If you are returning to Edinburgh after a break it helps if you have a story to tell. Jim Tavare has had a break in every sense and a story to tell. His answer to question 3 below will explain, but expect a lot more detail in his show From Deadpan To Bedpan. Older comedy fans will know Tavare from his time on the UK circuit with his double bass, smart suit and comically gloomy demeanour. Younger fans may know him as Tom (the owner of the Leaky Cauldron) in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In recent years Tavare has been Los Angeles-based and working as an actor as well as a stand-up. It's great to have him back though in every sense.

Jim Tavare: From Deadpan To Bedpan is at the Laughing Horse at the Counting House from August 2 - 26. Details here.

1. What is the last thing you do before you go onstage?

I try and say something positive or amusing to anyone willing to listen in order to put me in the necessary frame of mind for an all-out comedy assault.

2. What irritates you?

75% of social media posts but the 25% makes up for the dead wood.

3. What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?

Driving through the Hollywood Hills following directions from my Sat Nav. An alert comes on the screen ‘New route found 10 minutes faster’

I took the decision to go with the new route which, half an hour later leads to a catastrophic car accident with a truck leaving me practically dead with 30 fractured bones including neck, 12 ribs, head trauma, a detached hand and punctured lungs. Be warned: spur of the moment decisions can cause life-changing events but you might get a show out of it.

4. What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?

At age 17 me and my mates would hang out at the recreation ground. Most of the time we were bored so on one occasion I decided to set the challenge of jumping off the scout hut roof and over a small tree on to the turf below. Needless to say I misjudged the jump and ploughed through the middle of the tree. This resulted in a chronic ankle sprain the day before I was due to take my driving test. I have since visited the site and the tree has grown another 30 feet.

5. What has surprised you most during your career?

In LA where I now live, actors are treated with more respect than comedians. This is probably why I do more acting than anything else these days. Having said that, Im back in Edinburgh with a solo show and I have brought along some of the storytelling elements I learnt from working in film.

Interview continues here.