(ATR)British actor John Cleese, one of the six members of the famed "Monty Python Flying Circus" comedy series and films, is promoting the Czech Olympic Team as part of a new marketing campaign ahead of London 2012.
Cleese, 71, arrived in Prague earlier this month and was the principal actor in ten 30-second spots, including spoofs on the British traditions of five o’clock tea, hats, telephone booths and the English innovation of miniskirts.
"We were looking for someone to help us drum up interest as we think London will be a traditional Olympics and special atmosphere so we were looking for some British character," said Jiri Kejval, vice president of marketing for the Czech Olympic Committee.
"John Cleese was our first choice because he is a very funny British gentlemen," he added.
The veteran actor, comedian, and writer –his credits also include "A Fish Called Wanda," "Fierce Creatures," "Clockwise," as well as two James Bond films, two Harry Potter films, and three Shrek films –said he immediately liked the concept and agreed to cooperate with the Czech Olympic Team.
"They asked me back in March, and I was very interested," Cleese told Around the Rings during an interview in Prague following completion of his work in the Czech capital.
"At the first meeting, I thought the scripts were good and it was a really nice idea encouraging the Czech people to come to London to see their competitors performing," added Cleese.
"At the end of the meeting, I thought this is going to be fun."
The segments involving Cleese were coordinated with the Czech Olympic Committee’s advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather as part of its "We Live with London" campaign. Spots will start airing on Czech television in late October and continue until the Games begin.
"It’s a great opportunity for us because London is very close to the Czech Republic, and there will be anywhere from 20 to 50 thousand Czechs attending," Kejval said.
"We’d also like to organize a Czech National House as a place for Czech spectators and our fans."
Cleese said the ads also made a lot of sense to him.
"I believe that we share a similar sense of humor with the Czech Republic; that very dry sense of humor that maybe we don’t have with some other European countries," he said in reference to his native England.
"What we found is that we have a dry sense of humor like the British, and that’s how we found the common interest," echoed Kejval.
The shoots in Prague were overseen by Czech director Tomáš Mašín. According to Cleese, everything went well.
"On Wednesday morning we had a longish meeting talking about two of the scripts that didn’t work, but we found a way to make them work, and other than that it was just a question of a few other small changes so at the end we were all very satisfied," he said.
"We gathered on Friday at the studio at 9:15 in the morning and were finished by 5. The first assistant director thought we would finish by 8 so everything was good."
Following the tapings, the veteran comedian offered his thoughts when asked by ATRin which event he would most like to win an Olympic gold medal.
"I think the most extraordinary event is the pole vault because when I see people running along at full tilt and then in a split second they are 180 feet up in the air or whatever it is that they do, I am amazed," he said.
"I don’t know how they do it and think it is absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do."
Cleese also weighed in when asked if the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony would be bestowed upon the Monty Python troupe.
"It would be a great honor if they asked Monty Python because I think that we’ve set a lot of other things on fire in the past also," he joked.
According to Kejval, the Czech Republic will be represented by anywhere between 120 and 140 athletes in London.
At Beijing 2008, the Czechs won three gold and three bronze medals.
"For a small team, we were very successful in Beijing and if we can once again have six or more medals then it will be great," Kejval told ATR.
Written and reported in Prague by Brian Pinelli
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