Admitting that he is a friend of drug smuggler Howard Marks, Rhys Ifans reveals that he's thrilled about playing his pen pal in new movie 'Mr. Nice' since he has seen 'the folly of his ways'.
- March 2, 2010
AceShowbiz - Welsh actor Rhys Ifans was thrilled when he landed the chance to play British drug smuggler Howard Marks in new movie "Mr. Nice" - because he used to write to the lovable rogue when he was a kid, and Marks was in prison. Ifans reveals he was an impressionable teenager when he first learned about fellow Welshman Marks - and became an instant fan and pen pal.
The "Notting Hill" star recalls, "He was a Welsh speaker and I saw him on the news and he was supplying the world with pot, which, at the time, I guess, was appealing to me. I would write, 'Hello, I'm in school. I'm bored. This is more boring than prison. I know how you feel...' - that kind of teenage stuff."
"When he came out of prison and wrote 'Mr. Nice' we had a conversation when I was a teenager and I said, 'One day when they make a film out of this, can I play you?,' and lo and behold it happened last year."
"It's come full circle completely, so it was really an amazing experience, playing a friend and getting to discover stuff. He had a great life but a tough one as well. Of course now I've seen - and he's seen - the folly of his ways."
