February 1999
Cosmopolitan (UK edition)
Great Scott - Exclusive Interview
by Miranda Levy

Cosmo: Where does the name Dougray come from? Bet you had one grandfather called Doug and the other called Ray?

DS: "No, nothing like that. I was born Stephen Scott, but when I joined Equity, I found there was another actor with the same name. Dougray is my middle name it's a family name from my grandmother's side, originally from France. Everyone calls me Dougray now, even my mother."

Cosmo: Following the success of Ever After, fans have set up a shrine to you on the Internet. How does it feel to be a god?

DS: "It's extraordinary. Suddenly I'm receiving sack-loads of letters from women. When I'm in the US I'm surrounded by bodyguards. Last week, someone sent me a watercolour portrait of myself. My mother liked it, so I gave it to her. But I didn't set out to be famous - just a great actor.

"The attention is flattering, although there are some things I resent - like people who hated me at school pretending to be my best friends. Luckily, I change my appearance all the time, so people don't recognise me that much, and I can go pretty much wherever I want."

COSM0: You've worked with Drew Barrymore (Ever After), and will be working with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible II. What's the truth about these two?

DS: "Drew is an angel. If you could pick anyone to be your guardian angel, you'd pick Drew Barrymore. One of the best things about making films is meeting people you admire. I never imagined I'd be eating in a French kitchen with Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Houston. Tom Cruise was great - just an actor who's passionate about what he does. It gave me a great buzz that he admires my work."

Cosmo: Tell us about the dreams you had when you were a boy?

DS: "As a kid in Fife, I wanted to be a footballer. My hero was Kenny Dalglish and my dad played for Queen's Park - I thought that was great. The only problem was, I wasn't very good! From about 14, I wanted to be an actor, but I went to an ordinary comprehensive where there wasn't even a drama class. It was rough where I grew up - they'd glass you at the drop of a hat. I hated school and the only thing that gave me a buzz was acting. I read Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman, and it knocked me out."

Cosmo: You're playing the bad guy in Mission: Impossible II. Do you get a buzz out of being nasty?

DS: "My favourite characters are the wicked ones. Villains give you more scope and it's more fun playing edgy, off the wall characters. I love the idea of investigating other people's lives and getting inside their heads. It isn't about dressing up and putting on funny voices, you also discover a lot about life. When 1 played a painter in This Year's Love, I studied art for three months and painted six pieces of my own!"

Cosmo: And nudity? Do we get to see a lot more of you in the new film?

DS: "You'll have to wait and see. But I'm putting some serious hours in the gym to compete with Torn Cruise's body. I don't feel self-conscious about taking off my clothes, though - I've been naked on stage before and I stripped down to my boxers for Twin Town, although they sewed up the front to stop my tackle falling out! I'm not keen on my footballer's legs with scars all over them, but I like my back because my girlfriend likes it."

Cosmo: We know you're proud of being Scottish. Is Scotland the new Hollywood?

DS: "I'm proud of the success of actors like my friend Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle, but I thought Braveheart was a pile of poo. I don't always play Scottish people - in Ever After I was American, and I was an English war poet in Regeneration. But in Gregory's Two Girls (the sequel to Gregory's Girl) I got to wear a kilt, which was great, very comfortable. But things can go wrong, the wind can get up..."

Cosmo: You must be surrounded now by sexy women. Who turns your head?

DS: "My girlfriend Sarah. Audrey Hepburn was beautiful, and so is Renee Zellwegger who was in Jerry Maguire - those lips! I love women. You can tell if a woman is sexy from the way she drinks her wine, flicks her hair, the way she wears her clothes. And the way she takes them off..."

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