Ryan says Pat, the mother of his two children - son Sammy three, and daughter Mac, five - has stood by him through thick and thin.
"As my career got going we've worried less and less about money," he says. "And we just go from strength to strength."

July 21, 1997, Monday
The Mirror
Copyright 1997 MGN Ltd.

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'I FELL OFF THE STAGE INTO A MAN'S LAP'; RYAN STILES, THE AD-LIBBER WITH THE RAZOR SHARP MIND, IS ENJOYING ANOTHER BOUT OF COMIC COMPETITION IN THE CHANNEL 4 SERIES WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? BUT HE FOUND TIME TO TELL JANE SIMON ABOUT HIS SIZE 14 FEET, THE SEA CAPTAIN IN HIS BEDROOM AND LIFE IN SLIMY HOLLYWOOD...; INTERVIEW WITH RYAN STILES

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?
The manual for my boat. If I buy something, I read the manual from cover to cover. When I bought my boat a few months ago the book that came with it was about six inches thick.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE POSSESSION?
I bought a '65 Lincoln last year - like the car President Kennedy was shot in. It's baby blue with a cream top and doors that open backwards. I paid pounds 2,500 for it - which wasn't too bad at all because it's in unbelievable shape. But it's a big pig of a car to drive and a real gas guzzler. My dad still doesn't know I bought it - or the boat - because he'd say I was crazy. No matter how much money I make, my dad would say. "Whaddaya want to buy a boat for? Put it in the bank!"

WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Robin Williams. When he was in Vancouver, Canada, filming Jumanji he found out we were at a comedy club there and came and worked with us for about eight weeks. He kind of surprised me because I thought he'd be a real take, take, take kind of performer but he was very supportive.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE TV PROGRAMME?
When I'm at home in America I just watch sports or cartoons. When I'm in London I catch things like Pets Win Prizes and Stars In Their Eyes. They're hilarious and it's so funny that nobody cares what the prizes are.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU EVER BOUGHT?
Donovan's Atlantis. "Way down... below the ocean..." Remember that from 1968? I'm not a big fan of his but it was a really cool record.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPH?
My wife Pat and I both collect antiques and we have a lot of old pictures in our house in Washington state - all these families from 100 years ago - and we have no idea who they are. The kids in them all look really stern and it's kind of scary actually. My favourite is probably the old sea captain we have hanging in the bedroom.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE FILM?
Cool Hand Luke - it's not so much the movie as it is Paul Newman. I just love everything that he does. I've seen all of his films at least a dozen times.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ITEM OF CLOTHING?
Where we live in Washington state it rains a lot and I'm always trudging through mud, so it's probably my hiking boots. I don't actually go hiking but we have 10 acres of land so just working around the yard is like taking a hike.

WHO WAS YOUR FIRST ROMANCE?
I was 10 years old and at school in British Columbia, Canada. She was called Wendy Saunders. It was the first time I'd ever necked with a girl and the first time I ever felt anything - physically that is, not emotionally. I haven't heard a word from her since the 5th grade. The first girl who broke my heart was called Gina. I met her when I moved down to Los Angeles when I was 17. It wasn't a long relationship - just a year and a half - but it was pretty intense because neither of us knew anybody and we lived right in Hollywood which was the slimiest area of town. I haven't seen her for 15 years but once in a while I dream about her and wonder if she's thinking about me. Gina was from Toronto - my wife's from Toronto; Gina's maiden name is MacDonald - my wife's maiden name is MacDonald. And they both had brothers named Michael. Now I come to think of it, I've never seen them together...

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD?
I suppose I should say Kentucky Fried Chicken because I do their commercials. But I really like to cook. I could count on one hand the number of times my wife has cooked dinner. Me and my brothers used to whip up our own stuff when we were kids. My favourite recipe is shrimp in Jamaican sauce stirred up in a wok with some couscous.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE/HATE ABOUT YOUR BODY?
I'm pretty proud of the fact that I still have hair and I've got nice hands. They've never done a day's work in their life so they're nice and smooth. I don't think anybody has attractive feet and when they're The Mirrorize 14 like mine, they're even more unattractive. But I'm 6ft 5in and my mother was right when she said I'd look really stupid with small feet.

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?
I fell off stage once in LA. We'd just had the stage remodelled and when the lights went down I just stepped off it and landed on a table in somebody's lap. I remember looking up at this guy's face and he's looking down at me thinking, "You sad person".