‘it WAS OVERWHELMING TO BE ON A TV show that is so popular’
Andrew Scott’s career has gone from strength to strength since he began acting — here, we chart his stunning rise… By Keeley Ryan
From Sherlock’s Moriarty to His Dark Materials’ Colonel John Parry; Hamlet to the one-man adaptation of Vanya, Andrew Scott has been a longtime beloved actor of the stage and screen. And now the Dubliner will be taking on another iconic role as he steps into the shoes of Tom Ripley for the upcoming limited series, Ripley. The series, which is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling novels, is set in 1960s Newyork — and follows Tom Ripley, a grifter who is hired by a wealthy man to go to Italy and try to talk his vagabond son into coming home.
But as Ripley takes the job, he falls headfirst into a life of deceit, fraud and murder.
The cast includes Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, Eliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, John Malkovich, Kenneth Lonergan and Ann Cusack.
All eight episodes — which were directed and written by Steven Zaillian — will land on the streaming service on April 4.
The Dubliner told Empire about taking on the role — and the importance of putting“your own stamp”on the character.
He said,“you have to be respectful, but not too reverent, because otherwise there’s no point in doing this.
“You’ve got to put your own stamp on it. Some people will like this version, and some people will like other versions, and that’s okay. What you have to do is understand why this character remains so fascinating for people.”
The Dubliner made his debut on the big screen when he was 17 years old, when he starred in 1995’s Korea opposite Donal Donnelly.
In 1998, he played Edumnd Tyrone in Karel Reisz’s production of Long day’s Journey Into Night at the Gate Theatre — and was nominated for Best Actor In A Supporting Role at the Irish Times Theatre Award for his role in the show.
Scott had roles in Saving Private Ryan, Nora and the adaptation of Henry James’the American — and in 2000, he made his stage debut in London with Dublin Carol.
He also appeared in Longitude opposite Michael Gambon, the miniseries Band of Brothers and Dead Bodies.
In 2005, he won his first Olivier Award for his role in the stage
show A Girl in a Car with a Man — and made his debut on Broadway the next year, opposite Bill Nighy and Julianne Moore in The Vertical Hour.
Scott starred in the one-man show Sea Wall in 2008 and the next year — and on the screen, he had roles in Little While Lie, Foyle’s War and Lennon Naked, which saw him play Paul Mccartney.
And in 2010, he took on the role of Moriarty in the BBC One series Sherlock, which also starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
Scott was nominated for a number of awards for his portrayal of the super sleuth’s nemesis, winning the Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2012 BAFTAS and Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Television at the 2013 IFTAS.
“Sherlock has changed all of our careers...”
And in 2013, the actor opened up about the“extraordinary”reaction to the series.
He told The Independent,
“Sherlock has changed all our careers, and I’m really pleased about that. It gives you the benefit of the doubt because executives like to see recognisable faces.
“It was overwhelming to be on a TV show that is quite so popular. That took me totally by surprise. People had an instant affection for it from the first episode. The reaction was extraordinary.”
He followed that up with a number of roles on the big and small screen over the next few years, including The Scapegoat, The Stag, The Town and Dates.
In 2014, Scott played Gethin Roberts in the film Pride, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2015 IFTAS and won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2014 British Independent Film Awards.
The same year, he starred in Locke and Jimmy’s Hall. In 2015, he had a role in the 007 film Spectre — and the next year, he had roles in Alice Through The Looking Glass, Denial, This Beautiful Fantastic and Handsome Devil.
In 2017, he played Hamlet on the stage — and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best
Actor in a Leading Role. The stage show was filmed and broadcast the following year.
Scott starred opposite Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Florence Pugh in 2018’s King Lear — and that summer, it was announced he would be joining the cast of Fleabag.
He captured hearts around the world for his portrayal of The Priest, and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2020.
During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers earlier this year, he opened up about being cast in the show — and stepping away from some of the more villainous roles.
He said,“when I was in my 20s, I had a little baby face and I felt like I had this kind of darkness inside me. And I was like,‘why can’t I get a part as a villain?’
“And then that happened — and then there were loads of villains happening, and I was like, ‘why can’t people see the real me?’
“Phoebe and I had done a play together in London that nobody saw, and she came a knocking — and that’s where the Priest came from.”
The same year, he played
Lieutenant Leslie in 1917 and had roles in Black Mirror — which he got an IFTA and Emmy nomination for — and Modern Love.
Scott also took on the role of Colonel John Parry in the BBC’S His Dark Materials, an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s trilogy of the same name. The series ran from 2019 until 2022, and Scott was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Drama) at the 2021 IFTAS.
On the stage, the actor played
Garry Essendine in the revival of Noël Coward’s Present Laughter — and won the Olivier Award for Best Actor. The following year, he played Patrick in The Three Kings.
In 2021, he played Lord Merlin in the three-part adaptation of The Pursuit of Love and Terje Rødlarsen in the film Oslo. The next year, Scott played Lord Rollo in the Lena Dunham-directed comedy Catherine Called Birdy.
Last year, he starred in an adaptation ofvanya which saw him play all of the characters in the show.
He also starred opposite Paul Mescal in All of Us Strangers, which saw him nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes.