Win The Critically Acclaimed London Spy On DVD
Q&A With Jim Broadbent
Q: What does the story of London Spy focus on?
The central character is Danny who falls in love with a young man and this is clearly the love of his life. And quite early on this young man dies under mysterious circumstances and the arc of the five-part series is the implications and ramifications of that on Dannys life.
Q: What makes Dannys story unique?
Whats exciting is the whole story is such a strong story and its an unusual story and the fact that the central characters are gay is sort of peripheral to the arc of the thriller. Theres a great sort of ethical idea and dilemma at the heart of the story which makes it gripping and totally original.
Q: Can you tell us more about the character you play?
I play Scottie whos an old friend of Dannys and Scottie has had some experience in the secret services and he is able to help Danny in his quest to sort out the after effects of this murder.
Q: What role does Scottie play in Dannys life?
Initially hes advising or concerned about Danny falling head over heels in love with this guy and he wants to check him out and see that hes not going to be a bad egg in terms of Dannys life and so a meeting is arranged and Alex passes Scotties test as it were.
Q: How does Scottie help Danny after Alex dies?
When Alex disappears and is found to have died, Danny comes to Scottie for advice and help and Scottie agrees reluctantly or positively and gets engaged with the ongoing narrative.
Q: What did you think of the script when you first read it?
Getting the script was a treat, I knew Tom Rob Smiths writing anywhere, Id read his three Russian spy novels or secret service-KGB novels before, long before the script came my way so I knew I was in for a good thriller really and its absolutely proved true. Its a really good read so Id leapt through the five episodes very quickly and I always love a good strong thriller narrative myself anyway, so that was great to be part of that.
Q: How was it working with Ben Whishaw?
Bens a wonderful actor and Im completely in awe of the ease and the subtlety and the reality that Ben brings to his characters, its really brilliant.
Q: How was Jakob Verbruggen as a director?
Jakob is a very engaging and engaged director who is very communicative and positive. And hes clearly got a great relationship with the director of photography, Laurie, and they have a good, positive approach which infects the whole production.
Q: How do you think audiences will react to the series?
Its a very provocative series, there will be lots of questions asked that people will be fascinated by and there will be a lot of discussion I think after the series and it will be a gripping and engaging series anyway. All the time people will want to know whats happened and whats going to happen and why its happened and I think in an entirely original way it is going to engage the audience incredibly.
LONDON SPY COMES TO DVD FROM 2ND MAY 2016 COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES (UK)