Julien Baptiste is no Marvel superhero... he’s an Everyman
Tcheky Karyo may be revisiting the character of Julien Baptiste for a BBC spin-off – but while the drama offers change, it will still have The Missing at its core, says the actor. GEMMA DUNN finds out more
TCHEKY KARYO is addressing his heart-throb status – a tag the Turkey-born French actor has further acquired since his turn as The Missing’s Julien Baptiste.
“I didn’t expect that,” he begins with a smile. “It is flattering, makes you feel good,” says the star, 65, who received much praise for his performance as the dogged detective in the BBC1 thriller.
“But the character is not reducible to that. I am a father also, I have a six-year-old daughter and a twoyear-old boy. And I’m glad because when I had those children I thought, ‘At my age, I will be the grandfather’.
“But no, I’m happy nature gave me good conditions, I’m happy to still enjoy life as much as I can, while trying to be wiser and trying to cultivate myself and be a good man.”
Tcheky is talking to us ahead of his return to the mainstay investigator. Rather than a third season of The Missing, however, the veteran – who made the transition from 1980s French films to Hollywood blockbusters – will take centre stage in the much-anticipated spin-off series, simply titled Baptiste.
“Never quite retired detective and erstwhile beekeeper Julien Baptiste is a character very dear to our hearts so we always knew we weren’t quite ready to let him go if the right story presented itself,” says The Missing writers, Harry and Jack Williams, of their decision to pen an offshoot.
Fans of the brothers’ work could not be happier to see him back.
The new six-part drama will follow the insightful yet stubborn Julien, whose “retirement” is cut short when he becomes embroiled in a missing person case while on holiday in Amsterdam. Unable to refuse a plea for help from Police Commissioner Martha Horchner – who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend – he soon finds himself unravelling a complex web of deceit and lies.
With violence, sex and underground crime ticked, the fast-paced trailer has already drawn comparisons to its predecessor.
“The DNA of The Missing series one and two is still rooted in the story of Baptiste,” says Tcheky, whose film credits include American epic The Patriot and Garth Davis’ biblical flick, Mary Magdalene.
“We are still very much in the same world as The Missing but (now) we see things through the eyes of Julien.”
He adds: “Julien is still stubborn but he has a lot of empathy for people and is still searching for the truth about human nature.
“He still has to deal with missing people, and with characters having to deal with difficult journeys, but it is different,” insists Tcheky, who will be joined by newbies Tom Hollander, Barbara Sarafian and Jessica Raine in this run.
“There’s less timelines, more straight storytelling and some flashbacks but it’s less of a roller coaster in a way.”
Considering the last memory of the detective was him going under the knife to remove a brain tumour, it goes without saying viewers will be pleased to see him alive and well. Is Julien in good health now?
“Yes he is,” says Tcheky. “He comes back, he survived the operation, they succeeded. He is happy and he is just trying to enjoy his family when he is thrown into a case.”
“I feel proud of it,” he adds of carrying his character through to a whole new arena. “The audience, the BBC and the writers, Harry and Jack Williams, didn’t want to say goodbye to Julien Baptiste.
“The brothers said that Julien still had a lot of skeletons in his closet and a lot of things left to be fixed.
“He’s not a Marvel superhero he is an Everyman, Julien Baptiste.”
It is the writing – the excitement – that keeps pulling Tcheky back to this complex character.
“Those two guys are so true and I don’t have the feeling that it is a business project,” he says of the Williams brothers. “They didn’t want to go for a third Missing, they are very creative, they have a lot of different projects but suddenly they found it was necessary for them to do (Baptiste) and I’m glad to go back.
“It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had as an actor. It’s special for me because it is with British people – and it is great as a French (person) to feel embraced. I want to give back the hug all the time I am there.”
The show does not leave him feeling like he is in his seventh decade, Tcheky says, quick to praise the creators for writing him a role that avoided both cliché and ageism.
“Because you are growing old, you’re not going to become the furniture in the corner,” he says in admiration.
“I remember acting with a great actress (Julie Harris) in an Italian movie (Passage to Paradise) and I remember she was always well dressed, very beautiful and almost 80.
“She said, ‘Look, people look at me and they think I am this old lady but you know I am young inside and I am full of energy and love’. “It was a lesson for me not to cross this woman. That’s why I love (Harry and Jack Williams), because they are not stereotypes – they are not afraid even to shake sometimes things that can be edgy. It’s great. I don’t feel like I am 65.”
Baptiste premieres on BBC1 tomorrow at 9pm.