‘Lives’ Gives Simon Jones Another Lesson in Actors and Their Roles

Simon Jones admits he was a bit worried about starring opposite Joan Collins in the revival of Noel Coward’s 1930 comedy “Private Lives,” opening Wednesday at the Wilshire Theatre. And for good reason: Collins, who previously played the Queen Witch of the Universe, Alexis Carrington Colby, to perfection on “Dynasty,” has a reputation of sorts for being difficult.

“I approached the play with some trepidation--was she going to be the dragon of fabled news reports and that sort of thing?” Jones says. “But I found, I must say, when I have gotten in a working situation with anybody who has that sort of reputation that it is based largely on the last part you played. She has been perfectly delightful to work with.”

Still, Jones says, audiences expect Collins to behave like Alexis. “My wife was sitting in the audience the other day in Sacramento and the curtain was late going up because of a technical error.

“One lady turned to another and said, ‘I suspect she is having a tantrum backstage.’ And the other said, ‘She is probably doing her makeup over again!’ ”

The British actor, who now calls New York home, has previously appeared in Los Angeles in “Aren’t We All?” with Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert, and in Tom Stoppard’s “Hapgood.” But he’s best known to PBS audiences for his starring role in the cult series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and for his memorable performance as Bridey in “Brideshead Revisited.”

Though “Hitchhiker” and “Brideshead” premiered over a decade ago, Jones still gets recognized by fans. “When I was last in San Francisco, we were in Mill Valley and a man looked up from his newspaper and said, ‘Oh. I like your work, Bridey.’ I thought, ‘The arrogance of it. I could be somebody who just looks like me.’ ”