The latest Poirot mystery: What’s he doing with a trendy goatee?
HIS fine moustache is as renowned as his ability to solve even the most tangled of mysteries using his little grey cells.
But Hercule Poirot’s famous facial feature has gone missing – and the prime suspect in its disappearance is none other than Hollywood star John Malkovich.
The American actor is playing Agatha Christie’s celebrated Belgian sleuth in a BBC drama and has replaced the moustache with a neat grey goatee.
It’s a far cry from the waxed and pointed moustaches described by Christie and worn by previous screen Poirots such as Albert Finney in 1974’s Murder On The Orient Express and Peter Ustinov. Sir Kenneth Branagh sported an extravagant number in last year’s remake of Orient Express.
And the most famous Poirot, David Suchet – who played him on ITV for 24 years – told The Times: ‘As far as I know Agatha Christie never depicted him wearing a beard. I seem to remember him wearing a false beard in one of the short stories. But Poirot is famous for his fine moustaches. Not his beard. Poirot says of himself that it is the finest moustache in the world, and he thinks he looks great. His vanity would say, “This looks fantastic”.’
Suchet, 72, added: ‘But whatever other actors choose I’ve got to remember that’s a very careful choice from an artist.’
Malkovich, 64, was pictured while on location in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, for an adaptation of Christie’s 1936 novel The ABC Murders, which is expected to be shown by the BBC at Christmas.