Hollywood veteran Robert Vaughn has starred in classic movies like The Magnificent Seven and Bullitt, but most recently he was one of Hustle's grifters. Now the acting vet joins Coronation Street as Milton, Sylvia's new suitor

How did the role of Milton come about?
The producers didn't show me a script, they just told me the story. Milton's a wealthy guy who meets Sylvia on a cruise and they become enamoured of each other. He follows her to Coronation Street where he spends some time with her and they find that their feelings for each other have strengthened. Ultimately, Sylvia has to decide whether to go back with him to Palm Springs, California, or stay with her son Roy in Coronation Street. It’s a sweet story and I don’t get to play nice guys that often.

Does Sylvia know he’s coming to visit?
It’s a surprise. Sylvia’s in the pub playing the banjo [as part of the musical challenge she's having with Norris] when Milton joins her on the podium. Stephanie Cole, who plays Sylvia, can really play the banjo, she learnt years ago.

What does Milton make of Weatherfield?
He's quite charmed by it. He likes pubs, as I do personally, and he's also charmed by the people.

What does he think of Sylvia’s son Roy?
He’s fascinated by Roy because he's such an individual. Milton tries to persuade him to expand his business and open a chain of railway-themed diners called Beef Encounter, which Milton thinks will be bigger than McDonald's!

What do the other residents make of Milton?
Those closest to Sylvia are apprehensive. They can't understand why she's even considering going off with someone she’s known for such a short time.

Were you nervous on your first day on set?
No. I only ever get nervous on the opening night of a play. In film or TV you can always do it again.

You’re only in the show for three weeks, would you reprise your role?
I'd be delighted to. Everyone has been so kind and sweet.

When did you get your first taste of acting?
When I was about six, my mother [the stage actress Marcella Frances] taught me the, ‘To be, or not to be’ soliloquy from Hamlet. This was back in Chicago in 1939 when my mother was working in a bar because she didn’t have any acting work. One night, John Barrymore [famous actor, grandad of Drew Barrymore] came into the bar. He was America’s most famous Hamlet but, at this point in his life, he was very drunk all the time. He was touring in a play and was accompanied by a nurse whose job it was to take him round the various watering holes and then guide him back to an oxygen tent so he could sober up enough for the next performance.

So, I got up in the bar in front of John Barrymore and said the ‘To be, or not to be’ soliloquy and, I remember this very clearly, he had a hat on and a black cloak and when I finished he pulled back his cloak, hit the bar and cried, 'More lad, more!' Well, I was a one trick pony, that was the only bit I knew, so my mother said, 'Do it again, do it again' so I did. He died a couple of years after I met him in that bar. Ever since then I've been fascinated by Hamlet.

What was the role that made your name?
I had the good fortune to play The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which was essentially James Bond on TV, and that was the transition for me. That show became so famous, in America and then all around the world.

How did you handle the fame?
I thought it was funny. I went to see a production on Broadway in 1965 and, as I walked down the aisle to my seat, I heard clapping. I turned around and people were applauding and I said, 'What's going on?' and someone said, 'They’re applauding you, Napoleon Solo.' It was surreal.

Then I took a trip to London. I flew in on a Sunday night in the spring, got off the plane, walked down the stairs and there were hundreds of girls screaming and holding up signs saying, 'We love you, Napoleon'. When I finally got inside the airport the crowd was even bigger, so the bobbies came over and lifted me up over the crowd and deposited me in the men's room, the only place I’d be safe. That's when I knew the show was a hit in the UK.

Do you know anything about the film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?
My understanding of it was that George Clooney was going to play the Napoleon Solo role, but now he’s just going to produce, or possibly direct, it. We'll see.

You became firm friends with Steve McQueen, who you starred alongside in The Magnificent Seven. What was he like?
Kind of like how he was on the screen — introvert, monosyllabic, eyes cast down all the time. He could have an intimidating way about him, but he had the same fascinating aura in person as he did on screen.

I remember the first time I saw him, I was dating Natalie Wood at the time and I went to get some wardrobe for a western I was in. In walked Steve McQueen with his hands in his pockets and his hair swept over his eyes. It was the year after James Dean had been killed and I said, 'Look at him. Another guy queuing up to be the next James Dean'. Of course he went on to become the new Steve McQueen, but even in a dark casting office, he just stood out.

If Steve McQueen were alive today, do you think he’d be working in TV?
No, because he'd have to learn lines and he hated learning lines [Steve McQueen was dyslexic]. He did a series called Wanted: Dead Or Alive where he played a bounty hunter. I met up with him on set a couple of times. They'd bring a script to him and he'd look at it, take two or three pages out, throw them over his shoulder and say, 'I don't think Josh would actually talk in this scene, just get a shot of me over there listening.' I don't think he'd be doing anything that required learning lines, that wasn't part of his style.

Is it true that you have The Magnificent Seven theme tune as the ringtone on your mobile?
Yeah.

You’re 79, do you have any plans to retire from acting?
I’m still vertical and articulate, so I think I’ll carry on doing it ‘til I’m neither of those things.

Have you got anything special planned for your 80th?
I’ve never been one for birthday celebrations, but if someone throws a party for me, I guess I'll show up.

Jo Dearden