to…
Bratislava, Slovakia. In the Nineties, I was offered a part in the Hollywood movie Dragonheart, filmed in Bratislava. I was shocked to find that even the fruit salad was deep-fried, that the hotel had one phone line for all 100 rooms, and that Beavis and Butthead on the telly was the only English-language cultural option. Sallow-skinned teenagers roamed the streets drinking wine at 50p a bottle. The whole city looked depressed. I'm sure it's different know, but I'm in no rush to find out.
Jason Isaacs is starring in 1930s political drama Good, released this winter.
Source Magazine: greenbee.com
Interview :Marianne Gray.Alamy
