Rakie Ayola talks Netflix series Kaos, gods, and cancelled actors | Jeremy Vine

[Music] before the break we asked in Greek mythology which musical instrument does Apollo play we gave you a flute a drum and the last one is a liar it is a [Music] liar Apollo the god of Music Apollo plays a lie which is like a kind of a loot not that we know any better what a Lo Loot and a lie similar I think well maybe they're not no I think a loot is more like a guitar there he is that's actual real picture of him so welcome back to the show with and Kevin I'm delighted to say we're joined by raiki aola a Welsh actress who is in the new Netflix show chaos welcome raiki thank you great to see you so it's connected our Apollo question is relevant cuz cuz let's see raiki in action here taking those human Souls through the frame is a complex and delicate process we cannot for the preservation of the Integrity of the underworld allow standards to hello consider it done what oh okay yeah good good um hey while I've got you uh did either of you happen to see my watch I've been and I hang up right so a reimagining of Greek myths this is I I don't know where you'd even start with that if you were writing it it's really interesting the mind of Charlie Cavell who who also wrote uh end of the effing world and Charlie is brilliant so uh in in Charlie's version uh this is if uh the Greek all the characters from Greek mythology lived in the 1990s right so it's the world as you'll recognize it but there are there are no mobile phones and there's something slightly other about it and uh and it's a world where you know three-headed dog is a natural thing a normal thing um so so and of course we see Jeff Goldblum there who I know you worked with a lot on this oh he is a bit of a ledge he's amazing he plays Zeus nice guy together he's so gorgeous he is so gorgeous he's kind and thoughtful and Incredibly intelligent and um just a joy to work with actually and he just chats and he remembers every he's got an extraordinary memory you know of encyclopedic Ecentric wonderfully sir as as eccentric as you would want Jeff Goldblum to be and more he's a delight it's funny cuz I was sitting in Radio 2 the other day and I was doing my kind of papers for my show and I heard this voice that I so recognized I thought who and I look up and he's 10 ft saying and what I noticed was how lovely he was to everyone all the runners all the researchers yeah and and that's that's that's him he doesn't turn that on and off he's like that all the time he's I mean it it was such a delight to work with and uh you know just before we were doing a take he would want to play a game where you uh you name a movie and then and then I name someone that was in the movie and then you name someone movie they were in and we go back and forth and no matter what movie you started with it would always end with Jeff going oh me yeah I see okay so listen I saw uh raiki first on stage as it happens we just work this out cuz cuz you were playing herion in in the the Harry Potter Extravaganza so it it was really interesting cuz cuz you what you did you went to see as a I was just went as a paying customer with my kids as they then were and you saw two plays in one day didn't you that's what happened so it was the cursed child and well it it was the whole place the whole thing was 6 hours or something you couldn't you couldn't only watch part one you can't it's you know still on you can't only watch part one because it ends in a place that makes no sense and if you only watch part two it begins in a place that makes no sense but there are a few places around the world now where they've condensed it to one because people weren't coming back so they were leaving thinking well I had I mean you were brilliant in it but I had an issue because I got when it's a it's not just an interval it's like a reset for an hour and you know so it's the whole thing is maybe you know two and a half hours and then two hours with an hour in between and I went to a pub around the corner and there's a Chelsea game on and I had real conflicting loyalty is there I did come back you did come back did you enjoy doing it cuz I remember the people saying her he can't be black and all that rubb and you know and listen I I understand people create these characters in you know that they mean a lot to them in their heads and then when they see them even even when they knew the book was going to become a film they were like you can't do that and when the film was going to become a play they can't do that and oh my goodness M can't be black I absolutely love the what I call the super fans the the people who lived locally who would come and see the play I mean some people have seen it nearly 300 times now W um and I loved their energy and I thought you know what if you can go with this it's fine and also there was a I remember when every every time a new cast is announced anywhere in the world somebody joined the Hermione can't be black conversation as though it hasn't been happening since 2017 um and and there was one woman who described herself on Twitter as it was as as a doctor and she said my life is over now and Nomi dweni who had played herione for the first year responded I think from Broadway and said my love if this is the worst thing happening in your life I'd say your life is fine brilliant right respon that I think yeah yeah so when we think about JK Rowling we have two thoughts don't we we think Harry Potter and all that magic and then we think this TR daily trench warfare that she's in over the trans issue and I and I I was at the Ed ref Fringe last week raiki and and one of the comedians who who would might have sympathized with J just said why can't she just enjoy her money why does she have to fight this every single day where are you on that again I spoke to the super fans and I asked where they were and they tried really hard to fall out of love with Harry Potter and they couldn't because it would like it would be like them giving up sugar you know it it's it's it's part of their identity they they love that world so they've had to separate what they feel about her uh from what they feel about about her work what I'd say is um I I mean I am of no consequence to her at all but I would kind of like to sit down with her and ask that same question what why do you why do you need to get into this R what's happened what's going on and also I I I don't like the phrase trans issue we're just talking about people I I don't want people to dis I I wouldn't like to be described as an issue no but we've had it we've had it come up here crazy stuff know and and I and I I just I just want to be able to sit with people I'm not interested in name calling it doesn't achieve anything I just want to go just explain what's going on for you um why whenever I hear from you is are you talking about the same thing what's happening she's not going to call me but you know what I mean well was yeah it'll come up again I'm sure hey listen on Greek gods we thought we would test our knowledge we got a little quiz you ready for this okay so it's time to play God or not here we go exciting like the F the little music fan fa there right so here we okay so we're going to give you some names we got seven names you just got to check first name deer Kevin Maguire deita God or not uh not no Goddess that is the goddess of Harvest Kevin are wrong right the corner next one okay you see so Ellie yours calgone God or not not the laugh does it gives it away no you're right a it's a washing up yeah some sort of washing up tablet okay raiki your one zadra God or not not not a God your rights oh very good this is a that's a wooden roller coaster in Poland are we enjoying this no come on Kevin redeem yourself dianus uh yes yes you're right there is a God well done God of fertility uh next one God or not Ellie here we go Imodium I'm just destined to win oh please say that's a God there we are that's the that's a daytime snap for you on Twitter okay next one God or not crer raik God God God of what oh ski runs yeah I say I want to say like like like Harvest no it's a voxhall car oh no God of harvest is good last one here Hestia anyone want to shout out God or not God God all all thing correct correct oh comes in last God hey that was God or not Brant fun you can catch raiki in the new Netflix program chaos which is spelled k a o s streaming now thank you for talking about it there it is there it is what an ambitious thing and the end of the effing world was brilliant as well so we'll get into the papers and back into the papers let's have a look at the telegraph now now we were mentioning K st's tax options and where he and Rachel Reeves go and the telegraph which is sort of going through a phase where it Joy making its readers really angry every day says it's going to be cars and petrol and Fuel and all that what do you think Ellie I mean they've not ruled it I mean Rachel Reeves has been very clever and dancing around the issue but ultimately I think they are going to do it and it could be BU as as as much as 10p which it would be would cause misery for millions of people if they do do it they've still not said I think at the Su we've worked really hard uh with our keep it down campaign to try and help drivers we've saved them a lot of money but at the minute you just got to think they they they are going to raise taxes they are and this is clearly a tax they're going to but if they if they massively increase fuel Duty that would stop people driving which seems to be one of their aims Kevin yeah it would raise some uh some money I don't they massively increases but fuel Duty has been frozen for 14 years then two years ago there was a 5p cut which was meant to be temporary now if you reverse that 5p cut you raise 2 billion pounds yes you pay it as a as a motorist but the center right think tank the social Market Foundation when that cut came in said it's actually regressive because most of the benefits of it go to the richest households I think the the richest five uh richest fifth got about a quarter of the cut the uh poorest fifth only got 10% of the cut because people have Chelsea Taxi exactly Chelsea track as bigger cars don't use public transport as much so I think there is a case for it but there's no doubt it's a very politically sensitive tax because when you drive around you not you notice pump prices outside petrol state they there you don't go past a pub and see the price of a bait but yeah so it reinforces all the time do you drive Ricky no I don't you don't drive at all no I pretend to drive on television so you you are got a license or not I provisional I've never taken a t really okay good for you but my we have a c my husband can drive yeah I mean just I mean say good for you just because I think if you live in a city now you can probably do it without driving not in the country I do appreciate that but I just just I wonder if there is any tax that isn't politically sensitive that's yeah I think taxes taxes that that only hits smaller groups for instance inheritance tax there's only what fewer than one in every 20 people go mad about it though they go mad about it those those who want want more than half a million pounds taxfree go mad about it everyone goes mad you remember when George Osborne said I'm now going to say that you can have a million pounds without and7 never did it yeah but he c yeah but he he caused labor to melt down on he did at the time but I think people have seen through it now and it was the last government the last conserv kept floating this idea of inheritance tax and we thought yeah brilliant do it who will benefit rushy sunak will multi-millionaires will benefit but they everyone if if you drive you got to pay for but non-doms is another example is where you can hit the non starma seems that you can hit the non-doms forever and no one will ever they don't even vote but you it can tax Banks that's popular windfall tax taxes on energy companies that's uh what about taxing right going with your idea right on private school taxes that no one's going to mine tax criminals basically if you commit a crime you're now going to pay a 60% rate of tax how about that that' be incredible and that would be a massive deterrent Pete the son would love that they would if you can findy you're right you would you'll pay 60% income tax for the next 10 years but a lot of people who are who who are committing crime have no money yeah we we're quite bad at thinking up policies on this program yeah I think the default level could D defa level could be high you stole those beans you destroyed that in one in one also depend what you've done I also yeah I also think you want I mean before this go goes out of control I mean you do want people to be able to rebuild their lives after serving a jail sentence that's quite important so putting them on 60% there is no tax that somebody won't scream about whether they're screaming if you tax them they'll take their business elsewhere or whether you nobody wants to pay tax but everybody wants their roads fixed and they want I I don't know how the two are meant to work what about some some professions which are taxfree for example my brother's a comedian I've always thought comedians should not have to pay tax well patently that's not funny well it's not I mean you want to encourage comedy you want you want them to to to prosper you that you comedians don't earn very much why are they having to pay tax in our society it's a good thing that they're doing mhm extraordinary I don't think ta nurses then paid by the state paid by the state you're getting if you're getting paid then I just think you should contribute and and we will always Grumble about it but you know I I like that occasionally someone comes and sweeps my road doesn't happen often but I like it when it does overall but that's most of those are corporate taxes now personal taxes income tax and National Insurance are pretty relatively low okay well yeah uh raiki in the express here we are the Os Oh this is a better acting story for Oscar winning director none other than Francis for Coppa slams woke Hollywood now what is this what is what does he mean well he says he's worked with cancelled actors right and and of course he's the Legend who Did The Godfather have we got the clip of Apocalypse Now where they say I love the smell of Napal in the morning can we see this you smell that n pun son nothing else in the world smells like that I love the smell of Night P in the morning that's such a classic Robert it's amazing yeah but so he he essentially thinks that the more controversial and maybe even cancelled an actor is the more you've got to put them on screen because listen he's a you know he's extraordinary I would I would love to meet him and pick his brain I love his but I I sometimes think people just stick the word woke in because they know they're going to make the papers if they do and if you said okay uh Mr Ford Couer sir um what if you can't use the word woke what word would you use in that sentence cuz I have no idea how you're using the word so you're not allowed let's play a game where you're not allowed to use the word woke but you still want to make your point then I'm listening other than that you just wanted to make the papers I appreciate I respect you and I love your work but you're talking nonsense speak to me in English I understand okay and an example specific example will help us here in megalopolis which is his film which by the way he partly funded by selling his own Winery which is incredible one of the actors I don't we're going to see it's John vit is in it I think now Voit who's the father of Angelina Jolie and back in the 70s was in films like midnight cowboy he there he is he was cancelled because he supported Trump that's hardly a crime that it's not a crime so yet so that's such a stupid I mean why did anybody feel the need to do that so okay if we're saying that people lost work or didn't get work because of their political affiliations unless we you know they've come to some very very dark place um then they shouldn't have been losing work so yeah so then I get it but then you don't need to use the the word woke almost every case I've looked into when people claim they've been discriminated because against because they woke it turns as much more to it and I think Francis Ford Copler made fantastic films probably still is but he's become a very grumpy old man and the world has changing what was once acceptable in his days in the treatment of women gay people people of color isn't acceptable now and I I know what woke is woke is when they decide to rewrite roll doll right and they decide to take out something called the black cars or something you it is not that's how you're using it right but you know the word just gets it's it's like it's a nonword now because the the we all know what it meant right we all know what it meant and now people have taken it to mean but meant awake to Injustice is what it meant and now someone's decided that being awake to Injustice is is a negative thing and so they use it negatively I just I now insist I absolutely insist that you you you make your point without using the word because it's too easy what do you think I think Ellie probably politely disagrees but you're you're you're not springing to my defense here I think the term has been massively overused and is overs sprung and I think a lot of people don't actually know the actual meaning of what woke is or what it was initially created to be and it is banded around I think by especially the older generation who that woke nonsense they don't know what they they don't know what they talk most most Everyday People ordinary people don't use it it's kind of normally right-wing ideological people who use it say that's woke so you can just say it's wrong well what do you want what do you want to say do you they want to say racism's all right sexis homophobia is all right okay another example when when Trump was nearly assassinated everyone said oh the reason he's in danger is because they had to hire diverse hiring of Agents they ended up with a lot of short women standing around him that's why he's in danger that was woke that it may be untrue and wrong and unfair thing I don't like so so I'm not happy with that therefore it's woke that doesn't include me therefore it's woke I don't like that food it must be woke food that's a woke restaurant uh visited by woke police officers who live in a woke neighborhood it's nonsense say what you mean specific it's good it's good yeah it's just become Shand for I don't like what we used to say politically correct yeah I I still think there is a meaning there though I mean I went to a restaurant the other day they said sustainable meals right so they the beef was sustainable and then they said sustainable desserts I don't think there's any such thing as that's a woke dessert right there did you ask them what that meant I didn't just don't want to hear their woke explanation as a woke dessert it's a woke dessert I know I know but stop I hear you I hear you iar they probably meant look they could cook it the last seven days you in the fridge that's sustainable all right there's a story in the guardian about so-called Beaver bombings what is that Ellie so it turns out Beaver bombings is a thing and people have been can I believe I'm saying this on television that people have been covertly releasing beavers across the countryside so ultimately the government had a scheme that they were going to release beavers into the world but this hasn't been happening as often or as as much or as in the numbers that people wished or groups wished and now ultimately people are secretly releasing beavers um and ultimately it's it's becoming a bit of a nightm do we mind that I mean why not secretly release wild animals where where do you get a beaver I don't know is it Beaver breeding is that what's happening I don't know well they're amazing for the environment even Bishop from the beaver trust uh said that these great native species they got a lot to offer they boost biodiversity climate change adaptation it'd be crazy not to look at a wild L as a tool for government but I don't think are quite busy at the minute they're not particularly looking at our beavers no and is that what they need to be doing thanks Ellie thank you oh I wish they would I wish they would exactly I would love for the government to look at our beavers positive do something that no presumably beavers don't eat anything they're not going to change I don't the government's got a level of cameras and surveillance but whether they've got time to look at every Beaver do something positive for the environment hugely and they're looking at sort of doing the Free Living beavers in Cornwall door sitting on the of white I love that good I'm loving we've got we've done everything we and beaver bombings are not woke we can agree with that they're not somebody they are someone will say be someone who doesn't like beavers will decide to I love the idea someone's just tuned in a minute ago and is watching the TV thinking what's going Beaver bombing's awoke thank you raiki so much for coming in what a pleasure and you can watch raiki in chaos streaming on Netflix right now more after the break when storm will join us and we'll discuss whether it's okay for a child to drive a tractor see you very soon