Jack Whitehall: “Eva’s husband is the sexiest man ever!”
The comedian says filming with Eva Longoria got a little awkward
A lthough he’s very happy with Gemma Chan, his girlfriend of six years, Jack Whitehall still found it awkward wooing Eva Longoria’s character in a new TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Decline And Fall. Jack admits that he was a big Desperate Housewives fan, and with Eva’s husband of nearly a year, businessman José Bastón, watching from behind the scenes, he felt slightly flustered.
FEELING EMASCULATED
“I absolutely loved Desperate Housewives, so I had to stop myself quite a lot from telling Eva how much I enjoyed her as Gabrielle Solis!” laughs Jack, 28, who plays teacher Paul Pennyfeather.
“Her husband was on set a lot and he’s literally the coolest and sexiest man I’ve ever seen. I was wooing her, then looking at him and feeling totally emasculated! Which was probably quite good for my character.”
Jack actually recommended Eva, 42, for the role as they share the same agent.
“They were looking for an actress of South American descent to play the Honourable Gemma Chan Mrs Margot Beste-chetwynde, so I suggested her. Eva’s really great with comedy drama. She’s amazing and very down to earth.”
It’s Jack’s first period drama and a dream come true working alongside Poirot legend David Suchet, who plays Dr Fagan.
GETTING HIS KIT OFF
“One of my first ever work experience jobs was being David’s runner in the West End when he did Man And Boy and he was such a lovely person, I’ve looked up to him ever since. The idea of being able to work with him was always just a pipe dream, so it’s exciting. I spent more time corpsing in scenes than I’ve ever done. But there was one day where I was like, ‘Oh my God, I think I might actually be doing some proper acting!”
Jack has the world at his feet with his successful stand-up shows, Bad Education and Fresh Meat as well as a new Netflix show with his dad Michael in the pipeline. He was attracted to doing something different with Decline And Fall, but he laughs at the fact that he still has to take off his clothes…
“There’s rarely something I do where I keep my clothes on!” he smiles. “My heart sank when I saw that in the scripts. I thought ‘period comedy drama, this might be the one where I keep my trousers on.’ But lo and behold, first scene and they’re down. One day I’ll do something where I’m dressed for the whole thing! It’s unlikely though.”