Jeff Goldblum's My London

Actor Jeff Goldblum buys wholegrains at Whole Foods and takes sartorial tips from PG Wodehouse...

Home is
Los Angeles, but for the past couple of years I've been renting in New York while working there.

Where do you stay in London?
I like staying in different hotels. The staff at The Soho Hotel are particularly nice to me.

What was the last play you saw in London?
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard at The Old Vic. The actors were terrific and Stoppard is a wonderful playwright. I always like visiting The Old Vic and catching up with Kevin Spacey, who is producing my play. The London theatre scene is spectacular.

What advice would you give a tourist?
You don't need to carry your passport around.

Which London shops do you rely on?
Whole Foods on Kensington High Street for lean protein, wholegrains and sweet potatoes. I also like eating healthily at Daylesford Organic in Notting Hill. I tend to visit Liberty, not necessarily to buy anything but just to see it. I like browsing at Beyond Retro because it makes me feel as if I'm on vacation. I'm a fan of traditional English style; I've read all of PG Wodehouse and he talks about clothes a lot.

What's your earliest London memory?
The first time I came to London was in the mid-1980s when I played James Watson in the film The Race for the Double Helix. I remember thinking the place was magical and so layered with history.

What's the best meal you've had in London?
When I was filming The Tall Guy in the late 1980s with Emma Thompson, I went to her house for a Sunday roast. It was spectacular: she's a great cook.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?
Ban cars and make people walk or cycle.

What are your guilty pleasures?
I'm not so guilty about anything.

What are you most afraid of?
Snake bites. I sometimes have dreams of snakes or animals with teeth that are out to get me.

What's your life philosophy?
Know thyself and thy gate code – you don't want to be locked out.

What was the last album you bought?
Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.

What would you save from a fire?
My sister Pam's paintings. She's done a lot of different things including beautiful collaborations with her husband Jeff Kaisershot.

What are you up to at the moment?
I've been rehearsing for The Prisoner of Second Avenue and now we're doing it eight times a week. During the day I'm just fooling around. I sometimes hang out with the cast; Mercedes Ruehl is wonderful. We go out for drinks and have a lot of fun.

Which is your favourite shopping street?
I like Marylebone High Street for window-shopping.

What do you most like wearing?
On stage I like wearing my blue golf hat, but off stage anything without wool in it because I don't like feeling itchy. I take off itchy tags, too.

Which is your favourite London bar?
I went to Ronnie Scott's the other night and that was terrific. Back in LA, I play the piano with a jazz group called the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.