As a young man desperate to break into showbiz, Eddie Izzard thought it would be a good idea to print up business cards that read, “Eddie Izzard - TV/Film star” and give them to everyone he met.  The idea, he tells me, was that he would meet a big-wig producer who would look at the card and say, “I didn’t realize you were a film and TV star!  I have a big-budget blockbuster about to start filming, why don’t you play the lead?”  This didn’t work out, so Eddie scrapped the cards and embarked on one of the most eclectic career paths in the business.  Having touched on everything from live theatre to Hollywood film to cross-dressing stand-up, this month Eddie brings his quirky humour and undeniable charm to the Showcase premiere of The Riches.

The Riches follows the Malloy family, a band of travelling scam-artists who make a play for the biggest con of all: stealing the American dream.  As a British comedian stepping in to play the male lead, the irony of the subject matter was not lost on Izzard.  “It’s perfect,” he says, “because it’s all about outsiders trying to become insiders and I’m English and Minnie [Driver]’s English and so we really are both outsiders.”

Another outsider is their youngest son, Sam Malloy (played by Aidan Mitchell), an overachieving young transvestite.  While Izzard insists the cross-dressing was not his idea, he did suggest they make the character a straight transvestite, his particular section of transgender, “because that way I could be technical advisor on it.  The kid’s eight, and he wears flats.  And I’d say, ‘I wouldn’t wear that.  If I’m going to put on make up and a dress, I’m going to put on heels.’  I wouldn’t go to all that bother just for flats.” 

Sam’s character has also informed the way Eddie approaches his own character, the patriarch, Wayne Malloy.  “I react to him just like my father reacted to me,” he says, “basically – if you’re going to do this, fine.  I support you.”

If all of this sounds a bit different, that’s because it is.  The Riches plays like a bizarre cross between Carnivale and the The Sopranos, with a deep vein of pitch black comedy running throughout.  It’s a mixture fitting of Izzard’s meandering career.  “In the end,” he tells me, “all stories are about humans, so it doesn’t actually matter as long as it works for people.”  As for his future, and whose career he might want to model his after, he smiles and says, “How about Clint Eastwood?”

Catch the Canadian Exclusive Premiere of The Riches this Wednesday at 10pm ET/PT, only on Showcase.