In 1988, the film Rain Man launched the career of Tom Cruise and won Dustin Hoffman his second best actor Oscar.

The story of two very different long-lost brothers – one a money-grabbing car salesman, played by Cruise, and the other an autistic savant – who find common ground over the course of a road trip across America, has now been adapted for the stage and the production runs at Richmond Theatre from Monday.

As Neil Morrissey reveals, he was happy to take on the challenge of playing a character made famous by Hoffman.

Will Gore: In Rain Man you play a character made famous by Dustin Hoffman. Did you have to think twice about taking the role?

Neil Morrissey: Yes, I phoned a lot of my friends and asked them whether they thought I should do it and they said that, sooner or later, I needed to put my head above the parapet. I had never toured before, so what better way to start.

People have banged on about the Hoffman thing but no one goes on about Olivier when you agree to play Hamlet. It is an interpretation of the character and, of course, my interpretation is different.

WG: How challenging is it to play an austistic savant?

NM: I didn’t feel pressure from anyone but myself because I want to get it right and for my performance to be a clever interpretation of something that really happens to people. The character needs to be real because the story is important.

WG: What preparation did you do for the part?

NM: In terms of autism, I started with a lot of medical research to find out what the condition actually is. There is still a lot to be discovered but an awful lot more is known now than 21 years ago when the film came out.

I also looked into how autism affects physicality and concentrated on the savant area – it is something that is a lot rarer. I then tried to tie it all together and apply it to the text.

But the play is not about autism, it is a story about two brothers.

WG: You are known for your TV roles in Men Behaving Badly and Waterloo Road but do you prefer acting on stage or in front of a camera?

NM: I don’t have a preference, they are both equally important but I am a bit of an old fart and am recognising that most of the proper acting is now done on stage.

We still get some great stuff on TV, like Red Riding, but really there is less and less acting required, you are just filling time. Programmes like Waterloo Road, Holby City, and The Bill are always fulfilling schedules, turning round storylines and characters – it is factory TV.

Although we love to think we are, we are not really reflecting society on TV any more.

It is a hybrid fantasy of what young writers imagine it is like out there.

WG: Is there any chance of Men Behaving Badly making a comeback?

NM: There is nothing set in stone but I am interested and have heard Martin [Clunes] talk about it. We are all busy but, hopefully, we will have time to talk to see if there is an inkling of whether everyone wants to do it.

No one does it without [writer] Simon Nye – we would have to put the team back together, like The A-Team.

Rain Man, Richmond Theatre, October 26-31. To book tickets, visit ambassadortickets.com