We really had to wait for TV to go to make a series on this scale...
AMES McAVOY is trying to answer a simple question: Is he a geek or not?
The Scottish actor, who turned 40 this year and is reported to have recently married for a second time, certainly doesn’t look like what you may describe as “geeky” or “nerdy”.
He’s confident and still showing off the muscled, sculpted physique he gained for recent big-screen roles including Glass.
James’ latest part sees him step away from the big screen and on to the British small screen to star in the BBC1 adaption of Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
Sir Philip’s books have gained him a legion of fans, hence the question put to James about the geekery of it all.
He muses: “I don’t know if I am outwardly or physically geeky or a nerd or anything like that but I’ve read the trilogy three times... and I just listened to Philip’s narration of it, for the second time...”
James’ tone livens up as he adds: “I just read the final or the latest Dresden Files, that’s some highlevel geekery...”
Question answered.
Another thing that needs answering, though, is how the cast – which includes Ruth Wilson,
Dafne Keen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne-Marie Duff (James’ ex-wife) and Clarke Peters – felt about bringing this from the pages to the small screen. After all, it was already adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig in 2007.
For executive producer Jane Tranter, it’s a project she’s had in her sights for many years. She recalls reading them as they were written by Sir Philip, and wanting to adapt them at the time.
“But the rights had gone, they were taken by New Line to make into the film The Golden Compass so I sort of went back into my shell a bit,” she says.
“Then I went to the see the film and came out of my shell and thought, ‘Do you know what, maybe if I just keep going at this, maybe one day I will get the rights to make this...”’
“I am a great believer that timing
His Dark Materials, an adaptation of Sir Philip Pullman’s acclaimed most looks like your personality.
“Lyra is a kid so her daemon still series of novels, hits the small screen this weekend. changes, but it’s mostly an ermine and his name is Pantalaimon.” asks stars Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy, plus executive
British actress Ruth Wilson, known for her small screen roles in producer Jane Tranter and writer Jack Thorne, what we can expect
The Affair and Luther, reveals she hadn’t read the books when she was approached for the role. often is right when it’s right and of Lyra Belacqua (played by Dafne) writer Jack Thorne once they told “I was like, ‘Who is Mrs Coulter?’, really, if I had made these books in who lives in Oxford among the him about the project. completely ignorant and my agent the early 2000s for the BBC, it would scholars and staff of Jordan College. In London shooting Mary Poppins was like ‘She’s the all-time great, have been for tea time television She’s there at the behest of her Returns at the time, he explains: female literary villain. You have to with puppets, which would have uncle Lord Asriel (played by James) “There was no thinking about it. I do this,” she explains. been a disaster. and ends up on an adventure that first read those books when my wife Was there pressure in taking on
“I really had to wait for television will see her cross paths with and I started dating. It was within the role and the adaptation? to go epic and for Game of Thrones astronaut Lee Scoresby (played by that courtship period where you “Yes, (there was an) enormous to happen and for myself to work in Lin-Manuel) and the villainous Mrs start reading things together, and amount of pressure to fulfil what
Los Angeles for eight years and Coulter (played by Ruth). there are certain shared things that Philip has written on the page and really see how you could build a For Hamilton creator and actor stay with you. she’s so mysterious and unknown large-scale TV show.” Lin-Manuel, it was an immediate “This is a very beloved series that and enigmatic.
The resulting series tells the story ‘yes’ over a dinner with Jane and my wife and I have re-read many “It’s funny because when you are times. I got home from dinner barely first shooting, you are just getting on able to believe what we had just with the job and of course these last talked about. ‘I’m going to be him,’ I few months, when you start to thought. It was a real thrill.” realise what you are putting out
Another element that enthused there into the public and how the cast was the CGI techniques many fans are out there and how used to create their daemons, the many people love these books and animal that represents each person’s how extraordinary they are, you ‘inner self ’ and is bound to each start to go, ‘Oh dear, I hope they like it.”’character.
British-Spanish star Dafne, 14, creenwriter Jack, whose credits explains it best, saying: “It’s the include Shameless, Skins and the expression of your soul and when stage show of JK Rowling’s Harry you’re a child, it changes because Potter and The Cursed Child, also you still change and then it fixes felt the pressure in adapting the when you’re an adult, into what books for the small screen.
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