Catacombs Credits Guide
Anton Phillips

Comments from the SpaceCon II convention, 1979.

Perhaps I should say something about me, personally. I was born in Kingston, Jamaica. I left there when I was around thirteen and came here to the United States of America - Washington, D.C. So I finished high school in America and then moved on to New York for eighteen months of study at the RCA Institute - learning radio announcing and such.

I returned to Jamaica for a time and worked at an advertising agency - writing ads for radio; after a year and a half I returned to New York. When I returned I found all my friends had dispersed; gone into the Army, moved away, so there was hardly anyone knew there. So I decided to take a trip to Europe. I would visit Germany, France and just pass through Britain. So I went, stopped off in London, and stayed for eighteen years.

Eventually I decided I wanted to become an actor. I had always done acting, amateur things for school and drama clubs. So I went to Rose Buford College, which, incidentally, was the same college Prentis Hancock attended. After which I worked in Theatre In Education, which I enjoyed very much. Almost every theatre has a Theatre in Education group; they devise their own plays which are geared toward children and the needs of children in the particular local school area. Very rewarding. Then I went on to do lunchtime and fringe plays in pubs and small theatres - one of which Michael Barnes from Space saw me in. And the following day my agent called me to go down to Pinewood Studios to try out for a part in a new science fiction epic - Space: 1999. I did and they asked me to do the first episode. When they saw the rushes they liked what they saw and asked me to stay on.

Then there a long break before the second series started. I was called in at the last moment and asked if 1 would like to be in the second series. I said yes and we went on to do the first episode, then the second, during which time my agent was in negotiating. Unfortunately they could not come to any agreeable terms; that is why I only did two of the second series.

One of the most important things an actor has to do is entertain people. It doesn't matter how much you enjoy being in a show, how long, how much you get paid; the important thing is that the audience enjoys what you do. Anyone that doesn't enjoy acting doesn't act. That's really the essence of acting and being an actor. It doesn't matter whether you're doing classical drama or whatever, the thing is - you must entertain people

I have a number of favourite episodes. I suppose the episode I remember most vividly was the first one - for me that was the most exciting one. It was my first time in a major film studio; I had done filming before, on location for the BBC, but this was the first filming in a major studio. So that episode is very vividly etched in my mind. I also liked Force Of Life, Troubled Spirit and War Games.

What was your reaction to Alpha Child - the baby and also child actor Wayne Brooks?

A terrific kid, he really was. He could be lying in bed and the director would say "cut". Normally you would continue acting as the Camera would still be running. He would jump cut of bed with a big grin on his face!

Changes would you like see if Space was done again?

I would like to see them go back to Main Mission, because I thought that was such a beautiful set. I can only really comment and reflect back on series one, as I haven't seen any of the series two episodes. We were all pretty serious ail the time- it would have been nice if we could have relaxed more at certain points and have had more humorous moments.