LAST seen on TV in High Times and Rebus, Jon, 54, also starred in films like Nil By Mouth and Sweet Sixteen. But at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this month, he looked back on the roles that shot him to fame - groundbreaking 1970s dramas Just Another Saturday and The Elephants' Graveyard.

Screenings of Just Another Saturday and The Elephants' Graveyard, both made for the BBC's Play For Today, have been highlights of this year's EIFF. Why do you think they have such enduring appeal?

It was the first time Scots were being portrayed honestly in a contemporary setting without the twee bulls***. But it's the vision, craft and graft of the writer Peter McDougall that really make both films as fresh today as they were when they were first made.

In November 1975, when Just Another Saturday was first broadcast, around eight million people saw you as John McNeill, the swaggering, mace-twirling Orange Lodge drum major who learns a few harsh truths about life. What impact did that have on you the next morning?

I can remember having a hangover! We'd watched the first broadcast at Peter's flat in London's Primrose Hill but it wasn't until a few days later, when I was recognised in the street for the first time, that the full impact began to kick in.

What did you think of the script the first time you saw it?

I couldn't believe my luck. It was new, it was real and it was innovative. It would be a priceless start to anyone's career.

It was Billy Connolly's first screen role too. How was working alongside him?

Brilliant. Billy was the man back then: the Big Yin. But as you can imagine, whenever I was in the company of Billy and Peter, I could never get a word in edgeways.

The scenes where you're leading the parade through Glasgow, swinging the mace, spinning it up into the air and birling it around your back are unforgettable. But how long did it take you to perfect those moves?

I worked with the drum major of the Maryhill Flute Band for three or four days before filming and continued to practise throughout the shoot. Peter also showed me his technique for throwing the mace over the telegraph wires.

It was so realistic that, at times, it could have been a documentary. Did anyone ever mistake you for John?

Yes. I was either called a good Proddy or an Orange b*****d depending on what part of town I was in at the time.

Footage of the fictional Muirhill Flute Band dovetails perfectly with the real parade footage in the film. How closely did director John Mackenzie have to work with Orange Lodge officials? They surely can't have had script approval?

We had to keep the script under wraps at all times. John only had approval from the Maryhill Flute Band and not the Orange Lodge itself. When the officials did find out, we were - how can I put this politely - evicted from Glasgow and had to relocate to Edinburgh to finish filming.

Elephants' Graveyard followed a year later. How did the decision come about to reunite you with Peter, John and Billy?

It was originally written for two older characters but John fought my corner and suggested making the character of Bunny younger. That way it would appeal to the Just Another Saturday audience.

You play Bunny, whose wife thinks he's a postie, while Billy - who plays Jody - has told his missus he's labouring in a factory. Really they're just skiving around the hills. But their great escape touched a chord with millions of viewers. Why do you think it connected?

Then, as now, unemployment was very high. I think people enjoyed the humour of a desperate situation and the fact that there might just be a way out of it.

So how much did you laugh while making it?

What do you think? A two-hander with Billy was an absolute dream.

As with Just Another Saturday, the action all takes place in a single day. But it took much longer than that to film . . .

Yes. It was done in a 24-day shoot in 1975 beginning in April and ending on May 4.

The dialogue is so natural, you've got to have ad-libbed a lot of it?

Very little actually. It was just another masterful McDougall script. Billy thought I had the best line - "me and you's got to be mental" - but I thought it was one of his - "I'm gonna batter you, ya s***e!"

There has been talk of bringing back Play For Today. What do you reckon would be the benefits?

Employment for actors. Real entertaining drama for everyone else.

You've been no stranger to gritty realism in your career. You also starred alongside your old pal Ray Winstone in the hard-hitting drama, Nil By Mouth.

Ray and I go back to 1979 when we worked on the film That Summer together so it was a real pleasure. Nil By Mouth sits in the same vein of honest realism as Just Another Saturday and Elephants' Graveyard so it was right up my street. A joy any day of the week.

You once described yourself as "an apprentice international hellraiser". What was the worst you got up to?

I got arrested more than once.

As well as John Hurt and Peter O'Toole, you counted Oliver Reed among your drinking buddies. If you can remember any of it, what's your most vivid memory?

Ollie dropping his trousers. It was his party piece - always good for a laugh.

Behind the scenes, you're secretly a bit of a guitar hero too . . .

It's my solace. I started playing when I was 12, inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Being brought up on movies and rock'n'roll, banjo wasn't my instrument so I never took any lessons from Billy - who's a brilliant player - but he did lend me his Gibson J200 guitar while we were filming. I was chuffed to bits.

You're obviously pretty good - you've occasionally stepped in for Zal Cleminson in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - and those are big boots to fill.

Huge boots to fill, too big for me. Zal is a totally unique guitarist. I love him to bits.

Around the time of Just Another Saturday, you were voted the most promising young actor in Britain. Your pals reckon the best is yet to come. Where will we see you next?

Who knows? These days I'm just another actor . . . but it would be a great pleasure to work one more time with my great friend Peter McDougall.

FOR more details on Edinburgh International Film Festival visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk. Just Another Saturday and Elephants' Graveyard are available on DVD as part of The Peter McDougall Collection from www.johnwilliams productions.com

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