Down to earth: Mackenzie Crook owns an area of woodland in Essex Jas Lehal/TLP

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Mackenzie Crook and I are having lunch in a south London restaurant. He’s just ordered a burger.

Something is clearly wrong. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere he’s an organic vegan – whatever that is. But no, he tucks into his fat beef burger with glee. I ask him to explain.

“Not true,” he says, shaking his head between bites. “Somebody else said that to me. I think it’s from my Wikipedia page – someone has been in and put loads of random stuff on it. There’s loads – that I’m into basketball, obscure things. None of it’s true.”

It seems appropriate that, while other stars get stung with fake drugs or sex scandals, the worst anyone trying to spread stories about Crook can come up with is an ­aversion to meat and an obsession with tall blokes popping balls through hoops.

Despite being well known to millions through The Office, as Gareth, and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, as the one with the dodgy eyeball, he is the least starry of stars.

Crook’s on a break from ­rehearsals for his latest project, Jerusalem, a new play by Jez Butterworth set in an archetypal “middle England” on St George’s Day.

Read our Jerusalem review

It’s his second stab at the Royal Court Theatre after his hit 2007 debut in Chekhov’s The Seagull, which transferred to Broadway. That, says Crook, was the “most fulfilled” he has ever felt artistically. “I hadn’t done much theatre. But [director] Ian [Rickson] saw something in my acting from The Office and Pirates and thought I could do it. I wasn’t even ­convinced I could do it. It was very brave of him.”

In person, Crook is slight, gently spoken and self-­effacing. He seems to hide ­behind his baseball cap, pulled down over his hair – dyed for his part as Ginger in Jerusalem – and his eyes dart to the floor, as if he’s embarrassed to talk about himself.

“The play is hilarious – that’s what made me want to do it. Though it’s not a rip-roaring comedy all the way; it has very poignant and sad bits. It’s sort of a celebration of Englishness and English rural life.” He pauses, clearly not satisfied with his answer. “That’s not very eloquent, but then, you know, neither am I.”

It’s no surprise he was ­attracted to the project – he is, himself, very quirkily English and fascinated by the countryside. He loves 18th century history (he’s writing a screenplay about highwayman Dick Turpin), breeding tortoises (he has had a pair since the 70s) and wildlife conservation (he owns a piece of Essex woodland).

“It’s been a life-long passion for me – the natural world and conservation. More than ­acting. From an early age, I imagined I’d be working with animals or nature.”

As for the future, he’s just happy to be a jobbing actor – and carry on his stellar reinvention after Gareth (“I pinch myself to think that’s actually happened”).

Next on screen are two films – English flick Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and the Steven Spielberg-directed version of Tintin. He’s hoping for the call to be in a fourth ­Pirates sequel: “Johnny [Depp] said he’s going to do one, the director has said he’s not ­going to direct it. Nobody has been in touch with me, this is all stuff I’ve learnt off the ­internet. The idea of them doing another without me would be horrible, because I did enjoy them so much.”

Aside from his acting ­career, though, he has one more surprising ambition.

“I’ve been going for the last four years to the Chelsea Flower Show. It’s wonderful. I’d love to enter a garden. If a sponsor wanted to approach me, I’d love to do that. I mean, I’m an amateur gardener but I know what I like.”

Jerusalem, Royal Court Theatre, SW1, to 15 August, 020 7565 5000

Read our Jerusalem review

Mackenzie Crook's London

North or South?

"North every time. I live in Muswell Hill in north London [with wife Lindsay and two young children, Jude and Scout]. It’s really hard to put your finger on but there is a real difference between north and south and people’s attitudes. My dad was from Highgate, my grandparents used to live there and I used to visit a lot as a child, so it seems like home to me."

Favourite day out

"I like taking the kids to the museums. Specifically the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. Those are my favourites. Or the Chelsea Flower show."

Favourite restaurant

"There’s a tapas restaurant in Crouch End called La Bota, which is great. I love The Ivy as well, although that’s not very imaginative."

Favourite landmark

"The Tower of London. I’m very interested in the history of London. Since researching the Dick Turpin story, I’ve really become fascinated. Before the sewers were built and before there was a police force, it was a pretty wild place and, with the gin craze, everyone was pissed the whole time - even children - and the place was just awash with filth. And, there were these huge red kites, the birds of prey, which would scavenge on corpses in the streets. It’s just amazing to imagine this gothic place."

London or LA?

"I work over in America as much as I want to. It’s been great, the last few years I’ve spent a few months in America and the majority of the time here. I don’t think you have to live in the States to work in the States occasionally. Altough I love California and Los Angeles and love the time I spend in Los Angeles, I wouldn’t want to up sticks and move over there. England and London is my home."