Acting legend Denis Lawson has backed efforts to save Banff’s Local Hero bar from being turned into flats.
Denis, who appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy and starred in the BBC’s New Tricks, played hotel owner and accountant Gordon Urquhart in the beloved 1983 comedy drama.
Many of the film’s most important scenes took place in the fictional Macaskill Arms, which Denis’s character presided over.
While exterior filming took place in Pennan, Banff’s Ship Inn stood in for the venue when interior scenes were shot.
Pub plans rocked north-east community
Earlier this week, we revealed how its owners have lodged plans to destroy the pub to make way for two flats.
North-east residents and Local Hero fans across the world were left aghast, and are pleading for Aberdeenshire Council to reject the proposals.
The 73-year-old actor has now backed those efforts, saying the demise of the bar would be a sad loss to the region.
Denis said: “I remember it being a lovely bar with a nice atmosphere, it would surely be a shame to lose it.
“It was the perfect location for us, and the area was very important for the movie.
“I would definitely support anyone trying to save the pub, it’s amazing people still feel so strongly about it.
“We were based around Banff as a unit, and I remember a particularly great dance we had at the Banff Springs Hotel with locals.
“We had the best time filming it.
“But you never know how things will be received, and the fact the film has gone on to be such a success across the world is lovely.”
Famous line was Denis’s ad-lib
Looking back on the film, the actor told us it felt “extraordinary” to think it was almost 40 years ago that he played the stoic hotelier.
Denis added: “The movie was one of my very favourite experiences.
“I have fond memories of the scene between Peter Riegert and myself, where we are both drunk in the bar.
“That is a scene I enjoyed playing very much.
“He tells me he is in love with my wife, envies my life, and would like to swap places, which is very funny.
“He has a great line ‘I’ll make a good Gordon, Gordon’, which was something I came up with.
“We did that a lot when we were doing the movie, we would throw stuff around.”
See the scene Denis is talking about in the below clip –
The Crieff-born star had been acting for more than a decade by the time the role in Local Hero came along.
His prior credits included a role as X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy across the late 70s and early 80s.
Denis returned to the role for a cameo in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
After Local Hero, Denis went on to star in numerous stage and screen productions.
In 2005 he was nominated for an Emmy for his performance as John Jarndyce in the BBC’s adaptation of Bleak House and in 2012 he replaced James Bolam in New Tricks.
Council to have final say
Pub owner George Wood wants to transform the Deveronside venue into two flats, and has applied to Aberdeenshire Council for permission to alter the listed building.
Scroll back and forth to see the changes for yourself –
Several residents have sent letters of objection to the local authority, citing the bar’s link to Local Hero as a prime reason the application should be refused.
Mr Wood has declined to comment on the campaign to save the Ship Inn.
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