My Telly HEAVEN!
As ITV thriller Red Eye reaches its compelling climax this week, Dan Li – who plays mysterious plane passenger Toni Zhang – tells us the shows that fly high in his estimations…
What dramas have you been enjoying on telly recently?
I really enjoyed 3 Body Problem on Netflix. It’s so interesting because of its themes – like science, technology, humans and the possibility of aliens. It has some really exciting theories.
And what about comedy shows?
My favourites are really cringy ones, like The Inbetweeners and Peep Show. And Bottom with Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson – I love that show. Adrian is in 3 Body Problem, actually, but I didn’t even recognise him!
What were your favourite programmes growing up?
The A-Team, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Saved By The Bell – and then geeky stuff like GamesMaster. I also really liked Fun House with Pat Sharpe – I wish I’d been on that!
Any cartoons you particularly loved?
I was obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – also Transformers, ThunderCats… I remember crying once when I tried to record ThunderCats and it recorded something else! Anything to do with Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men. I still watch those now!
What’s your favourite show to unwind in front of?
Black Mirror. I love that show. And if the missus isn’t about, I like to watch sci-fi and fantasy-type stuff, like Game of Thrones, House Of The Dragon, The Witcher. And Star Wars stuff on Disney+ – Andor and The Mandalorian.
What was the last thing that you binge-watched?
Invincible on Prime. It’s based on a comic, and it’s ultra-gory and violent. When I first watched it, I thought the animation didn’t look that great: like a poor man’s Superman.
But it’s amazing. The storyline, the character work, it’s incredible!
If you could choose to be in any other programme, what would it be?
I recently watched The Gentlemen on Netflix. I love the worlds Guy Ritchie makes: his characters have so much swagger! It’s ridiculous people in ridiculous situations and just their capers. And I was watching it thinking, “I would love to be a character in this!”
Catch Dan in the finale of Red Eye, ITV1, Sunday, 9pm