New Woman Online 1998

Hot Hunk : Steven Mackintosh

Steven Mackintosh: he's had Anna Friel in Our Mutual Friend and and a sexy threesome in his new movie The Land Girls.

But,as Lorein Haynes discovers, he'd rather have his wife any day - New Woman online (1998)

NW: You ready?

Steven: I'll try not to keep stopping and commenting on the footy. Is Beckham playing?

NW: Not Yet. So, in the Land Girls you sleep with all three of your co-stars. Was that dreamy?

Steven:[Naughty laugh]Yeah.

NW:What was it like? [The National Anthem starts and the rest of the pub joins in. When Steven's stopped singing...]

Steven:Sorry, where where we? The girls. When I got the part, my mates were like:'Whoa, cool!'

NW: Well, you were romping with Anna Friel ...

Steven: The stuff with Anna in the barn was a laugh.

NW: And you were 'in love' with Catherine McCormack...

Steven: Catherine and I got on really well, we had a giggle. One minute sittin' freezin'on a hillside, the next it'd be jackets off, we're in love.

NW: And then you relieved Rachel Weisz of her virginity to boot!

Steven: I had my fears about that scene. Originally, we were supposed to end up butt-naked, staring at each other, but the director didn't go for it.

NW: The sex in The Land Girls is harmless fumbling really, isn't it? How do you feel about doing more explicit sex scenes?

Steven: I had to do all that stuff for the first time fairly recently in Undercover Heart with Daniella Nardini [Anna from the seminal This Life].

NW: Isn't she great?

Steven: Yeah. It's nice to work with strong women and she's gutsy. She plays my wife. We had some heavy stuff to do. I felt like I had to grow up.

NW: And take your clothes off?

Steven: Yeah. I was absolutely terrified for weeks beforehand. I'd been like: ' I can't believe I'm doing this.' It's such a strange thing to do. I was so aware of my body, lookin' at myself going: 'People are going to see this spindly little thing writhing about on a bed.' When I see it, it's gonna be: ' Argh, cushion, quick.'

NW: So your're shy then?

Steven: Butch-man scenes have always scared me. Whenever I think of myself as a romantic figure I just laugh; it's like...On no, oh, oh, Sheringham! So, um, sorry. My character's not a stud though. They all seduce me!

NW: So who, if you could, would you have gone for: Anna, Rachel or Catherine?

Steven: Oh get outta here.

NW: Not much of a ladies' man then?

Steven: I'm no good at that male/female banter thing. I don't approach women at that level.

NW: Is that because you're married?

Steven: No I don't think so. I've always been like that.

NW: Have you ever been torn between two woman like you are in The Land Girls?

Steven: No, never. Meeting my wife, Lisa, just blew me away. I've been married since I was 21 and we were together two years before that. It's

the most certain thing I've ever had. We connect.

NW: Had you had any previous relationships?

Steven: Not, really. I've never been the kind of person to go out with lots of women.

NW: Why do you think it's lasted?

Steven: Because we're really good mates. We went out the other day in Soho and afterwards, I bought this huge cigar which Lisa thought was

hilarious, so I got her one too and we wandered around with cigars in our gobs having a giggle. I'm not saying everthing's always rosy, especially

with kids, but at the end of the day we still have a great time.

NW: Matching tattoos or anything?

Steven: We nearly did. We put our names down in Portobello Road and stood there deciding what to do. We thought of getting Martha, then

three, to design some strange kid's drawing, but then we heard the sound of that 'thing' we looked at each other and thought no way. Oh my God!

Yeahhhhhh! One nil.

NW:[The pub is going mad, Steven's whooping, I'm in hysterics. Shearer's scored with his head.] How do they do that? I don't have control of my

head at the best of times. Anyway, I've just thought, you're in a household dominated by women.

Stephen: Yeah. Even the dog's a girl. The only male around are my rampant guppies.

NW:Beg your pardon?

Steven: My fish. The males are after the females 24 hours a day, trying to impregnate them.

NW: Are they taking Viagra?

Steven: Could be. All the female fish look like they're thinking: 'Bugger off, you've already 'ad me.'

NW: So the male fish your masculinity in tact?

Steven: I love living with women. I was really glad when we had a second girl. People always assume men want sons.

NW: to play footy with?

Steven: Yeah. But I'm not really into laddish stuff.

NW: How would your kids describe you?

Steven: Blythe's too little but Martha would say, 'He's silly.' I'm daft with them, pulling faces and that. I hope they don't wish I was a proper dad.

NW: So they tell you to grow up?

Steven: Yeah. God, it's terryifying having kids ... NO! Phew. They can't get possession this half.

NW: So [waving my arms in front of his face to get his attention], what next?

Steven: I would'nt want to live in Hollywood, but if an individual project came up, I'd go for it. I'm notinto that American 'sell yourself' thing. I just want to keep working, doing varied roles.

NW: Not to be morbid, but would you care to write your epitaph?

Steven: Mmm, epitaph...I'm a dreadful pessimist, cynic, sceptic...

NW: Your good qualities might be better?

Steven : I'm always trying to bring myself back down to earth, not get overawed by fame.

NW: What about 'Steven Mackintosh: now he's really down to earth'?

Steven: Hey, hey, boom, boom. I'll go with that. At the end of the day, on my death bed I'll be thinking about my family not the parts I've played. Hang on. Oh, Oh, oooooh!!!! [Scholes has scored the second goal.]

NW: OK, I give in. Let's just stop talking and watch the second half.

Steven: Fine by me.