THE SERPENT
UNRAVELLING TRUE-LIFE CRIME SERIES THE SERPENT…
Lowdown on the new BBC thriller. Expect twists.
SLIPPERY BEHAVIOUR
The Serpent is a new eight-episode BBC thriller centred on real-life criminal Charles Sobhraj, played by Tahar Rahim. “He’s a con man,” says the
A Prophet star of his role. “He’s a manipulator. He’s very clever, seductive and evil. And at some point along the road, he turned out to be a murderer.” Targeting lonely travellers on the so-called ‘Hippie Trail’ in 1970s Southeast Asia earned Sobhraj a slew of nicknames, including ‘The Bikini Killer’ and, yes, ‘The Serpent’. He garnered huge media attention, becoming the subject of four biographies, three documentaries and even a Bollywood movie, 2015’s Main Aur Charles.
EPIC SCALE
Shot primarily in Thailand, The Serpent is a real globetrotter, with the narrative flashing back and forth as embassy worker Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) investigates a missing Dutch couple. All roads lead to Sobhraj, and his girlfriend, Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman), who travel across Asia using false passports culled from their victims. “The centre of the story is Bangkok,” says executive producer Damien Timmer. “But we go to many other places in the show: Tibet, Kashmir, Hong Kong, Karachi, Paris… I mean, it’s got such a big sweep of locations across the eight hours.”
What’s more, Thailand proved itself a versatile performer, doubling for many of the other regions.
REALITY CHECK
“We had quite a lot of people [we could talk to],” says Coleman. “Damien was in contact with the real Herman Knippenberg.” Meanwhile, the set was visited by the real-life Nadine Gires (played in the show by Mathilde Warnier) who is, according to Timmer, “a major player in this story. She’s someone who really knew Charles and Marie-Andrée well.” How was meeting the couple’s on-screen surrogates, Tahar and Jenna? “I think she found it really unnerving,” says Timmer. “But she said [they] were absolutely spot on, which was pleasing.”
KEEPING IN TUNE
With the series dialling back over four decades, the actors were given plenty of research. “I have here what [co-director] Tom Shankland sent me,” says Coleman, pointing to her phone. “Spotify playlists of the ’70s!” Her go-to song for getting into character? ‘In My Time Of Dying’ by Led Zeppelin. “Every time I was on set, I had that constantly in my head.” Rahim, meanwhile, simply rocked a lot of period-apt outfits – and a 1970s hairstyle that was half wig, half real. “It was such a process to do it every day,” he says. “I would go crazy.
But they did a great job.”
DIGGING DEEPER
After shooting for several months, the production was shut down in March, just as Covid-19 gripped the world, with the cast and crew all instructed to fly home. “I remember we all made bets on when we were coming back,” laughs Coleman. “I don’t know who won!”
In the end, nobody really did, since everyone reassembled in England in August to shoot the final two weeks. It meant the actors were able to finesse their characters for scenes outstanding from the crucial final episodes. “We took advantage of the situation to improve our research and the depth of our characters,” says Rahim. “That helped us.” James Mottram
THE SERPENT AIRS ON BBC ONE AND IPLAYER FROM 1 JANUARY.