Timothy Spall's swotty role

Timothy Spall was a "lazy f**ker" at school.

The actor has made it far regardless, landing two BAFTA nominations throughout his career and taking the lead role of British painter J. M. W. Turner in upcoming biopic Mr. Turner.

He might not have been much of a student, but suddenly the 57-year-old was keen to devour literature on the famous artist.

"Oh yes, I did a massive detective job on him," he chuckled to Time Out London when asked if he researched his character.

"I was the laziest f**ker at school, but at one point I found myself walking through town with a satchel full of books. I full expected to be attacked and called Swotty Spall.

"And every day I discovered that the f**ker was a polymath. And yet he had this simian personality, like he'd come out of the mud of the Thames."

Timothy was keen to get these two conflicting sides of his personality across. In order to be believable, director Mike Leigh also instructed his leading man to learn how to paint.

"I worked with an artist called Tim Wright," the star recalled.

"I had a bit of ability, but that was a pain in the a**e because I knew when I was sh*t!

"I ended up copying Turner's Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth, in oil. I've got it on my wall. I look at it every morning and think, 'How the f**k did I do that?' I could never do it again!"