Film star John Malkovich hits street to hand out Fringe flyers

It's hardly unusual for stars of the stage and screen to be spotted out and about around Edinburgh during the Festival Fringe.

But Hollywood's John Malkovich, being John Malkovich, went one step further - personally handing out flyers to astonished passers-by on the Royal Mile.

The actor and director was raising the profile of his play, A Celebration of Harold Pinter, starring Julian Sands, who appeared alongside Malkovich in The Killing Fields.

But unlike many a weary leaflet tout, Malkovich, 57, accompanied by Mr Sands, had no problem dishing out flyers to a throng of delighted fans.

Dressed in a light blue patterned jacket, the star - who counts Dangerous Liaisons, Empire of the Sun and Con Air among his screen credits - was hugged and kissed as he posed for pictures.

Asked what prompted the pair to bring the personal touch to promotion, Malkovich declared: "We've got to reach the punters."

"It's business," said Sands, 53. "We come here with a theatre play and we want people to come and see it.

"Everyone else is handing out flyers and we have to compete."

The play is made up of personal anecdotes and reflections drawn from Sands' work with Pinter, combining his poems and political prose to create an insight in to his literary legacy.

Sands worked with the Nobel Prize-winning playwright shortly before his death in 2008 after he was called in to replace Pinter at a London poetry reading.

"It's a celebration of Harold Pinter's work, not his plays, pretty much the development of his work as a poet and of his life," said Malkovich.

Malkovich has been in productions of Pinter's plays, appearing as Deeley in the BBC production of Old Times.

He said: "I had heard a CD of Jules' reading of the poetry and then he kind of worked that up in to a slightly different form, that became nearly a theatrical piece.

"I really just encouraged him to go full throttle with it and make it a theatre piece also - that's how I got involved.

"Jules and I are very old friends and hearing him read Harold's poetry I thought it had a lot of theatrical possibilities."

It is the first time Malkovich - who was on location in the Capital for the film Mary Reilly in 1996 - has been in Edinburgh during the Fringe, with the actor announcing he might catch a couple of shows.

Sands added: "Harold was very keen on the festival himself, so it's a thrill to be here."

After their impromptu appearance, Malkovich and Sands made off in an unassuming black cab to make their way to the debut performance.