"Then we found out that he and his band had already recorded their bits."
He shakes his head and laughs. Alexis laughs a lot.
"Ah, well, there went my chance to meet a Beatle ..." he shrugs.
His other connection was travelling to Liverpool to film the 1994 drama Faith - Colin McKeown's
award-winning TV film in which he played a politician's "bit on the side - it was one of those scandals in Westminster."
"I remember it was ironic because Liverpool doubled up for London for the location shots. I was back and forth on the train. Leaving London to go to ... London which was really Liverpool!
"We had the screening premiere at the Everyman I recall."
Alexis, born in Maryland, USA, is actually of Russian descent thus his very distinctive name. He grew up in Seattle but found London in the 80s.
After Lamda, he worked in the capital during the 90s. And while there he met and had a relationship with writer and actress Caroline Aherne. The couple were 'an item' he says when she was working on a pilot for The Royle Family.
Alexis had also fallen in love with British humour.
He says: "Caroline would ask me during the creative process what I thought of this and that and then, when the show actually went out, there I was in the credits with 'special thanks' from Caroline. I was honoured - it was very generous of her, after all it was her idea."
