COMIC genius Tommy Cooper was a perfectionist, a genial giant who was driven, a private man who made such a public end, dying on stage on live television. But he was also a very deep soul, a person to whom Jerome Flynn shares a deep affinity with, as Peggy Woodcock found at when she interviewed Flynn in preparation for his portrayal of Cooper at the Clwyd Theatr Cymru, next month. WHAT a surprising man Jerome Flynn is. One calls to mind his best-known television roles, rugged men in Soldier Soldier and Badger, his surprise romantic pop music success in partnership with Robson Green and now his current stage show, Jus' Like That, about the legendary Tommy Cooper, which we are due to talk about. Popular actor then. Bit of a heart-throb. West End star following the hugely successful run Jus' Like That in London, prior to the current tour which brings it to the Regent, Stoke-on-Trent, next week. So magic, comedy and red fezes are on the agenda. Yet this telephone interview goes off down strange spiritual and philosophical roads and Flynn and I are soon heavily into meditation, self-understanding, healing, making a difference. But this is the man, I learned, who took two years out, just as his career was flourishing, to go on a longed-for spiritual journey which took him, physically, to India, and, mentally, into new and rewarding territory. Said Flynn: 'It was something I needed to do, although everyone thought I was crazy. I wanted to understand who I am and what I am doing here. I believe the problems we have in the world derive from a lack of self-understanding. 'I learned how to meditate properly. I had got involved with a teacher who had retreats in India and I have been going back over six or seven years. I have learned how to meditate properly and practice every day. 'We are so conditioned that it is not easy to let go of our minds. Our momentum is to a selfish life and you have to break that down. If it is a choice you set on, it comes.' He speaks openly, deliberately, wanting and willing to engage on this theme that is close to his heart. He must know he is open to ridicule but it doesn't matter. He knows the value of the ground he has and is covering. 'When I came back I didn't say I was sorted but I knew myself well enough to understand that when I have problems I am taking my eye away from what is important. 'As far as my career is concerned, I felt I was no longer a slave to it, or even a victim. You think you need certain things to make you happy. Success is one of them, especially in this business. I got totally away from that. 'Worry is negative. You don't need it. Creative thinking is positive and now there are so many things I want to do, things I am passionate about, and so little time.' More of that presently but first the chat had to turn to 'Jus' Like That', the play about Tommy Cooper in which Flynn plays the great comic in a look at both the public and the private man. Here again, no surprise, there was unexpected depth and emotion. Flynn said: 'I had long had an affinity with Tommy. I had thought of writing something as a tribute. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would play him. I feel blessed to do it.' The show was written by John Fisher, who knew Cooper well, and directed by Simond Callow. Twenty years after the man's death, it's described as a remarkable celebration of a comic genius, of a unique, eccentric, deceptively simple humour that brought magic into British comedy. It has all the trademarks of the stage Cooper - the fez, the 'hats' routine, the manic laugh, the bottle and glass. But it also goes behind the scenes to meet the man who was a perfectionist, a genial giant who was driven, a private man who made such a public end, dying on stage on live television before thousands of viewers. Flynn has been praised for his uncanny portrayal, acclaimed for an outstanding performance. He admits to watching tapes of the comic for hours but stresses he is not impersonating Cooper - just acting the role of a man he has grown to love and respect. He said: 'He always annoyed me as a kid. I couldn't understand why his jokes and tricks always went wrong. As a teenager, I didn't watch much television but after drama school I rediscovered him. I was fascinated with his comic timing. He was the greatest comic we have ever had. He had this ability to take you to the edge. 'I wanted to inhabit him. He sets the clown in me free and it's what he does with everyone who impersonates him, and that's everyone.' Flynn explains that it was hearing an audience laugh that took him into acting. He was in a school production of Char-ley's Aunt and loved the response to the comedy. His career decision was made then. 'Comedy was what I was best at in drama school,' he went on, 'But because of the way I look - big chap, broken nose, big chin, I got the action roles. But, you know, Paddy in Soldier Soldier was a big clown. It hasn't been such a leap.' The image of Tommy Cooper is a ridiculous looking man getting everything wrong and telling childlike jokes. Flynn describes his humour as cathartic, which is why everyone loved him. He said: "Off stage the private man didn't change a lot. He was always looking for new gags, working on new ideas. He would go home and try out tricks for his small daughter instead of reading her a bedtime story. 'There was a sadness too. He drank a lot and took pills. He was very impractical and needed looking after. But anyone who met him remembers him with joy. I have discovered that talking to people who knew him. There was such love for the man.' Flynn has had a break from the show and is happy to return to something he describes as a labour of love. The tour is 16 weeks. What comes after? He said: 'I am writing a film that I am passionate about. I'm not saying anything about it yet, but I hope it may get to the big screen.' Jus' Like that is at the Regent Theatre. Stoke-on-Trent, from Monday to Saturday (August 30-Sepember 4, tickets 0870 060 6649, and at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, from September 13-18, tickets 0845 330 3565. | 
