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Rising star Otto Farrant and Vicky Mcclure on their action thriller based on the bestselling Alex Rider books
HE’S A YOUNG BOY IN A HORRIFIC SITUATION
VICKY MCCLURE
ALEX RIDER
Available: Thursday 4 June Season: 1 Episodes: 8
Runs: 45 mins NEW DRAMA
At a former university building in east London currently doubling as the HQ for a top-secret branch of the intelligence services, a tense meeting is underway between a group of spymasters and a stroppy schoolboy…
It’s July 2019 and TV Times is watching filming for Alex Rider, Amazon Prime Video’s thrilling new adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling novels about an intrepid but reluctant teenage spy.
The eight-part series centres on orphaned Alex, played by rising star Otto Farrant (Mrs Wilson, War & Peace), who has been raised by his banker uncle, Ian (Broadchurch and The Crown’s Andrew Buchan).
But when Ian is suddenly killed, Alex makes the shocking discovery that his uncle was actually a spy for The Department, an elite offshoot of MI6, run by shrewd Alan Blunt (The Crown’s Stephen Dillane) and his second-incommand, Mrs Jones (Line of Duty star Vicky Mcclure).
Soon, The Department recruits Alex to discover what led to Ian’s death by going undercover at a sinister boarding school in the French Alps, but danger ensues.
During a break in filming, Vicky, 37, and Otto, 23, tell us more about the drama to come…
It’s 20 years since the first
Alex Rider book was published – were you already fans?
VICKY: I hadn’t read them but I asked my nephew, who is 11, about them and he said he was reading them at school and they were going on a trip that was all about Alex Rider, which was pretty cool. And then I mentioned, ‘I might be doing a show!’ OTTO: I wasn’t a massive reader as a kid but the Alex Rider books were the ones I loved. I think it’s because Alex is a relatable character in an extraordinary world. We’d all like to be a spy because it’s so exciting! put my own spin on it. The TV series is more of an emotional journey. Alex is an outsider and he’s not even the best spy. We’ve all been teenagers and it’s hard. You struggle to find your identity and it’s interesting to see that play out within the actionpacked world of spies.
You’re watching someone become a man from being a boy.
How does Alex feel about being approached by The Department? VICKY: Well, in this scene we’re shooting today, they’re letting him in on what has happened with his uncle and it all gets pretty intense, doesn’t it? OTTO: Yes, Alex is conflicted. He’s very angry because he feels he has been lied to his whole life, but he wants to understand who killed his uncle. So he says, ‘This is on my terms if I’m doing it.’
Mrs Jones becomes Alex’s handler and keeps an eye on him during his mission. How would you describe their relationship? OTTO: It’s an interesting dynamic. Someone has to watch out for this kid and she’s empathetic towards his feelings, whereas Blunt is focused on what he wants to get from Alex and how he can use him. VICKY: Yes, Mrs Jones has issues with Blunt and questions his decisions. Her relationship with Alex grows as she has a job to do as his handler, but with that comes the human side because he’s a young boy in a horrific situation and she cares about him.
Have you been enjoying working together on this series?
OTTO: Yes! I hadn’t watched Vicky in [BBC1 thriller] Line of Duty but I’m a massive fan of [movie and C4 trilogy] This Is England. So when I found out she was on board, I was over the moon.
VICKY: And Otto is amazing – he’s doing
an incredible job!
The books are aimed at young adults, but do you think the drama will appeal to older viewers?
VICKY: Definitely. It’s nice that this is something my nephews can watch – it’s a new audience for me as everything else is so dark. But I initially assumed it would be quite childlike and then I read the script and was surprised at the amount of action in it!
Have you had a lot of stunts to do in this series, then, Otto? OTTO: Well, the first three weeks of the shoot were in Romania and there was a lot of snowboarding but they wouldn’t let me do it! Olympic bronze medallist Billy Morgan is my stunt double, so it looks amazing. When I got back to London, I was set on doing as much action as I could, so I did some Krav Maga [a type of martial art] training. I started climbing a lot and I’ve been running through military bases and hanging off buildings. It’s been really fun!