Actor Gordon goes Dutch in Second World War film epic

DUNDEE actor Gordon Morris took to the book shelves to swot up on a dream role in the firstever Dutch film produced by Netflix.

Gordon’s role in The Forgotten Battle ticked all the boxes for the self-confessed history buff who also happens to be a huge fan of war movies.

With a budget of 14 million euros, The Forgotten Battle is the biggest Dutch film of the last 10 years, and the second most expensive Dutch movie ever made, after the 2006 war film Zwartboek.

The epic is set in 1944 during the Second World War and centres on the Battle of the Scheldt, fought during a key period in the liberation of Holland from Nazi Germany.

Gordon said: “My agent asked about my availability for the movie while I was in Budapest filming a new TV show but he didn’t need to ask twice because I’m a huge history buff.

“I’ve always loved anything warrelated which I could watch on TV or the big screen and Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers are two of my favourite movies.

“The chance to play a part in this movie was really exciting and it gave me the chance to read about the battle and find out some interesting information.

“By coincidence, when I was researching the part I found a book in Dundee Central Library called The Forgotten Battle which was a mine of information and really helped me understand what was going on during that time in Holland.

“It was also great working in Zeeland during filming as I was able to see the places that I had read about and pictured during my research.”

The heavy battle for the Scheldt Estuary claimed many more lives than D-Day and enormous damage was done to the province by floods and fierce fighting.

The movie follows the lives of a young Dutchman fighting for the Germans, a stray English glider pilot and a local girl who is part of the resistance movement.

Gordon, from Douglas, is best known for his role in the supernatural drama The Terror which was based on the lost expedition of Arctic explorer John Franklin.

Gordon played John Weekes, a carpenter on board HMS Erebus, and featured alongside Mad Men actor Jared Harris and Game of Thrones star Tobias Menzies.

Appearing in the 10-part thriller was Gordon’s biggest role to date after previously featuring in Taggart, Bob Servant, Armchair Detectives and Schemers.

Gordon said: “The film revolves around characters from both sides of the battle.

“It shows you the struggles they all go through as they try to survive these last moments of the Second World War as Holland tries to loosen the chains of its occupation.

“My character Mackay is working with the officers of the joint Canadian/British taskforce but I can’t say any more than that unfortunately.

“Filming this was a real thrill as I was surrounded by fantastic people, and tanks.

“I felt like a big kid when I encountered my first tank and I made sure I got lots of photos standing next to it.”

The film features a number of Dutch and international stars, with Gijs Blom, Jamie Flatters, and Susan Radder in the lead roles.

Harry Potter star Tom Felton and Theo Barklem-Biggs also feature in the international cast.

“The director, Matthijas van Heijningen was really good fun to work with and he kept everyone on their toes,” said Gordon.

“Sometimes he would send an extra to randomly hand you a document as you did a take, then for the next take he would ask you to change your dialogue this definitely helped to keep you focused.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of this movie but I’m so disappointed I won’t be able to go to Holland to see it at the cinema due to travel restrictions.

“It’s great to see Netflix setting up in Amsterdam and hopefully there will be loads more fantastic content coming soon.

“There were lots of Scottish regiments and Scots Canadian regiments involved in this battle so I think it will be of great interest to people locally.”

Gordon held down a number of jobs before he got into acting in 1998 and a few years later he was taking up his first role since he tread the boards in a school play.

“I got into acting in quite a strange way,” he said.

“I had never acted since I was in