NCIS: New Orleans

Season 6 M-Net City (*115) 19:10 & 20:00 Action Episodes 19 & 20 Seb is injured during a kidnapping gone wrong, and the team investigates a suspicious death involving a Navy microbiologist.

NB! There will be a season 7. See more on p45.

Season 1 BBC First (*119) 20:00 Action

Marc Warren is an acting school dropout but says that “I probably missed a few important classes that would have certainly helped.” That hasn’t held him back though – the 47-year-old has been working non-stop since 1995 and was hand-picked to play detective Piet van der Valk in the 2020 reboot. “I was a fan of the original series (1972-1992). I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an honour to have been the only choice for this role. Normally I’m cast as shady characters, I think I have the face for mischief.”

He quit studying at the East 15 Acting School in Essex after less than a month. “They asked me to ‘portray the colour orange’. I got up, walked out and never looked back,” says Marc. The actor hates research and says that he’s often just thrown away the crib notes producers make to help with character development. “I prefer to learn my lines really well and let it flow. If my co-stars know what they’re doing, I’ll pick up and run with it.”

One skill that came in handy for an audition was his magic tricks. He’s practiced sleight of hand since he was a teen and used a card trick while auditioning to play “The Gentleman” in 2015 period Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Marc’s contracts come with a fourinterviews maximum clause, which he says is “too many already. I’d rather just do my work and let the other actors do this press work.”

Season 2 of Van Der Valk has been on hold due to the COVID-19 lockdown but Marc has been busy rehearsing via videocalls with his co-stars, as well as walking, running and meditating while he’s stuck in Amsterdam.