Avatar: Fire and Ash director James Cameron shares how this film about loss helped him process his "true grief"
As the Avatar saga’s latest chapter hits cinemas, can director James Cameron replicate the mind-blowing success of its predecessors? No pressure…
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. James Cameron operates at the kind of scale usually reserved for plagues and empires. For instance, for his latest “very expensive” Avatar sequel, Fire and Ash, to be considered successful, “I don’t have to affect every single person on the planet,” he says, modestly. “I only need about 3 per cent.” If you’re wondering, that equates to about 240 million people: over three times the population of the UK. And if they all buy a ticket for $10 each, then that translates to a gross of $2.4 billion: placing it in the top three highest-grossing films of all time. “It is the stupidest business model in the world,” he laughs. “We’ve made a movie that fails if it’s not in the top ten in history. That’s ludicrous, right?” Ludicrous for most directors, perhaps. But not James Cameron. This is the man who directed the 1997 phenomenon Titanic, a blockbuster so over budget that at one point it looked as though it would sink his career. Instead, it became the highest-grossing film of all time. And then there’s 2009’s Avatar. Back then, it was a baffling prospect: a surreal 3D science-fiction extravaganza made almost entirely on a virtual soundstage, about a distant planet of blue aliens called the Na’vi. It overtook Titanic to became the highest-grossing film of all time. And yet, even by Cameron’s standards, the 71-year-old director admits that he has played a “dangerous game” with his two Avatar sequels, which were filmed back to back in New Zealand. “That was a big bet,” he says. “Because we had to assume that the second film would be successful enough to warrant the finishing of the third.” The first sequel, The Way of Water, was released in 2022 amidst scepticism as to whether audiences still cared about Avatar. It grossed $2.3 billion: placing it in the top three highest-grossing films of all time. More than enough to justify this third instalment, Fire and Ash. Avatar’s status as a worldwide phenomenon is often attributed to its spectacle. The CGI alien world of Pandora, the home planet of the Na’vi, is so astonishingly vivid that in 2010, CNN reported that some fans had developed “post-Avatar depression syndrome”, a condition caused by how unsatisfying the real world felt in comparison. While the Na’vi, in the words of Cameron, “might be ten feet tall, blue and have cat ears and tails, but they’re almost more expressive than we are.” A marvel achieved through groundbreaking performance capture technology: the kind that allows the 76-year-old Sigourney Weaver to play a 14-year-old alien girl. But Cameron, speaking to RT from his office in New Zealand, his voice a soft Canadian drawl, prefers to attribute Avatar’s appeal to the universal theme of family. The director has been married five times – most recently to former actor Suzy Amis in 2000 – and has five children. Notably, that’s the same number of kids as the series’ lead character, Jake Sully (played by Aussie actor Sam Worthington). A paraplegic human marine who had his consciousness transferred to a synthetic Na’vi body (known as an Avatar) after falling in love with Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Jake has now settled down and is primarily concerned with protecting his family. “These films have to sit at the top of the pyramid in terms of revenues,” says Cameron. “So I was like, ‘All right, how can I cast as wide an emotional net as possible?’ I’m a father. Every adult has parents. Everyone is part of a family. This is going to be a family story. But it’s not going to be a family story like a Disney story where the dog dies. It’s going to be a family that gets challenged, that gets ripped apart, that goes to dark places.” Hence – spoiler alert – the death of Jake and Neytiri’s first-born son Neteyam at the end of The Way of Water, where the teenager is killed during a battle with the antagonistic colonial forces of humanity. View oEmbed on the source website “Grief is often used in commercial film-making as a motivator for people to lay waste to the bad guys,” says Cameron, explaining how the loss continues to haunt the characters during Fire and Ash. “But there never seems to be a real heartfelt consequence to it, the way there is in the real world.” Grief is a theme that is especially pronounced for Cameron. Last year the director lost his close friend Jon Landau, his dedicated producing partner of more than 30 years, during the production of Fire and Ash. Landau had worked on all the Avatar films – in fact, RT interviewed him in 2022 for the last movie. “We’ve all had to process our true grief while making a movie about loss,” says Cameron. “In a funny way, it’s been cathartic.” In his younger days, like when Cameron and Landau were steering Titanic, the director had a reputation for being a cranky perfectionist. But today he cuts a more reflective figure. “I’ve had a lot of loss in my own personal life in the last ten years,” he says. “Friends, my brother, my parents. You realise that it’s an inescapable part of life, just like your own mortality. It’s never easy and it never goes away.” Just like Cameron, Jake and Neytiri find that life does not stop for grief. A few weeks after the death of Neteyam, their family is tested by the emergence of an aggressive Na’vi tribe called the Ash, led by Oona Chaplin’s vengeful Varang. The volcano-dwelling Ash people act as a counterpoint to Jake’s adopted Metkayina clan (a nautical tribe led by matriarch Ronal, played by Kate Winslet). They are also intended to explore, as Cameron explains, whether, “humanity has contaminated the purity of the Na’vi culture.” A complex question with profound consequences for Neytiri, “who becomes what you could only refer to as racist,” says Cameron. “I want to challenge the audience.” Fire and Ash is technically the midpoint in an ambitious five-part film series. But Cameron has also built in a fail-safe: he has designed the series so that its first three films feel like a complete trilogy. “If it all ends with this film that’s OK,” he says. “Because it’s not a cliffhanger ending. It all resolves in a very satisfying way.” If they do happen, he says, the fourth and fifth Avatar films will involve a six-year time jump and would feature Neytiri making her way to a dystopian Earth. The scripts are written (“they’re pretty good!”), and a portion of Avatar 4 has been filmed, but for now their fate depends on the box-office performance of Fire and Ash. “I would love to make those movies,” says Cameron, sounding uncharacteristically cautious. “But I’m a bit more pessimistic than I normally would have been.” His fear is that the media landscape has changed. “Cinema has become a few selected films that people believe will be an experience that’s worth leaving their homes for,” he says. “Post-Covid and post-streaming, it’s a depressed industry right now. And it doesn’t seem to be bouncing back.” For Cameron, Fire and Ash represents a crossroads. Will he be spending his 70s making two more Avatar movies? Or will he concentrate instead on projects such as The Last Train to Hiroshima, his mooted adaptation of Charles R Pellegrino’s book about a Japanese man who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings? “We’ll look at it when the dust settles,” says Cameron. “I have no doubts about Fire and Ash as a film. We’ve done test screenings. People cry. I’ve achieved my goals, artistically. If this one falls on its ass, it’s going to be because of forces beyond my control.” The stakes are big, the odds are long; but if there’s one inviolable rule of modern Hollywood, it’s that you don’t bet against James Cameron. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for release on Friday 19th December 2025. Check out more of our Movies coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Game of Thrones star reveals her Avatar: Fire and Ash villain is a "magnificent beast of a lady"
Oona Chaplin tells us how she brought Varang to life with intense Method prep, ritual stomps, and unflinching authority.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Tell us about Varang, the leader of the antagonistic Ash people, who you play in Fire and Ash. She is spicy! A magnificent beast of a lady. She is the leader of the Ash clan, who are very different to the other Na’vi clans. They live in a place where there was a huge natural disaster so their connection to [Pandora’s spiritual nature entity] Eywa was severed. They have this huge trauma and pain and the smart, brilliant Varang has figured out a way to harness that despair. Sam Worthington mentioned that you went “Method” for the role of Varang. What did you do to get into character? I plastered very traumatic images all over my trailer, which I don’t think I’ll do again! Also, before scenes I would do these chants and stomps to get myself into Varang’s headspace. Looking back on it now I am a little bit embarrassed… but at the time it seemed the right thing to do. Going from being the kind of person who is like, “Oh no, don’t worry about me!” to being like, “Do exactly as I say or you shall die!” – it was a big leap! What was your audition for Varang like? At the time, I had built myself a treehouse and I was determined to live in there and start a permaculture project [for sustainable land use]. And then there was this opportunity to audition for Avatar and I was like, “That’s a good reason to come out of my treehouse!” James Cameron is a hero for me. But then I met him and he’s so playful and curious. We ended up stopping the audition and talking about agriculture and biodynamics. It sounds like you were at an interesting point in your life at that time? A huge crossroads. I was in a place of really feeling the injustices of the world. I spent a lot of time in Calais building shacks in the Jungle [the refugee camp in France]. And I was very conflicted, because then I’d be going on to set and wearing a £9,000 dress. There was a lot of inner turmoil in that. The performance-capture process used in Fire and Ash meant you had to act in an empty soundstage while wearing a facial rig and no real costume. How did you find that? It’s actually the most freeing acting experience I’ve ever had! It’s like the closest thing to being back in the playground. Because you really are just creating. You have to commit to the moment 100 per cent of the time to create this imaginary realm. Your grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, was instrumental in the development of silent film. Did it feel fitting for you to be doing something as cutting-edge as performance capture? It feels like a horseshoe. Silent films for my grandpa were cutting-edge technology. I thought a lot about him on the set and what he would think about all of this. I think if he was around, he would be doing cutting-edge stuff like this, too. It was a really beautiful parallel, a cool rhyme. How is it as an actor to have that kind of showbiz history in your family – is it a double-edged sword? I spent a lot of my career trying to feel like I “deserved” the opportunities that I was getting. And it’s definitely still present in my psychology! The things that my grandfather did were so incredible. I respect and admire him so much. And nothing that I do is anywhere near what he did. And that’s OK with me now. I’m trying not to be so self-conscious and self-deprecating all the time. Instead of trying so hard to “deserve” the doors that open for me, I have started focusing on being grateful for them. This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for release on Friday 19th December 2025. Check out more of our Movies coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar star Sam Worthington reveals why he didn't interact with one key cast member during sequel filming
From the first Avatar to Fire and Ash, Sam Worthington talks 16 years of filmmaking, fatherhood, and working with Jim Cameron.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The first Avatar movie was released 16 years ago. How would you describe its impact on your life? When we started, I was 31 – I’m 49 now. Avatar made my whole world do a 180. You can’t prepare for the Hollywood industry, you’ve just got to survive the turbulence. And then you learn as you’re doing it. Unfortunately, you have to do it under a spotlight. James Cameron has a reputation for being demanding. What’s he like to work with? Jim is the best acting director I’ve ever met! He’s so detailed. It really helps. His movies are acknowledged for their spectacle, but these movies don’t work unless they have a soul and that’s what you get from the performances. I’m humbled to have Jim as my friend and mentor. When I go to other jobs, that bar is very high once you’ve worked with Jim. Before the release of The Way of Water there were doubts whether audiences still had the appetite for Avatar. Were you worried? I don’t doubt my boss, man! People thought Aliens wouldn’t match Alien. People thought Terminator 2: Judgment Day wouldn’t be as good as The Terminator. The thing about Jim is he always gives you the unexpected. Jake’s eldest son Neteyam died at the end of The Way of Water. How does that grief affect him in Fire and Ash? They’re still in a state of shock over what happened. The movie explores the struggle to hold together the things that you love. Jake goes back to his touchstone, which is soldiering. He doesn’t want violence to come, but soldiering is what he knows, and that helps him navigate these harsh emotions. You’re the father of three boys. Was it a challenge to tap into every parent’s worst nightmare? The great thing was that we filmed the two sequels simultaneously. So Neteyam’s death came early on and I knew we could use the emotion of that scene and carry it into Fire and Ash. You can’t “play” grief, otherwise the movie becomes bogged in this mire of pain and sadness. It’s more about how you resurrect out of that. View oEmbed on the source website Jake’s nemesis in Fire and Ash is Oona Chaplin’s ferocious Varang. What’s their dynamic? I feel like I didn’t really meet Oona until yesterday – I had only met Varang! Oona has her method and she stays in that energy. She’s the darkness, so she didn’t really want to interact with any of us; she wanted to keep that friction. And I respected that. I think that builds the antagonism between them. You had to learn how to free-dive for The Way of Water. Was there anything as challenging as that on Fire and Ash? I joked with Jim yesterday: I said, “In the first movie, we went to the depths of the ocean… in this one we’re going to the depths of emotion”. I don’t mind holding my breath and going under water, but when you have to dig deep like we do in this one, it’s a lot more challenging. The latest issue of Radio Times is out on Thursday – subscribe here. Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for release on Friday 19th December 2025. Check out more of our Movies coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
He’s a major star on both sides of the pond and has won awards for writing and acting — so what’s next?
Add Mayor of Kingstown to your watchlist British writer, actor and director Lennie James has just turned 60 and splits his life between the UK and the USA. He wrote and starred in the dramas Save Me and Save Me Too, he was corrupt DCI Tony Gates in Line of Duty and in May this year he won a Bafta for his performance as Barry Walker in Mr Loverman. In the USA he was Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, and in his latest role he is crime lord Frank Moses in Mayor of Kingstown, an American drama set in a community whose fortunes are entwined with those of the prisons that surround it. So what’s it like living the American dream? You have lived in America for a while now. What do you find are the cultural differences between the USA and the UK? We are two countries separated by a common language. There are similarities between Britain and America, but to almost every situation add race, add guns. Those two things define the cultural differences between our two countries. That, and size! Mayor of Kingstown is about private prisons. Was that a concept strange to wrap your head around as a Brit? It’s one that’s scary. Prisons can be big business. That means that they need prisoners. And in order to have prisoners, that affects the way that people are sentenced, and it affects who is being sentenced. Under this current administration, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out who is going to be populating the prisons and feeding that particular industry. Have you felt the difference in the past few years since Donald Trump became president again? It’s noticeable, particularly if you’re a black or brown person, a member of the LGBTQ+ community or a woman. It’s noticeable how quickly and systematically the advances that have been made are being eradicated. It’s obvious what’s going on and how someone who looks like me would feel about it. In Mayor of Kingstown you play erudite gangster Frank Moses. What attracted you to the role? I’m now looking for work that challenges me, that maybe scares me and isn’t what people expect. And this character intrigued me. I wanted to make him genial and apparently unthreatening. It was a huge amount of fun to play that juxtaposition. You won a Bafta for Mr Loverman earlier this year. How have you found the reaction to that show? There’s something particular about how people have reacted when they stop me for Mr Loverman. There is a sense that people want to say more but can’t say more. On a number of occasions I’ve tried to speak further with them and they have said, “No, I just wanted to say thank you, shake your hand and go on my way.” That always knocks me for six. A million things are said in a three-sentence exchange. And then you part ways. Are there still more opportunities for black British actors in the United States than there are in the UK? I went to LA in 2005 and there were more options, but within the context that there were more options for everyone. I’m not denying that there are limitations here for black actors. But equal to it, I felt I was doing what lots of actors were doing from all over the world: French actors, Scandi actors, South-Asian actors. Everybody was there for the same reason – because there were more options. You were 10 when you mother died, which led to you and your brother growing up in care in south London. Is it becoming harder for someone from that kind of background to break into acting? This life wasn’t a dream of mine when I was a kid. I didn’t know it was something I could dream about. The opportunities that presented themselves are what made it possible. At the moment, it seems like those doors have been pushed further closed. And I think there should be a concerted effort to reopen them. We risk losing the working-class perspective. And I think that the idea that you don’t have to make an effort to preserve the voices of the working class is criminal. You wrote 2018 drama Save Me, which felt particularly evocative in its portrayal of council estate life. What do you think TV gets wrong when telling stories about the working class? I hate it when they patronise us, caricature us, over-sentimentalise us. They get the moral compass and belief system of working-class life wrong. It’s often a story about people who hate where they’re at, but more often than not, it’s people who want better for themselves but are making the best of where they are. That’s a big difference. Some stories feel like they’re on safari. They have no core. In the past, you mentored kids with similar backgrounds to you. Do you still do that? I’m not in the same location enough at the moment to do it properly. You have to commit to being consistent. I do mentor people within my industry, particularly younger black male actors. I teach them: “How do you argue your corner without scaring people?” without the bass in your voice scaring white people, basically! And on the other side of that, how to navigate success. Some of it has taken me longer to learn than it should have. Do you have any career ambitions unfulfilled? There are parts I want to play. There are things I’d like to do. I don’t want to jinx them! One thing I can say out loud is that I’d like to write and direct a film. There’s a story that I want to tell, as a director. I just have to write it. Writing is far harder than acting. I love rewriting! But the blank page? It’s a regret of mine that I have yet to get over my fear of it.
BAFTA winner Lennie James calls out issues of the current Trump era and why we need working class voices
He’s a major star on both sides of the pond and has won awards for writing and acting – so what’s next?
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. British writer, actor and director Lennie James has just turned 60 and splits his life between the UK and the USA. He wrote and starred in the dramas Save Me and Save Me Too, he was corrupt DCI Tony Gates in Line of Duty and in May this year he won a Bafta for his performance as Barry Walker in Mr Loverman. In the USA he was Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, and in his latest role he is crime lord Frank Moses in Mayor of Kingstown, an American drama set in a community whose fortunes are entwined with those of the prisons that surround it. So what’s it like living the American dream? You have lived in America for a while now. What do you find are the cultural differences between the USA and the UK? We are two countries separated by a common language. There are similarities between Britain and America, but to almost every situation add race, add guns. Those two things define the cultural differences between our two countries. That, and size! Mayor of Kingstown is about private prisons. Was that a strange concept to wrap your head around as a Brit? It’s one that’s scary. Prisons can be big business. That means that they need prisoners. And in order to have prisoners, that affects the way that people are sentenced, and it affects who is being sentenced. Under this current administration, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out who is going to be populating the prisons and feeding that particular industry. Have you felt the difference in the past few years since Donald Trump became president again? It’s noticeable, particularly if you’re a black or brown person, a member of the LGBTQ+ community or a woman. It’s noticeable how quickly and systematically the advances that have been made are being eradicated. It’s obvious what’s going on and how someone who looks like me would feel about it. In Mayor of Kingstown you play erudite gangster Frank Moses. What attracted you to the role? I’m now looking for work that challenges me, that maybe scares me and isn’t what people expect. And this character intrigued me. I wanted to make him genial and apparently unthreatening. It was a huge amount of fun to play that juxtaposition. You won a Bafta for Mr Loverman earlier this year. How have you found the reaction to that show? There’s something particular about how people have reacted when they stop me for Mr Loverman. There is a sense that people want to say more but can’t say more. On a number of occasions I’ve tried to speak further with them and they have said, “No, I just wanted to say thank you, shake your hand and go on my way.” That always knocks me for six. A million things are said in a three-sentence exchange. And then you part ways. Are there still more opportunities for black British actors in the United States than there are in the UK? I went to LA in 2005 and there were more options, but within the context that there were more options for everyone. I’m not denying that there are limitations here for black actors. But equal to it, I felt I was doing what lots of actors were doing from all over the world: French actors, Scandi actors, South-Asian actors. Everybody was there for the same reason – because there were more options. You were 10 when you mother died, which led to you and your brother growing up in care in south London. Is it becoming harder for someone from that kind of background to break into acting? This life wasn’t a dream of mine when I was a kid. I didn’t know it was something I could dream about. The opportunities that presented themselves are what made it possible. At the moment, it seems like those doors have been pushed further closed. And I think there should be a concerted effort to reopen them. We risk losing the working-class perspective. And I think that the idea that you don’t have to make an effort to preserve the voices of the working class is criminal. You wrote 2018 drama Save Me, which felt particularly evocative in its portrayal of council estate life. What do you think TV gets wrong when telling stories about the working class? I hate it when they patronise us, caricature us, over-sentimentalise us. They get the moral compass and belief system of working-class life wrong. It’s often a story about people who hate where they’re at, but more often than not, it’s people who want better for themselves but are making the best of where they are. That’s a big difference. Some stories feel like they’re on safari. They have no core. In the past, you mentored kids with similar backgrounds to you. Do you still do that? I’m not in the same location enough at the moment to do it properly. You have to commit to being consistent. I do mentor people within my industry, particularly younger black male actors. I teach them: “How do you argue your corner without scaring people?” without the bass in your voice scaring white people, basically! And on the other side of that, how to navigate success. Some of it has taken me longer to learn than it should have. Do you have any career ambitions unfulfilled? There are parts I want to play. There are things I’d like to do. I don’t want to jinx them! One thing I can say out loud is that I’d like to write and direct a film. There’s a story that I want to tell, as a director. I just have to write it. Writing is far harder than acting. I love rewriting! But the blank page? It’s a regret of mine that I have yet to get over my fear of it. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Joining Taskmaster was like winning the lottery, says the comedian — but appearing on it really tested her temper
Add Taskmaster to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? My husband [businessman Mike Dobinson] and I live in a small flat in Brighton, so we’ve got the telly in the corner and then we’ve got our little sofa on the opposite side. I got a sore neck last night because there’s a good and a bad seat on it and I was in the bad seat… but it’s lovely and it’s ours, so it’s all right! What have you been watching? We’re bingeing The White Lotus, which is so good. It seems like the best job ever: to be taken to these gorgeous destinations and deliver great dialogue about being the worst people in the world. Who controls the TV remote? Me! I’m terrible for chipping in with my own personal thoughts about what we would do in that scenario. I do my husband’s head in by constantly pressing pause and going, “Can you imagine if I did that?” And he’s always like, “Yeah... Should we carry on watching?” How big a deal was it when you got the call from Taskmaster? It’s the show that everybody wants to do. When the offer came in, I felt like I’d won the lottery! I’ve been waiting and hoping that I might get asked. It’s a bit like when your parents go, “Why don’t you just hand in a CV and ask if they’re hiring?” It’s not for lack of wanting, believe me! I haven’t turned it down these past five years. Did anything surprise you about being on the show? My temper! I’ve watched the show so many times and thought, “You just need to stay calm and think laterally; take a step back.” When you’re there, you’re filming back-to-back tasks from early in the morning to late at night and it’s filmed in real time. You’re also not given any information, so you do feel quite exposed. I’ve learnt that I’m not great under pressure! What have you learnt from being on panel shows? When I started doing them, there was definitely a style that was very “elbows out”. Five people would start talking at once and whoever kept talking would get the gag in the edit, and that is tiring across a three-hour record! Maybe it’s to do with podcasts, but a big change is that people now want more natural chat. They want a bunch of comedians getting together and having an authentic conversation that ends up wittier than the average dinner party. The gender balance of British panel shows is a recurring conversation… You look at early series of Mock the Week and it was all the same kind of male. I was lucky that my breakthrough into panel shows was on the tail end of people clocking on to that. Just look at this series of Taskmaster. There’s such a wide breadth of humour and age that’s hilarious to blend. It makes a better show. Don’t get me wrong, talent always comes first, but if you book five similar comics, it’s five people making the same type of jokes. That wears thin. Your mum runs Louder than Words, a literary festival in Manchester. Was that creative background helpful for a comedian? She started that festival on her own ten years ago and it’s still going. I’m really proud of her! I think that’s helped inspire the gung-ho “just give it a go” attitude you need for stand-up. My dad is the quiet one. Did growing up in Yorkshire shape your sense of humour? Yorkshire has a reputation for being somehow both blunt and friendly and I think that’s a massive testament to its sense of humour! It can get misconstrued by a lot of academic, London-based people as being basic, entry-level comedy. But it’s mass appeal and just as valid as any Oxbridge Footlights-style comedy.
Taskmaster's Maisie Adam: "You look at early series of Mock the Week and it was all the same kind of male"
Joining Taskmaster was like winning the lottery, says the comedian – but appearing on it really tested her temper.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? My husband [businessman Mike Dobinson] and I live in a small flat in Brighton, so we’ve got the telly in the corner and then we’ve got our little sofa on the opposite side. I got a sore neck last night because there’s a good and a bad seat on it and I was in the bad seat… but it’s lovely and it’s ours, so it’s all right! What have you been watching? We’re bingeing The White Lotus, which is so good. It seems like the best job ever: to be taken to these gorgeous destinations and deliver great dialogue about being the worst people in the world. Who controls the TV remote? Me! I’m terrible for chipping in with my own personal thoughts about what we would do in that scenario. I do my husband’s head in by constantly pressing pause and going, “Can you imagine if I did that?” And he’s always like, “Yeah... Should we carry on watching?” How big a deal was it when you got the call from Taskmaster? It’s the show that everybody wants to do. When the offer came in, I felt like I’d won the lottery! I’ve been waiting and hoping that I might get asked. It’s a bit like when your parents go, “Why don’t you just hand in a CV and ask if they’re hiring?” It’s not for lack of wanting, believe me! I haven’t turned it down these past five years. Did anything surprise you about being on the show? My temper! I’ve watched the show so many times and thought, “You just need to stay calm and think laterally; take a step back.” When you’re there, you’re filming back-to-back tasks from early in the morning to late at night and it’s filmed in real time. You’re also not given any information, so you do feel quite exposed. I’ve learnt that I’m not great under pressure! What have you learnt from being on panel shows? When I started doing them, there was definitely a style that was very “elbows out”. Five people would start talking at once and whoever kept talking would get the gag in the edit, and that is tiring across a three-hour record! Maybe it’s to do with podcasts, but a big change is that people now want more natural chat. They want a bunch of comedians getting together and having an authentic conversation that ends up wittier than the average dinner party. The gender balance of British panel shows is a recurring conversation… You look at early series of Mock the Week and it was all the same kind of male. I was lucky that my breakthrough into panel shows was on the tail end of people clocking on to that. Just look at this series of Taskmaster. There’s such a wide breadth of humour and age that’s hilarious to blend. It makes a better show. Don’t get me wrong, talent always comes first, but if you book five similar comics, it’s five people making the same type of jokes. That wears thin. Your mum runs Louder than Words, a literary festival in Manchester. Was that creative background helpful for a comedian? She started that festival on her own ten years ago and it’s still going. I’m really proud of her! I think that’s helped inspire the gung-ho “just give it a go” attitude you need for stand-up. My dad is the quiet one. Did growing up in Yorkshire shape your sense of humour? Yorkshire has a reputation for being somehow both blunt and friendly and I think that’s a massive testament to its sense of humour! It can get misconstrued by a lot of academic, London-based people as being basic, entry-level comedy. But it’s mass appeal and just as valid as any Oxbridge Footlights-style comedy. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The acclaimed actor on how to cheat death, fame’s “hall of mirrors” — and one small misstep for Harriskind
Add Foundation to your watchlist. Series 3 is available to stream on Apple TV+ from Friday 11 July. British actor Jared Harris has starred in some of the most critically acclaimed TV shows of the 21st century. He played tragic Englishman Lane Pryce in Mad Men, Soviet scientist Valery Legasov in Chernobyl and King George VI in The Crown. But for now the 63-year-old has left period drama behind, playing prophetic genius Hari Seldon in Apple TV+ sci-fi epic Foundation. About to kick off its third series, the show is based around a science capable of mapping out the future… One of Foundation’s core themes is how seemingly tiny events can have profound consequences for the future. Has that made you think about our own future as a society? There are all sorts of crossroads. If the US Supreme Court had made a different decision in 2000, Al Gore would have been the president. Maybe then we would have a completely different attitude towards climate change. We’d probably be in a different situation now. In Foundation, those tiny events snowball into huge inflection points called Seldon Crises. Are we nearing our own Seldon Crisis? I think we’re constantly going through those. When I was younger we were living under the fear of nuclear armageddon. The Cold War was something that would keep you up at night. Now we face different sorts of existential crises. You wanted to go into space as a child, so is Foundation the next best thing? Of course! The Apollo programme was such a big thing when I was young. Unfortunately I missed the Moon landing because my older brother had discovered a bottle of cider and persuaded eight-year-old me to drink some. Only it wasn’t cider, it was paraffin! So we were having our stomachs pumped when Neil Armstrong was walking on the Moon. Your TV CV is impressive. What do you look for in a script? You’re looking for something that is a story that you’re interested in telling. If you’re struggling to turn the pages and get to the end, that’s probably something you should let somebody else do, who’s going to be excited about it. View Green Video on the source website What was it that excited you about Foundation? When I read the first season, I found it fascinating that the main characters have all figured out how to cheat death. It’s something that we’d all love to figure out, but what do you give up in return? You once said that you took a role in Marvel movie Morbius because you have a mortgage. As an actor, how do you strike that balance between money and art? You’ve got bills to pay. You’ve got people you have to look after. You say yes to things because they tick certain boxes. It’s quite rare that something comes along that ticks all the boxes: “It’s a great part with a great director, it’s well-written, you’re going to get well paid for it and it’s going to be seen by lots of people.” Maybe three times in your whole career it’s going to be something like that, if you’re lucky! Taking on bigger roles obviously leads to greater recognition. What is your relationship with fame? I can walk down the street and not be bothered. My take on fame is that it’s a hall of mirrors, like at a funfair, and it distorts the way people look at you and how you see the world. It’s extremely difficult to deal with. Did you learn any lessons about fame from your father, Richard? Yeah. He had his own place that he would get away to. He was always pretty resolutely himself. He didn’t hang around Hollywood and do the Hollywood things, not that I knew. And you watch from a distance when you’re a child; watching the way people would interact with him and how he’d deal with them. How was it growing up in the shadow of such a famous actor? I mean, he was my dad. I couldn’t compare it to something else. Sometimes I’d be aware. You turn the TV on and he’s on Top of the Pops; that was pretty extraordinary. The biggest difference about him was that he lived by his own rules. That was exciting and also confusing because you’re taught as a child that these are the rules and these are things you have to live by. Then you have somebody who ignored all the rules and lived life his own way. Do you ever think what it would have been like to share a scene with him as an actor? It’s one of the regrets of my life that didn’t happen. There were a couple of times that we tried to. There was one point when we were trying to put together a production of Long Day’s Journey into Night, but it didn’t happen. I was always impressed by the detail in his performances. I was constantly discovering something new in the thought process of what he was trying to get across. I think it would have been amazing.
Jared Harris reveals one of his biggest regrets – never working with his screen icon father
The acclaimed actor on how to cheat death, fame’s “hall of mirrors” — and one small misstep for Harriskind.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. British actor Jared Harris has starred in some of the most critically acclaimed TV shows of the 21st century. He played tragic Englishman Lane Pryce in Mad Men, Soviet scientist Valery Legasov in Chernobyl and King George VI in The Crown. But for now the 63-year-old has left period drama behind, playing prophetic genius Hari Seldon in Apple TV+ sci-fi epic Foundation. About to kick off its third series, the show is based around a science capable of mapping out the future… One of Foundation’s core themes is how seemingly tiny events can have profound consequences for the future. Has that made you think about our own future as a society? There are all sorts of crossroads. If the US Supreme Court had made a different decision in 2000, Al Gore would have been the president. Maybe then we would have a completely different attitude towards climate change. We’d probably be in a different situation now. In Foundation, those tiny events snowball into huge inflection points called Seldon Crises. Are we nearing our own Seldon Crisis? I think we’re constantly going through those. When I was younger we were living under the fear of nuclear armageddon. The Cold War was something that would keep you up at night. Now we face different sorts of existential crises. You wanted to go into space as a child, so is Foundation the next best thing? Of course! The Apollo programme was such a big thing when I was young. Unfortunately I missed the Moon landing because my older brother had discovered a bottle of cider and persuaded eight-year-old me to drink some. Only it wasn’t cider, it was paraffin! So we were having our stomachs pumped when Neil Armstrong was walking on the Moon. Your TV CV is impressive. What do you look for in a script? You’re looking for something that is a story that you’re interested in telling. If you’re struggling to turn the pages and get to the end, that’s probably something you should let somebody else do, who’s going to be excited about it. What was it that excited you about Foundation? When I read the first season, I found it fascinating that the main characters have all figured out how to cheat death. It’s something that we’d all love to figure out, but what do you give up in return? You once said that you took a role in Marvel movie Morbius because you have a mortgage. As an actor, how do you strike that balance between money and art? You’ve got bills to pay. You’ve got people you have to look after. You say yes to things because they tick certain boxes. It’s quite rare that something comes along that ticks all the boxes: “It’s a great part with a great director, it’s well-written, you’re going to get well paid for it and it’s going to be seen by lots of people.” Maybe three times in your whole career it’s going to be something like that, if you’re lucky! Taking on bigger roles obviously leads to greater recognition. What is your relationship with fame? I can walk down the street and not be bothered. My take on fame is that it’s a hall of mirrors, like at a funfair, and it distorts the way people look at you and how you see the world. It’s extremely difficult to deal with. Did you learn any lessons about fame from your father, Richard? Yeah. He had his own place that he would get away to. He was always pretty resolutely himself. He didn’t hang around Hollywood and do the Hollywood things, not that I knew. And you watch from a distance when you’re a child; watching the way people would interact with him and how he’d deal with them. How was it growing up in the shadow of such a famous actor? I mean, he was my dad. I couldn’t compare it to something else. Sometimes I’d be aware. You turn the TV on and he’s on Top of the Pops; that was pretty extraordinary. The biggest difference about him was that he lived by his own rules. That was exciting and also confusing because you’re taught as a child that these are the rules and these are things you have to live by. Then you have somebody who ignored all the rules and lived life his own way. Do you ever think what it would have been like to share a scene with him as an actor? It’s one of the regrets of my life that didn’t happen. There were a couple of times that we tried to. There was one point when we were trying to put together a production of Long Day’s Journey into Night, but it didn’t happen. I was always impressed by the detail in his performances. I was constantly discovering something new in the thought process of what he was trying to get across. I think it would have been amazing. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Foundation season 3 is available to stream on Apple TV+ from Friday 11 July – sign up to Apple TV+ now. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
As Star Wars origin series Andor returns, creator Tony Gilroy reveals why he insisted on turning his back on the Skywalkers and embracing the dark side
This article was first published in Radio Times magazine in May 2025. Add Andor to your watchlist The American screenwriter Tony Gilroy, a cerebral man best known for making the gritty Bourne action movies, had one condition before signing on to create a Star Wars TV show. “I was just not interested in the Skywalkers,” he tells RT. “I said to Disney, ‘You’ve made all these films about one group of people.’ There are billions of creatures in the galaxy and most have never heard of Jedis or the Force. Let’s get out of the front of the restaurant and go into the kitchen. That’s where I’ll be.” George Lucas’s Star Wars is, at heart, a space opera for children; morality tales about light versus dark, good versus evil. But Andor is something different. Indeed, there are no Skywalkers here. No lightsabers. No cute little Ewoks or Baby Yodas. In fact, the series – which has become the most critically acclaimed Star Wars story of the past decade – hardly feels like Star Wars at all. Instead, it’s a moody spy thriller in the mould of John le Carré, set during the height of the Galactic Empire, told in the serious, sophisticated style of prestige television. It doesn’t exactly scream “Disney”. “I mean, my God,” says Gilroy, “in series one we shoot a cop in the face in the opening scene – outside a brothel!” Andor is something extraordinary – Star Wars for adults. Ask a fan of the show what it’s about, and they might tell you different things. The scrappy rise of the Rebel Alliance. The suffocating oppression of the Empire. But primarily, it’s about Cassian Andor – played by Mexican actor Diego Luna – who was first introduced in 2016 Star Wars spin-off movie Rogue One. That film told the story of how seasoned spy Andor sacrificed himself to steal the plans for the Death Star; the planet-destroying superweapon introduced in 1977’s original Star Wars movie (and later blown up by Luke Skywalker). Andor rewinds the timeline back a further five years. It is, in the words of Luna, a chronicle of how a “cynical, individualistic” thief became a revolutionary hero. “A lot has to happen before he becomes that man,” he says. When it debuted in 2022, Andor did not arrive amid optimism or fanfare. It was a spin-off of a spin-off, a prequel to a prequel, an origin story about a character few people cared about. As viewers soon realised, however, what set it apart from other Disney Star Wars projects was that – to quote Gilroy – it “tries very rigorously to be more serious about this s**t than anybody ever has been”. George Lucas’s original Star Wars films were not without their own seriousness, of course. The Rebels in the first Star Wars movie in 1977 were based on the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The 1999–2005 prequel trilogy follows the death of democracy. Yet Gilroy was interested in specifics, in taking the more operatic concepts of Star Wars and considering how they would work in reality. For example: where did the Rebel Alliance get the money to afford their weapons and spaceships? The first half of season one follows Andor as he is recruited by a mysterious man named Luthen Rael – a grizzled rebel spymaster played by Stellan Skarsgard – to pull off the daring heist of a fortified Imperial vault. Like much of Andor, the heist was inspired by real revolutionary history, specifically, Joseph Stalin’s 1907 robbery of a Georgian bank, the proceeds of which helped finance the Russian Revolution. “I’m an autodidactic, dinner-table history idiot,” says Gilroy. “The French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution – Andor is like a catalogue of a couple of thousand years of repetitive cruelty and oppression.” Now, for Andor’s 12-episode second series (which takes place over four years), Gilroy dives deeper into the psychology of rebellion, exploring what it would take for the once-selfish Andor to become someone who would die for the cause. “In Rogue One he has a speech saying he couldn’t face himself if he didn’t give everything,” explains Luna. “For him to understand that line, he has to witness a lot of darkness.” Darkness, of course, isn’t just the preserve of the villains. There’s a scene in Andor’s new series in which Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic, the director of the Death Star project, rolls his eyes at a dissenter and sneers, “My rebel is your terrorist, something like that?” It’s a line that encapsulates one of Andor’s more challenging themes – the moral complexities of resistance, and the ruthlessness required to topple a regime. “It takes the courage of people to resist empire,” says Irish actress Genevieve O’Reilly, who reprises her role as senator Mon Mothma, the future leader of the Rebellion. “History decides who we call heroes and who we don’t.” The respectable Mothma spends much of Andor politicking in the elite circles of the galaxy. But the Rebellion is built on the dirty work of the ruthless Luthen Rael, whose pragmatic methods include bombings and assassinations. “I’m condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them,” he growls in the first series. “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.” “There’s a great variety of opinion within rebellion,” says Gilroy. “What happens if you go violent? What happens if you don’t? What constitutes the proper rules of engagement for resistance? If you’re going to do an honest show about this topic, you have to be able to confront all the colours of it.” Multibillion-dollar, family-friendly entertainment corporations don’t tend to be fans of violent revolutionaries. But Gilroy insists that Disney have been nothing but supportive of Andor’s approach. “I don’t have a Game of Thrones toolbox with violence and sex,” he says, “but I’ve never had any ideological pushback.” A request he did receive was to “change one line” in a speech delivered by Andor’s mother, Maarva, played by Fiona Shaw, at the end of series one. As the speech reaches its crescendo, she cries out “Fight the Empire!” – a watering down of the original line, “F*** the Empire!” “I can understand why,” says Gilroy drily. The Empire itself is drawn with complexity. One of the show’s most fascinating characters is Dedra Meero, a sour-faced officer who works for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), essentially the Empire’s Gestapo. “She’s one of the most complex women I’ve played,” says Olivier Award-winning Irish actor Denise Gough, who found herself unconsciously admiring Meero’s competent zeal for tracking down rebels. “Is she a psychopath? A cult member? Is she just following orders? In series one, I kept thinking, ‘She’s so excellent at her job!’ But, you know, she is a fascist…” George Lucas originally took inspiration from Nazi Germany for the aesthetics of the Empire. Hence, “stormtroopers”. Yet, while Star Wars has traditionally painted the Empire in broad strokes of cartoonish evil, Andor reimagines it as something more ordinary: a vast totalitarian system full of petty office politics and soul-crushing bureaucracy. “The ISB is like Veep or The Thick of It,” says Gough, “with people bitching at each other and everyone getting annoyed.” This banality of evil is typified by a major plotline in season two, in which Dedra Meero attends an ostensibly mundane meeting about the most effective way to turn public opinion against Ghorman, a planet the Empire wants to ravage for resources. The ambitious Meero senses a career opportunity. “My view of the Empire is that it’s human beings in an institution,” says Gilroy, who drew upon the themes of his George Clooney-starring legal thriller Michael Clayton. “There might be a bunch of true believers. But a lot of people are more worried about getting a promotion. I’m fascinated by people who exile themselves from what they truly believe in order to live.” Some real-life parallels cut even closer. Beyond the Nazi comparison, in 2018 Star Wars creator George Lucas told fellow director James Cameron that the “big, highly technical Empire” was also meant to resemble the imperial might of 1970s America – especially its prosecution of the Vietnam War. Andor, arguably the most political Star Wars project to date, finds itself airing during a similarly febrile time. In 2022, Fiona Shaw described Andor as a “scurrilous” reaction to the rising authoritarianism of a “Trumpian world”. By contrast, Tony Gilroy – and much of the cast – are reluctant to entangle the show with current events. “It felt that way when the first season came out,” says Diego Luna, carefully. “[As humans] we tend to repeat ourselves. We need reminding what our responsibilities are as citizens, as a community. It’s always relevant.” “We started the show years ago,” adds Gilroy, who is keen that Andor is not perceived purely as a comment on modern politics. “We don’t look at a newspaper while we’re writing. And that’s not just me being safe and cynical. The show speaks for itself. And what the show has to say is taking place in the galaxy. Any similarity with what’s happening [in the real world] is sadly a repetitive cycle that’s been happening all through history. “We all think that we live in some special time,” he says, firmly. “But just pick up a history book, open a page, and put yourself in there.” Andor’s first three episodes launch on Disney+ on 23 April, with more episodes following each Wednesday
Andor creator: 'We try to be more serious about Star Wars – we shot a cop in the face in the opening scene'
The spin-off's creator reveals why he insisted on turning his back on the Skywalkers and embracing the dark side.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The American screenwriter Tony Gilroy, a cerebral man best known for making the gritty Bourne action movies, had one condition before signing on to create a Star Wars TV show. “I was just not interested in the Skywalkers,” he tells Radio Times magazine. “I said to Disney, ‘You’ve made all these films about one group of people.’ There are billions of creatures in the galaxy and most have never heard of Jedis or the Force. Let’s get out of the front of the restaurant and go into the kitchen. That’s where I’ll be.” George Lucas’s Star Wars is, at heart, a space opera for children; morality tales about light versus dark, good versus evil. But Andor is something different. Indeed, there are no Skywalkers here. No lightsabers. No cute little Ewoks or Baby Yodas. In fact, the series – which has become the most critically acclaimed Star Wars story of the past decade – hardly feels like Star Wars at all. Instead, it’s a moody spy thriller in the mould of John le Carré, set during the height of the Galactic Empire, told in the serious, sophisticated style of prestige television. It doesn’t exactly scream “Disney”. “I mean, my God,” says Gilroy, “in series one we shoot a cop in the face in the opening scene – outside a brothel!” Andor is something extraordinary – Star Wars for adults. Ask a fan of the show what it’s about, and they might tell you different things. The scrappy rise of the Rebel Alliance. The suffocating oppression of the Empire. But primarily, it’s about Cassian Andor – played by Mexican actor Diego Luna – who was first introduced in 2016 Star Wars spin-off movie Rogue One. That film told the story of how seasoned spy Andor sacrificed himself to steal the plans for the Death Star; the planet-destroying superweapon introduced in 1977’s original Star Wars movie (and later blown up by Luke Skywalker). View Green Video on the source website Andor rewinds the timeline back a further five years. It is, in the words of Luna, a chronicle of how a “cynical, individualistic” thief became a revolutionary hero. “A lot has to happen before he becomes that man,” he says. When it debuted in 2022, Andor did not arrive amid optimism or fanfare. It was a spin-off of a spin-off, a prequel to a prequel, an origin story about a character few people cared about. As viewers soon realised, however, what set it apart from other Disney Star Wars projects was that – to quote Gilroy – it “tries very rigorously to be more serious about this s**t than anybody ever has been”. George Lucas’s original Star Wars films were not without their own seriousness, of course. The Rebels in the first Star Wars movie in 1977 were based on the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The 1999–2005 prequel trilogy follows the death of democracy. Yet Gilroy was interested in specifics, in taking the more operatic concepts of Star Wars and considering how they would work in reality. For example: where did the Rebel Alliance get the money to afford their weapons and spaceships? The first half of season one follows Andor as he is recruited by a mysterious man named Luthen Rael – a grizzled rebel spymaster played by Stellan Skarsgard – to pull off the daring heist of a fortified Imperial vault. Like much of Andor, the heist was inspired by real revolutionary history, specifically, Joseph Stalin’s 1907 robbery of a Georgian bank, the proceeds of which helped finance the Russian Revolution. “I’m an autodidactic, dinner-table history idiot,” says Gilroy. “The French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution – Andor is like a catalogue of a couple of thousand years of repetitive cruelty and oppression.” Now, for Andor’s 12-episode second series (which takes place over four years), Gilroy dives deeper into the psychology of rebellion, exploring what it would take for the once-selfish Andor to become someone who would die for the cause. “In Rogue One he has a speech saying he couldn’t face himself if he didn’t give everything,” explains Luna. “For him to understand that line, he has to witness a lot of darkness.” Darkness, of course, isn’t just the preserve of the villains. There’s a scene in Andor’s new series in which Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic, the director of the Death Star project, rolls his eyes at a dissenter and sneers, “My rebel is your terrorist, something like that?” It’s a line that encapsulates one of Andor’s more challenging themes – the moral complexities of resistance, and the ruthlessness required to topple a regime. “It takes the courage of people to resist empire,” says Irish actress Genevieve O’Reilly, who reprises her role as senator Mon Mothma, the future leader of the Rebellion. “History decides who we call heroes and who we don’t.” The respectable Mothma spends much of Andor politicking in the elite circles of the galaxy. But the Rebellion is built on the dirty work of the ruthless Luthen Rael, whose pragmatic methods include bombings and assassinations. “I’m condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them,” he growls in the first series. “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.” “There’s a great variety of opinion within rebellion,” says Gilroy. “What happens if you go violent? What happens if you don’t? What constitutes the proper rules of engagement for resistance? If you’re going to do an honest show about this topic, you have to be able to confront all the colours of it.” Multibillion-dollar, family-friendly entertainment corporations don’t tend to be fans of violent revolutionaries. But Gilroy insists that Disney have been nothing but supportive of Andor’s approach. “I don’t have a Game of Thrones toolbox with violence and sex,” he says, “but I’ve never had any ideological pushback.” A request he did receive was to “change one line” in a speech delivered by Andor’s mother, Maarva, played by Fiona Shaw, at the end of series one. As the speech reaches its crescendo, she cries out “Fight the Empire!” – a watering down of the original line, “F**k the Empire!” “I can understand why,” says Gilroy drily. The Empire itself is drawn with complexity. One of the show’s most fascinating characters is Dedra Meero, a sour-faced officer who works for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), essentially the Empire’s Gestapo. “She’s one of the most complex women I’ve played,” says Olivier Award-winning Irish actor Denise Gough, who found herself unconsciously admiring Meero’s competent zeal for tracking down rebels. “Is she a psychopath? A cult member? Is she just following orders? In series one, I kept thinking, ‘She’s so excellent at her job!’ But, you know, she is a fascist…” George Lucas originally took inspiration from Nazi Germany for the aesthetics of the Empire. Hence, “stormtroopers”. Yet, while Star Wars has traditionally painted the Empire in broad strokes of cartoonish evil, Andor reimagines it as something more ordinary: a vast totalitarian system full of petty office politics and soul-crushing bureaucracy. “The ISB is like Veep or The Thick of It,” says Gough, “with people bitching at each other and everyone getting annoyed.” This banality of evil is typified by a major plotline in season two, in which Dedra Meero attends an ostensibly mundane meeting about the most effective way to turn public opinion against Ghorman, a planet the Empire wants to ravage for resources. The ambitious Meero senses a career opportunity. “My view of the Empire is that it’s human beings in an institution,” says Gilroy, who drew upon the themes of his George Clooney-starring legal thriller Michael Clayton. “There might be a bunch of true believers. But a lot of people are more worried about getting a promotion. I’m fascinated by people who exile themselves from what they truly believe in order to live.” Some real-life parallels cut even closer. Beyond the Nazi comparison, in 2018 Star Wars creator George Lucas told fellow director James Cameron that the “big, highly technical Empire” was also meant to resemble the imperial might of 1970s America – especially its prosecution of the Vietnam War. Andor, arguably the most political Star Wars project to date, finds itself airing during a similarly febrile time. In 2022, Fiona Shaw described Andor as a “scurrilous” reaction to the rising authoritarianism of a “Trumpian world”. By contrast, Tony Gilroy – and much of the cast – are reluctant to entangle the show with current events. “It felt that way when the first season came out,” says Diego Luna, carefully. “[As humans] we tend to repeat ourselves. We need reminding what our responsibilities are as citizens, as a community. It’s always relevant.” “We started the show years ago,” adds Gilroy, who is keen that Andor is not perceived purely as a comment on modern politics. “We don’t look at a newspaper while we’re writing. And that’s not just me being safe and cynical. The show speaks for itself. And what the show has to say is taking place in the galaxy. Any similarity with what’s happening [in the real world] is sadly a repetitive cycle that’s been happening all through history. “We all think that we live in some special time,” he says, firmly. “But just pick up a history book, open a page, and put yourself in there.” Andor is available to stream on Disney Plus – season 2 arrives on Wednesday 23rd April 2025. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The IT Crowd star is back on home turf in his culture-clash comedy drama where Hollywood meets small-town Ireland
Add Small Town, Big Story to your watchlist Irish actor Chris O’Dowd is known for the Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd and the hit American romcom Bridesmaids, but it was the experience of shooting his 2012 coming-of-age Sky comedy Moone Boy, filmed in Boyle, where he grew up, that inspired him to write and direct his new show, Small Town, Big Story. Set in the fictional rural town of Drumbán, it follows a community that’s taken over by a huge Hollywood production. And for O’Dowd — who recently moved from Los Angeles to London with his wife, writer Dawn O’Porter, and their two sons, aged ten and seven — it was a chance to return to his roots. Small Town, Big Story took you back home to Boyle. What made you want to film there again? I’d been looking for a reason to go back and film close to home. I was stuck in Los Angeles during lockdown in 2021 and we were living by a ravine. I’d walk the dog near it for two hours a day and it was the closest I had felt to home – the scenery reminded me of the forests where I grew up. It gave me a feeling of being far away. And this show is how that feeling manifested itself. How did the experience of making Moone Boy a decade ago inspire your new story about a small town swallowed up by Hollywood? It’s not a coincidence! The locals love you at first and then eventually it’s like, “Oh my God, my driveway is blocked again!” You get into the practicalities of life and the novelty wears off. It’s interesting how unnatural it all feels. People that you’ve known all your life come up to you wearing a little bit more make-up than they usually would! Was there anything in particular you wanted to capture about small-town Irish life? I like that nobody has moved on from the dynamics that they had at school! That happens in small towns more than people realise. You see it in the bar scenes where these middle-aged men are still ribbing each other. It’s so juvenile and silly, although it has its own kind of intimacy to it. Christina Hendricks plays Wendy, a Hollywood producer with a connection to Drumbán. What’s the story behind casting her? I hadn’t met her before. I was shooting something and I called my wife, Dawn, and I was saying, “Oh, we’re still trying to cast the female lead,” and she was like, “You know who’s in the kitchen? Christina Hendricks.” I’m like, “…from Mad Men?!” They had this connection through some fashion line or something. “Well,” I said, “she’d be great!” You recently moved from Los Angeles to London. What was the thinking behind that? We moved back last summer. Dawn is English so we always knew we were going to come back. We thought we would wait until the kids were in secondary school but then Covid hit and we suddenly felt very far away. Our parents were getting old, I wanted to visit Ireland more… I loved LA, though. I remember somebody asking, “Does it not just feel like being on holiday all the time?” and I was like, “Yes! That’s the draw!” Cillian Murphy joked that he moved back to Ireland because his kids were developing “posh English accents”. Is that sense of Irishness important to you, too? I don’t know how I’d feel about them having British accents – there’s a lot of generational trauma there! Them having American accents I can live with but they are a bit of a mish-mash at the moment – let’s see how it plays out! Do you take them back to Ireland? We go back a good bit. They love Nana’s pancakes. My eldest has really got into the habit of wearing Ireland sports gear and he’s this kind of fiery redhead. Somehow, it’s been passed through us! Your kids are growing up the children of famous parents. Is it strange how different their childhood is from your own? That’s something I think about all the time. I try to regulate it. I don’t think they even knew I was an actor until a year or two ago. And now they only know because every now and then people stop me for a photo. It must be weird for them for people to know who their dad is. But it’s never really a part of our lives. Is The IT Crowd still the thing people recognise you for? It depends where I am. If I’m in Ireland, it’d be Moone Boy; if it was America, it’d be Bridesmaids. Although I was at a party once in LA and this guy comes up to me and says, “Oh my God, I play music and I have tinnitus. We’d go touring and I wouldn’t be able to sleep. But I’d put on The IT Crowd and it’d just relax me. You saved rock ’n’ roll, dude!” Anyway, he was the guitarist in Green Day! Have there been times since The IT Crowd where you have had to suggest “turning it off and on again”? Yes! It’s true all the time! It works! Small Town, Big Story is on Thursday at 2.00am and 9.00pm Sky Atlantic/Max
Chris O'Dowd on returning to his roots for Small Town, Big Story: "I'd been looking for a reason"
The IT Crowd star and Moone Boy creator speaks to Radio Times about his new Sky series.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Irish actor Chris O’Dowd is known for the Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd and the hit American romcom Bridesmaids, but it was the experience of shooting his 2012 coming-of-age Sky comedy Moone Boy, filmed in Boyle, where he grew up, that inspired him to write and direct his new show, Small Town, Big Story. Set in the fictional rural town of Drumbán, it follows a community that’s taken over by a huge Hollywood production. And for O’Dowd — who recently moved from Los Angeles to London with his wife, writer Dawn O’Porter, and their two sons, aged 10 and seven — it was a chance to return to his roots. Small Town, Big Story took you back home to Boyle. What made you want to film there again? I’d been looking for a reason to go back and film close to home. I was stuck in Los Angeles during lockdown in 2021 and we were living by a ravine. I’d walk the dog near it for two hours a day and it was the closest I had felt to home – the scenery reminded me of the forests where I grew up. It gave me a feeling of being far away. And this show is how that feeling manifested itself. How did the experience of making Moone Boy a decade ago inspire your new story about a small town swallowed up by Hollywood? It’s not a coincidence! The locals love you at first and then eventually it’s like: "Oh my God, my driveway is blocked again!" You get into the practicalities of life and the novelty wears off. It’s interesting how unnatural it all feels. People that you’ve known all your life come up to you wearing a little bit more make-up than they usually would! Was there anything in particular you wanted to capture about small-town Irish life? I like that nobody has moved on from the dynamics that they had at school! That happens in small towns more than people realise. You see it in the bar scenes where these middle-aged men are still ribbing each other. It’s so juvenile and silly, although it has its own kind of intimacy to it. Christina Hendricks plays Wendy, a Hollywood producer with a connection to Drumbán. What’s the story behind casting her? I hadn’t met her before. I was shooting something and I called my wife, Dawn, and I was saying, "Oh, we’re still trying to cast the female lead," and she was like, "You know who’s in the kitchen? Christina Hendricks." I’m like, "…from Mad Men?!" They had this connection through some fashion line or something. "Well," I said, "she’d be great!" You recently moved from Los Angeles to London. What was the thinking behind that? We moved back last summer. Dawn is English so we always knew we were going to come back. We thought we would wait until the kids were in secondary school but then Covid hit and we suddenly felt very far away. Our parents were getting old, I wanted to visit Ireland more… I loved LA, though. I remember somebody asking, “Does it not just feel like being on holiday all the time?” and I was like, “Yes! That’s the draw!” Cillian Murphy joked that he moved back to Ireland because his kids were developing "posh English accents". Is that sense of Irishness important to you, too? I don’t know how I’d feel about them having British accents – there’s a lot of generational trauma there! Them having American accents I can live with, but they are a bit of a mish-mash at the moment – let’s see how it plays out! Do you take them back to Ireland? We go back a good bit. They love Nana’s pancakes. My eldest has really got into the habit of wearing Ireland sports gear and he’s this kind of fiery redhead. Somehow, it’s been passed through us! Your kids are growing up the children of famous parents. Is it strange how different their childhood is from your own? That’s something I think about all the time. I try to regulate it. I don’t think they even knew I was an actor until a year or two ago. And now they only know because every now and then people stop me for a photo. It must be weird for them for people to know who their dad is. But it’s never really a part of our lives. Is The IT Crowd still the thing people recognise you for? It depends where I am. If I’m in Ireland, it’d be Moone Boy; if it was America, it’d be Bridesmaids. Although I was at a party once in LA and this guy comes up to me and says, "Oh my God, I play music and I have tinnitus. We’d go touring and I wouldn’t be able to sleep. But I’d put on The IT Crowd and it’d just relax me. You saved rock ’n’ roll, dude!" Anyway, he was the guitarist in Green Day! Have there been times since The IT Crowd where you have had to suggest "turning it off and on again"? Yes! It’s true all the time! It works! The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Small Town, Big Story premieres on Sky and NOW on Thursday 27th February 2025. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew creator says he'll "protect" young cast as they opt to "stay off social media"
The cast and creators of Skeleton Crew, including Jude Law, spoke with Radio Times magazine.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. When Jude Law was seven years old, he would run around his playground at school in Blackheath, London, pretending to be Luke Skywalker. “We had those really early, fat, chunky lightsabers,” he says, reflecting on the years in the late '70s when Star Wars mania first swept the UK. “They didn’t make any noises. They barely lit up. But we would go ‘pew-pew!’ and bash them about!” There is a fitting symmetry, of course, in the child who once pretended to be in Star Wars growing up to be in it for real. Yet for Law, now 51 and the star of the new Disney Plus series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, it means more than that. “That leap of the imagination,” he says. “Play-acting as a kid, having that connection with roles that you want to recreate – it’s probably the reason I’m an actor.” That sense of childhood wonder – the generations of kids transfixed by starships, Jedi and adventure – is writ large in Skeleton Crew, the Star Wars story that puts the kids in charge. It follows four pre-teen protagonists who stumble upon a mysterious spaceship in the suburbs of their seemingly mundane, Earth-like planet. The wide-eyed Wim, played by 13-year-old American Ravi Cabot-Conyers, believes the ship leads to a Jedi temple. Instead, inside is the wreck of an old pirate ship – one that maroons them in space with no way back home. Law plays the enigmatic rogue Jod Na Nawood, a swashbuckling space pirate who tags along with the kids in the hope that they will lead him to long-lost treasure, entering the story properly in the third episode of the series. “I took a little bit of Han Solo as inspiration,” he explains. “I adore that slightly cynical, world-weary swagger.” Jude Law is no stranger to big, family-friendly franchises. In recent years he has popped up as villain Yon-Rogg in comic book movie Captain Marvel, and as the young Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films. Law is the father of seven children, most recently with psychologist wife Phillipa Coan in 2023. Is he seeking out roles that his offspring can watch? “Sure, sure,” he says, “but it’s also just my curiosity as an actor. I like that range of parts, of moods and worlds. I think the older I get, the more in touch I am with the child who was in awe of cinema. I am stepping into films that speak to that child.” Skeleton Crew was explicitly inspired by the Amblin films of the 1980s, with a specific debt to Richard Donner’s big-hearted 1985 classic The Goonies. “That was an era where films were being made with kids as the main characters and the kids were taken seriously,” says co-showrunner Jon Watts, best known for directing the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. “I got to spend some time with Richard Donner before he died,” adds Watts, “and he told me that when you cast a kid, you don’t cast them to play a role; you cast them because of who they are.” On screen, the kids are a motley crew of misfits. Wim’s timid best friend Neel is a blue alien elephant, portrayed via VFX by 13-year-old Robert Timothy Smith. Joining the boys are 14-year-old Kyriana Kratter and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who play (respectively) the booksmart cyborg KB and the feisty, hoverbike-racing Fern. In person, the young actors are a whirlwind of teenage American excitability, prone to shrieks of laughter and dizzying non sequiturs (“what if they made a Neel cereal called Neelios?!” offers Smith at one point, unprompted). The shoot, which utilised a mix of practical sets and an immersive LED backdrop called The Volume, “felt like we were at Star Wars camp”, recalls Cabot-Conyers, breathless. For Law, shepherding four hyperactive kids through the galaxy came naturally. “They taught me a lot about letting go and enjoying the playfulness,” he says, before adding that the trick on set was in striking a balance between “letting them know that there were demands on them, but also making them feel comfortable”. “I was starstruck!” giggles Armstrong. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Jude Law is in the same room as me!’” View Affiliate Playlist on the source website “He was constantly professional but also making room for fun. Between takes, we would have thumb wars and stuff!” says Cabot-Conyers. Smith adds, “He was like a dad to us.” They may well need a protector now. It’s hard to deny that the Star Wars universe has become a hostile space in recent years. Many of the actors involved in 2017’s The Last Jedi, for instance, found themselves the targets of misogynistic and racist abuse from disgruntled fans; a trend that has continued across other projects. Was there any hesitation about bringing children into that world? “We absolutely want to make sure that the kids are protected,” says Watts, cautiously. “We’re keeping an eagle eye on all of it, to make sure they’re OK.” He will not reveal specifics, although the kids themselves are more forthcoming. “I’m going to stay off social media,” says Kratter. Such a divided fanbase speaks to a larger question about the future of Star Wars, a Disney franchise in flux. Since the release of 2019’s critically panned The Rise of Skywalker, an array of new films have been announced and cancelled. On Disney Plus, there is a scattershot feel to its range of Star Wars shows, many of which rely heavily on nostalgia. “I feel like Star Wars, for me, is something that I saw my parents really loving,” says Kratter, reflecting on what Star Wars means to kids her age. The hope from studio heads must be that Skeleton Crew can hook a whole new generation. “My dream is to have someone who has never seen Star Wars, and someone who knows everything about Star Wars to watch this together,” says Watts. “I think when Star Wars works well it makes you feel like you’re 10, no matter how old you are.” “The kids being the ones in jeopardy is so suited to Star Wars,” adds Law, who, for a moment, is also 10 years old again. “I remember, as a child, watching Darth Vader say, ‘I am your father…’” He pauses, shaking his head at the memory. “I mean, my world fell apart.” There’s a hint of Darth Vader in Law’s Jod and his mysterious ability to use the Force. Law is reluctant to blow his character’s secret backstory, but is effusive on finally being able to put his best “using the Force” acting into action. “I’ve been practising that for 45 years,” he says, grinning. “And at last to have something float and move towards me – it was a dream come true!” The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew continues on Wednesdays on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Star Wars films made a huge impression on the young Jude Law – now he’s taking a new generation of space adventurers across the universe
Add Star Wars: Skeleton Crew to your watchlist When Jude Law was seven years old, he would run around his playground at school in Blackheath, London, pretending to be Luke Skywalker. “We had those really early, fat, chunky lightsabers,” he says, reflecting on the years in the late 70s when Star Wars mania first swept the UK. “They didn’t make any noises. They barely lit up. But we would go ‘pew-pew!’ and bash them about!” There is a fitting symmetry, of course, in the child who once pretended to be in Star Wars growing up to be in it for real. Yet for Law, now 51 and the star of the new Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, it means more than that. “That leap of the imagination,” he says. “Play-acting as a kid, having that connection with roles that you want to recreate – it’s probably the reason I’m an actor.” That sense of childhood wonder – the generations of kids transfixed by starships, Jedi and adventure – is writ large in Skeleton Crew, the Star Wars story that puts the kids in charge. It follows four pre-teen protagonists who stumble upon a mysterious spaceship in the suburbs of their seemingly mundane, Earth-like planet. The wide-eyed Wim, played by 13-year-old American Ravi Cabot-Conyers, believes the ship leads to a Jedi temple. Instead, inside is the wreck of an old pirate ship – one that maroons them in space with no way back home. Law plays the enigmatic rogue Jod Na Nawood, a swashbuckling space pirate who tags along with the kids in the hope that they will lead him to long-lost treasure, entering the story properly in the third episode of the series. “I took a little bit of Han Solo as inspiration,” he explains. “I adore that slightly cynical, world-weary swagger.” Jude Law is no stranger to big, family-friendly franchises. In recent years he has popped up as villain Yon-Rogg in comic book movie Captain Marvel, and as the young Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films. Law is the father of seven children, most recently with psychologist wife Phillipa Coan in 2023. Is he seeking out roles that his offspring can watch? “Sure, sure,” he says, “but it’s also just my curiosity as an actor. I like that range of parts, of moods and worlds. I think the older I get, the more in touch I am with the child who was in awe of cinema. I am stepping into films that speak to that child.” Skeleton Crew was explicitly inspired by the Amblin films of the 1980s, with a specific debt to Richard Donner’s big-hearted 1985 classic The Goonies. “That was an era where films were being made with kids as the main characters and the kids were taken seriously,” says co-showrunner Jon Watts, best known for directing the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. “I got to spend some time with Richard Donner before he died,” adds Watts, “and he told me that when you cast a kid, you don’t cast them to play a role; you cast them because of who they are.” On screen, the kids are a motley crew of misfits. Wim’s timid best friend Neel is a blue alien elephant, portrayed via VFX by 13-year-old Robert Timothy Smith. Joining the boys are 14-year-old Kyriana Kratter and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who play (respectively) the booksmart cyborg KB and the feisty, hoverbike-racing Fern. In person, the young actors are a whirlwind of teenage American excitability, prone to shrieks of laughter and dizzying non sequiturs (“what if they made a Neel cereal called Neelios?!” offers Smith at one point, unprompted). The shoot, which utilised a mix of practical sets and an immersive LED backdrop called The Volume, “felt like we were at Star Wars camp,” recalls Cabot-Conyers, breathless. View Green Video on the source website For Law, shepherding four hyperactive kids through the galaxy came naturally. “They taught me a lot about letting go and enjoying the playfulness,” he says, before adding that the trick on set was in striking a balance between “letting them know that there were demands on them, but also making them feel comfortable.” “I was starstruck!” giggles Armstrong. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Jude Law is in the same room as me!’” “He was constantly professional but also making room for fun. Between takes, we would have thumb wars and stuff!”says Cabot-Conyers. Smith adds, “He was like a dad to us.” They may well need a protector now. It’s hard to deny that the Star Wars universe has become a hostile space in recent years. Many of the actors involved in 2017’s The Last Jedi, for instance, found themselves the targets of misogynistic and racist abuse from disgruntled fans; a trend that has continued across other projects. Was there any hesitation about bringing children into that world? “We absolutely want to make sure that the kids are protected,” says Watts, cautiously. “We’re keeping an eagle eye on all of it, to make sure they’re OK.” He will not reveal specifics, although the kids themselves are more forthcoming. “I’m going to stay off social media,” says Kratter. Such a divided fanbase speaks to a larger question about the future of Star Wars, a Disney franchise in flux. Since the release of 2019’s critically panned The Rise of Skywalker, an array of new films have been announced and cancelled. On Disney+, there is a scattershot feel to its range of Star Wars shows, many of which rely heavily on nostalgia. “I feel like Star Wars, for me, is something that I saw my parents really loving,” says Kratter, reflecting on what Star Wars means to kids her age. The hope from studio heads must be that Skeleton Crew can hook a whole new generation. “My dream is to have someone who has never seen Star Wars, and someone who knows everything about Star Wars to watch this together,” says Watts. “I think when Star Wars works well it makes you feel like you’re ten, no matter how old you are.” “The kids being the ones in jeopardy is so suited to Star Wars,” adds Law, who, for a moment, is also ten years old again. “I remember, as a child, watching Darth Vader say, ‘I am your father…’” He pauses, shaking his head at the memory. “I mean, my world fell apart.” There’s a hint of Darth Vader in Law’s Jod and his mysterious ability to use the Force. Law is reluctant to blow his character’s secret backstory, but is effusive on finally being able to put his best “using the Force” acting into action. “I’ve been practising that for 45 years,” he says, grinning. “And at last to have something float and move towards me – it was a dream come true!”
The star of stage and screen on his Vatican thriller — and paying to appear in the West End
Conclave is nominated for eight Oscars. Add it to your watchlist New film Conclave is a nail-biting political thriller set in the Vatican and based on Robert Harris’s bestseller. John Lithgow, best known for his turn in the 90s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, plays the politicking Cardinal Tremblay, one of many ambitious candidates in the running to be elected as the new Pope. But are his methods more devilish than holy? Of course, 79-year-old Lithgow is no stranger to politics himself. Not only did he play Winston Churchill in The Crown, but in recent years he has been a vehement critic of Donald Trump… Conclave is a film rooted in the machinations of politics. Was that something that attracted you to it? I think so! I love the fact that it’s about political behaviour. You don’t see stories of politics told in such an extraordinary setting. It was uncanny how this social organism, just like every other political entity, divided itself into a left and right wing. We all have politics on the brain these days, but we don’t think much about the politics inside the Vatican. View oEmbed on the source website What is your own relationship with religion? I’m not religious. Both my mother and father were from serious churchgoing families, but it never stuck. Still, I have my own morality and I try to lead a good life. And I’m a great fan of religious art, of Bach’s masses and Mozart’s sacred music. There are also certain things about religious holidays that I find deeply moving. Cardinal Tremblay is a scheming, contradictory character. Did you base your performance on anyone in particular? I dove into shady parts of my own nature. To me, the film is about the conflict between faith and ambition. I consider myself a serious artist, but I’m still vulnerable to wanting to make more money in my next job. Right now I’m working in the theatre in London, in a wonderful play called Giant [in which he plays Roald Dahl]. But I’m basically paying to do the job. I head to the theatre every night on a London bus. And yet it’s my most precious job ever. I’m loving it! But you bet the next time I’ll want to make a big splash and get paid lots of money for it. You wrote satirical poems about Donald Trump during his first term. What do you fear most about his return to office? I really think that Donald Trump is a ghastly threat to America. His presidency hurt our country. In this past year I’ve worked in Italy, New Zealand, Amsterdam and London. Everywhere they were watching our election and were scared to death. Would you ever consider playing Trump on screen? I’ve been asked to do it a few times. I wasn’t interested. I feel the only way to play him is by being an outrageous caricature of him. I also think we need a little distance. Give me a few years! Do you think there is a limit to satire with a figure like Trump? No, I think it’s important to satirise him relentlessly. It really gets up his nose. But it’s difficult because it’s hard to change people’s minds in politics these days, and it’s hard to run against demagoguery and deceit, and a lack of conscience or remorse. You studied acting in London; you’ve played Winston Churchill in The Crown; you appeared on Celebrity Bake Off. Are you an Anglophile at heart? For sure! I had this curious upbringing. My father produced Shakespeare festivals in Ohio. So I’m this combination of Anglophile and American hayseed! A lot of people think I’m English, but I still have to go to my dialect coach when I play an English role. I have them pounding me about my vowel sounds! When I came to play Churchill, I had terrible doubts. But the cast embraced me. They had more confidence in me than I had in myself. You turned down the role of Frasier in Cheers. Do you ever think about what might have been? Sometimes. When it came up, it was my early years in Hollywood, and I’d had two Oscar nominations in two years. There was this chance to play a supporting role on Cheers and my agent and I agreed, “Let’s not think about episodic TV.” I can’t help but wonder about the road not travelled. But I have so few regrets. For one thing, I did do 3rd Rock from the Sun for six years, which was a glorious experience. Were you anxious about being typecast after 3rd Rock? Yes, but it wasn’t as much of an issue, because I was playing an alien who was trying to be human. It was a built-in antidote to typecasting. And one of the next things I did was the Trinity Killer on Dexter. And that was a deadly serious and terrifying role. You don’t do as much comedy as you used to. Is that a deliberate decision? Well, comedy doesn’t really come up! For one thing, I think when you get old, you’re not as funny. I’m sometimes asked if I have any interest in reviving 3rd Rock and I say, “No, that was a young man’s game.” Old age has been wonderful for me in the serious roles, because so many of them have cropped up and there’s so little competition! If you last as long as I have, you’re the go-to man…
John Lithgow turned down playing "ghastly threat" Donald Trump several times
The veteran actor spoke to Radio Times about his role in new movie Conclave and why he won't play Trump.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. New film Conclave is a nail-biting political thriller set in the Vatican and based on Robert Harris’s bestseller. John Lithgow, best known for his turn in the 90s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, plays the politicking Cardinal Tremblay, one of many ambitious candidates in the running to be elected as the new Pope. But are his methods more devilish than holy? Of course, 79-year-old Lithgow is no stranger to politics himself. Not only did he play Winston Churchill in The Crown, but in recent years he has been a vehement critic of Donald Trump… Conclave is a film rooted in the machinations of politics. Was that something that attracted you to it? I think so! I love the fact that it’s about political behaviour. You don’t see stories of politics told in such an extraordinary setting. It was uncanny how this social organism, just like every other political entity, divided itself into a left and right wing. We all have politics on the brain these days, but we don’t think much about the politics inside the Vatican. What is your own relationship with religion? I’m not religious. Both my mother and father were from serious churchgoing families, but it never stuck. Still, I have my own morality and I try to lead a good life. And I’m a great fan of religious art, of Bach’s masses and Mozart’s sacred music. There are also certain things about religious holidays that I find deeply moving. Cardinal Tremblay is a scheming, contradictory character. Did you base your performance on anyone in particular? I dove into shady parts of my own nature. To me, the film is about the conflict between faith and ambition. I consider myself a serious artist, but I’m still vulnerable to wanting to make more money in my next job. Right now I’m working in the theatre in London, in a wonderful play called Giant [in which he plays Roald Dahl]. But I’m basically paying to do the job. I head to the theatre every night on a London bus. And yet it’s my most precious job ever. I’m loving it! But you bet the next time I’ll want to make a big splash and get paid lots of money for it. You wrote satirical poems about Donald Trump during his first term. What do you fear most about his return to office? I really think that Donald Trump is a ghastly threat to America. His presidency hurt our country. In this past year I’ve worked in Italy, New Zealand, Amsterdam and London. Everywhere they were watching our election and were scared to death. Would you ever consider playing Trump on screen? I’ve been asked to do it a few times. I wasn’t interested. I feel the only way to play him is by being an outrageous caricature of him. I also think we need a little distance. Give me a few years! Do you think there is a limit to satire with a figure like Trump? No, I think it’s important to satirise him relentlessly. It really gets up his nose. But it’s difficult because it’s hard to change people’s minds in politics these days, and it’s hard to run against demagoguery and deceit, and a lack of conscience or remorse. You studied acting in London; you’ve played Winston Churchill in The Crown; you appeared on Celebrity Bake Off. Are you an Anglophile at heart? For sure! I had this curious upbringing. My father produced Shakespeare festivals in Ohio. So I’m this combination of Anglophile and American hayseed! A lot of people think I’m English, but I still have to go to my dialect coach when I play an English role. I have them pounding me about my vowel sounds! When I came to play Churchill, I had terrible doubts. But the cast embraced me. They had more confidence in me than I had in myself. You turned down the role of Frasier in Cheers. Do you ever think about what might have been? Sometimes. When it came up, it was my early years in Hollywood, and I’d had two Oscar nominations in two years. There was this chance to play a supporting role on Cheers and my agent and I agreed, "Let’s not think about episodic TV." I can’t help but wonder about the road not travelled. But I have so few regrets. For one thing, I did do 3rd Rock from the Sun for six years, which was a glorious experience. Were you anxious about being typecast after 3rd Rock? Yes, but it wasn’t as much of an issue, because I was playing an alien who was trying to be human. It was a built-in antidote to typecasting. And one of the next things I did was the Trinity Killer on Dexter. And that was a deadly serious and terrifying role. You don’t do as much comedy as you used to. Is that a deliberate decision? Well, comedy doesn’t really come up! For one thing, I think when you get old, you’re not as funny. I’m sometimes asked if I have any interest in reviving 3rd Rock and I say, "No, that was a young man’s game." Old age has been wonderful for me in the serious roles, because so many of them have cropped up and there’s so little competition! If you last as long as I have, you’re the go-to man… The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Conclave is now showing in UK cinemas. If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
He likes hiding behind his alter ego, but will he be back in Ted Lasso?
Nick Mohammed is currently on stage in London's Soho Place theatre in A Christmas Carol (ish). Ted Lasso is on Apple TV+ – add it to your watchlist. What’s the view from your sofa? A relatively small TV! We don’t have a big wall-mounted flatscreen or anything. Our sofa is old and tatty. My wife [teacher Becka] and I have had it since we were renting. We keep meaning to replace it but my three children are still little; what with all the spillages, there’s not much point right now. But our small cosy living room is my favourite place. What have you enjoyed on TV recently? I just finished watching Industry series three, which I thought was phenomenal. The subject matter is money and greed and a lot of the characters aren’t explicitly likeable, but it’s so smartly done. It’s edge-of-your-sofa stuff. Do you watch much comedy? I tend to avoid comedy, partly because you don’t want to find yourself imitating it. It’s also what I do for a living, so I tend to prefer drama when chilling out – I get exposed to it enough during the day! You’re currently on stage in A Christmas Carol(ish) as your comic persona Mr Swallow. What is his take on Dickens? Basically, Santa is our Scrooge figure. He’s a mean Santa – miserly, doesn’t want to give presents away. So he cancels Christmas on Christmas Eve and is visited by three ghosts. Mr Swallow has got that end-of-the-pier feel to him. A bit of a has-been. The character originally came from me doing an impression of my teacher in Leeds when I was 14. It’s quite camp! Why did you decide to adopt an alter ego while performing? I like to preserve the mystery! It was also more of a nerves thing when I started doing live comedy. It was useful to hide behind a mask. Even with something like Taskmaster, which I did as myself, I still wanted to hide behind Dracula make-up! It helped me feel less self-conscious. Do fans of Ted Lasso turn up to your shows bamboozled by Mr Swallow? His appearance at this years Bafta Film Awards took a lot of people by surprise! Oh, 100 per cent. But it’s good! It means there’s a challenge there. You have to win them round. The Bafta gig was one of those things where I was like, “Well, I can’t say no to this opportunity, it’s too good to miss.” It was like playing a prank on a 1,000-person Hollywood crowd. I remember coming off stage thinking, “Oh, God.” I loved it but it was terrifying! You played Nate in Ted Lasso. How has the show’s success changed your life? What no one ever teaches you is what happens when something goes really well! I still feel like I’m dealing with that change in pace. Obviously there are tangible things such as getting stopped in the street every day. I’ve got a young family, so you do have to be mindful of that. As a father of three, how do you balance family life with this busy new stage of your career? Mostly it’s because my wife is phenomenal. We have to take every week as it comes. It’s only really when I’m filming that it becomes tricky because the hours are long and often I’ll leave before they’re up and will get back when they’re about to go to bed. Has Ted Lasso changed the kind of roles you’re being offered? It’s definitely changed things. I’m being offered more substantial film work now, some of which is tipping into drama. You realise how fickle the industry is, because I don’t know if my skills have changed. They’ve probably got worse! But suddenly you’re allowed to do this role or audition. There have been reports that Ted Lasso could be returning for a fourth series. What can you reveal about that? I know that there’s rumblings. All of us have been chatting. I think it all depends on what Jason Sudeikis [creator and star] wants to do. Everyone has said if there’s an idea that feels good, we would be all up for it. I would personally go back in a heartbeat!
John David Washington on The Piano Lesson: "The scab wounds of those times still affect us today"
"I just had to think about my grandparents, all my elders, to get into character."
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. For actor John David Washington, the son of double Oscar-winner Denzel, new Netflix movie The Piano Lesson is a family affair. The adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 play is directed by his brother Malcolm, while his father and sister Katia are producers. And of course, Washington stars as the rambunctious Boy Willie, the youngest child of a 1930s African American family who are divided on the future of an inherited piano. As you might expect, the themes of family legacy were especially resonant for the Washingtons… You played Boy Willie in the Broadway version of The Piano Lesson. Was it a no-brainer that you would play him in the film? I don’t know if it was a no-brainer! I know I wanted to do it. My father has made it his mission to bring all of August Wilson’s work to the big screen, so I was very much aware of that. It became a real discussion as I was getting more comfortable in doing the play and it just went from there. Luckily, the producers of the film believed in me enough to do it! How involved was your father as a producer? My dad respected everybody’s process. I didn’t see him giving any notes. That being said, when he was on set we felt his presence. It was encouraging to see one of the GOATs [greatest of all time]! We had the greats – Michael Potts, Samuel L Jackson, Denzel Washington. When they’re on set you shut up and listen! But if they don’t have anything to say, then you’re doing something good. How have you found navigating the film industry as the son of Denzel Washington? My parents have always been supportive. My mum was a piano teacher at nine years old. My father attended Fordham University to study acting. They had this relentless pursuit of excellence in their artistry, so that’s all I knew. And they have both had a great influence on the kind of artist I’m trying to be. Has it been a challenge to step out of that shadow? My parents are a huge influence in my life, so they’ve encouraged me to be my own man. And I was already doing that by playing American football professionally. I earned a scholarship, I was a practice squad player for the St Louis Rams. My pursuit was to be my own person and I was encouraged by who I was raised by. What did you learn in American football that helped you as an actor? Sports is a results-based thing. It’s not as subjective as the arts, but there is a discipline. There is also a superstition that I’ve carried, inspired by the paranoia of spending every day thinking I was going to get cut from the National Football League. It’s why I don’t care what number I am on the call sheet; I’m always thinking, "I’ve got to prove myself every day." As you mentioned, your father wasn’t the only big name involved in The Piano Lesson — you co-starred with Samuel L Jackson in both the play and the film. What's he like to work with? He is an intimidating presence! But he’s welcoming if he respects you, and I felt like I had to earn that respect. He originated the role of Boy Willie in 1987 at Yale Repertory Theatre, so he has a connection to the character. Once I earned his trust, I felt emboldened to be my best self. How did you find playing that character on screen versus the stage? [My brother] Malcolm, the director, wanted to open up the play cinematically, so my responsibilities as an actor certainly changed. The movie is telling you what to look at; there are close-ups. Another difference is the nerves, because on stage the show must go on! If you mess up, you’ve got to keep going. In the 1930s, when The Piano Lesson is set, the Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the southern states of the USA. How did you find getting in the head of a character from that time? Unfortunately, it was easy, because the scab wounds of those times still affect us today. I just had to think about my grandparents, all my elders, to get into character. You starred in Christopher Nolan's Tenet, one of the biggest films of 2020, released during the pandemic. How do you reflect on that experience now? It was kind of crazy that we put it out during those times. There was a lot of weird stuff going on in general. I was just desperate to work, as I didn’t think I was ever going to work again. I didn’t know what the world was going to look like. I’ll never forget it. I’ll always remember exactly where I was in 2020. You also turned 40 earlier this year. How have you found hitting that milestone? When I was 30, I had a midlife crisis. I was panicked! This one, when I hit 40, I was actually in the UK supporting my sister [Olivia] doing Slave Play [at the Noël Coward Theatre]. I felt an ease of comfort. I felt good about who I am, and I understood where I needed to go to continue to evolve as a person. So it wasn’t a crash landing like 30 was. This was more of a smooth take-off. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe now. The Piano Lesson is coming to Netflix on 22nd November. If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Ten Questions with John David Washington
The former American football player has joined the family business and is now working with the best — his dad
Add The Piano Lesson to your watchlist For actor John David Washington, the son of double Oscar-winner Denzel, new Netflix movie The Piano Lesson is a family affair. The adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 play is directed by his brother Malcolm, while his father and sister Katia are producers. And of course, Washington stars as the rambunctious Boy Willie, the youngest child of a 1930s African American family who are divided on the future of an inherited piano. As you might expect, the themes of family legacy were especially resonant for the Washingtons… You played Boy Willie in the Broadway version of The Piano Lesson. Was it a no-brainer that you would play him in the film? I don’t know if it was a no-brainer! I know I wanted to do it. My father has made it his mission to bring all of August Wilson’s work to the big screen, so I was very much aware of that. It became a real discussion as I was getting more comfortable in doing the play and it just went from there. Luckily, the producers of the film believed in me enough to do it! View oEmbed on the source website How involved was your father as a producer? My dad respected everybody’s process. I didn’t see him giving any notes. That being said, when he was on set we felt his presence. It was encouraging to see one of the GOATs [greatest of all time]! We had the greats – Michael Potts, Samuel L Jackson, Denzel Washington. When they’re on set you shut up and listen! But if they don’t have anything to say, then you’re doing something good. How have you found navigating the film industry as the son of Denzel Washington? My parents have always been supportive. My mum was a piano teacher at nine years old. My father attended Fordham University to study acting. They had this relentless pursuit of excellence in their artistry, so that’s all I knew. And they have both had a great influence on the kind of artist I’m trying to be. Has it been a challenge to step out of that shadow? My parents are a huge influence in my life, so they’ve encouraged me to be my own man. And I was already doing that by playing American football professionally. I earned a scholarship, I was a practice squad player for the St Louis Rams. My pursuit was to be my own person and I was encouraged by who I was raised by. What did you learn in American football that helped you as an actor? Sports is a results-based thing. It’s not as subjective as the arts, but there is a discipline. There is also a superstition that I’ve carried, inspired by the paranoia of spending every day thinking I was going to get cut from the National Football League. It’s why I don’t care what number I am on the call sheet; I’m always thinking, “I’ve got to prove myself every day.” As you mentioned, your father wasn’t the only big name involved in The Piano Lesson — you co-starred with Samuel L Jackson in both the play and the film. What’s he like to work with? He is an intimidating presence! But he’s welcoming if he respects you, and I felt like I had to earn that respect. He originated the role of Boy Willie in 1987 at Yale Repertory Theatre, so he has a connection to the character. Once I earned his trust, I felt emboldened to be my best self. How did you find playing that character on screen versus the stage? [My brother] Malcolm, the director, wanted to open up the play cinematically, so my responsibilities as an actor certainly changed. The movie is telling you what to look at; there are close-ups. Another difference is the nerves, because on stage the show must go on! If you mess up, you’ve got to keep going. In the 1930s, when The Piano Lesson is set, the Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the southern states of the USA. How did you find getting in the head of a character from that time? Unfortunately, it was easy, because the scab wounds of those times still affect us today. I just had to think about my grandparents, all my elders, to get into character. You starred in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, one of the biggest films of 2020, released during the pandemic. How do you reflect on that experience now? It was kind of crazy that we put it out during those times. There was a lot of weird stuff going on in general. I was just desperate to work, as I didn’t think I was ever going to work again. I didn’t know what the world was going to look like. I’ll never forget it. I’ll always remember exactly where I was in 2020. You also turned 40 earlier this year. How have you found hitting that milestone? When I was 30, I had a midlife crisis. I was panicked! This one, when I hit 40, I was actually in the UK supporting my sister [Olivia]doing Slave Play [at the Noël Coward Theatre]. I felt an ease of comfort. I felt good about who I am, and I understood where I needed to go to continue to evolve as a person. So it wasn’t a crash landing like 30 was. This was more of a smooth take-off.
Michael Douglas on nepotism, playing an American legend and sex scenes
"It’s interesting with all the intimacy co-ordinators. It feels like executives taking control away from film-makers."
For his most recent role, Michael Douglas is playing Benjamin Franklin — writer, scientist, inventor and one of the founding fathers of the United States. Apple TV+ drama Franklin, however, explores one of the polymath’s lesser-known qualities: diplomacy. Specifically, his efforts in 1776, at the age of 70, to bring France into the American War of Independence — one of the great gambles of his career. It was a character that Douglas, at 79, could relate to. Both in their 70s, the two men are celebrities of their time and find themselves in uncharted territory… Your father was Kirk Douglas. Was it difficult to emerge from his shadow and make a name for yourself? Oh, very much so. I remember when I first started auditioning and they’d say, "That’s just like your dad, that’s amazing, just the same expression as your father". But the best part of being second-generation is you understand how the business operates. When I was growing up, I'd see Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Gregory Peck in the house and you’d see their foibles and insecurities, just like real people. How do you feel about the recent spotlight on so-called "nepo babies" in Hollywood? I’m a little defensive about that. There was a big article about it in New York Magazine and I thought it was a snarky attack. Whether it’s a plumber or electrician or anyone else, I can’t think of a business where mothers and fathers don’t encourage their children to follow them into it. All three of my kids are actors and I wish them the best, because it’s not easy. As a star of erotic thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, what’s your opinion on the discussion that sex scenes are disappearing from cinema? I’m past the age where I’ve got to worry about that! But it’s interesting with all the intimacy co-ordinators. It feels like executives taking control away from film-makers – but there have been some terrible faux pas and harassment. Sex scenes are like fight scenes, it’s all choreographed. In my experience you take responsibility as the man to make sure the woman is comfortable, you talk it through. You say, "OK, I’m gonna touch you here if that’s all right". It’s very slow but looks like it’s happening organically, which is hopefully what good acting looks like. You were diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010. How did that affect you — did that brush with mortality make you want to try new things? Probably… I think so – I don’t know! Maybe I should do some analysis! I just think that I’m 60 years into my career and sometimes you’re idle and you want to find another motivation to do something. Is that why you took on the role of Benjamin Franklin? I have never done a period picture before. People are surprised, but my whole career’s been pretty contemporary. I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying things I haven’t done before; I did Ant-Man because I had never done a green screen [special effects] picture before. And now this was a chance to do a period piece. I had always been a little nervous about how skinny my legs would look in the tights, but I read the script and said "Yeah!". Benjamin Franklin is an almost mythical figure for many Americans. Did that make it daunting to play him? I was probably most nervous about the practicalities. I took a good look at his image on the $100 bill and said, "Well, we’ve got a long way to go here for a resemblance…" We experimented with heavy make-up, but it was going to take a lot of time. So we simplified it. How would you describe him as a character? He was a Renaissance man, but he was also complicated. He was quite a philanderer. I wouldn’t have wanted to be his wife! He was quick to anger, with a quick wit. He was an extraordinary guy. What do you think Franklin would have made of US politics today? I think he would be extremely disappointed. He would say that we’d lost our way in the 247 years since we declared our independence. What would deeply concern him is that democracy is an endangered species. He talked a lot about the preciousness of democracy, how it has to be moulded and worked at constantly. How did you find the experience of working with green screen on Marvel’s Ant-Man? I found I had a newfound respect for actors who’ve been doing it for a while! It requires imagination and trust. You’ve got to express deft-like expressions when there’s nothing there and you’re not sure if you’re overacting or not! But that’s before you see it all come together. I found it fun but it’s sort of a prequel to AI. I’m glad I had the '60s, '70s and '80s in both lifestyle and career. This virtual stuff is a little overwhelming. I’m still barely using my iPhone. I look at my children as a higher form of human species! Now that you have ticked off a period piece and green screen, do you have any other unfulfilled ambitions? Professionally, no. I’m very proud of my career. In baseball terms, I’d say I’ve got a good batting average! In terms of what’s next: my wife Catherine [Zeta Jones] and I are empty nesters now, so I’d like to focus more on enjoying that. Franklin is streaming now on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Friday. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Doctor Who at 60: When Russell T Davies met Waris Hussein
The returning showrunner and original series director talk 60 years of Doctor Who.
This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine. As Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials approach, returning showrunner Russell T Davies sat down with Waris Hussein, the original director of the iconic sci-fi series. The pair talked about everything from the power of the original episode, An Unearthly Child, to working with the eccentric First Doctor, William Hartnell. Love Doctor Who? Listen to our podcast interview about Doctor Who games! And, to finish, Davies looked from the past to the present - discussing what it was like to come back to the Whoniverse. As the original director and current showrunner, you must have met before? Russell: It was at a marvellous, queer Doctor Who convention in Cardiff about five years ago, talking about gay matters in the show. We were very proud to be there. Waris: I wish I had been able to cover a theme like that in the show, but in those early days there were very few points of view. Russell: I don’t know. You dealt with war. You dealt with race, to some extent. I think it was all there in that first episode. Waris: Well, I don’t want to be telling tales out of school, but we had no script to work with. I remember coming in and saying, "What do we do with this?" to [producer] Verity Lambert. She said, "We have to make it work." We tried, and we did. Russell: You absolutely did. Your shows are still loved today, all these years later. Your peers all strutted past you, saying, "I’m doing Dickens. I’m doing Jane Austen. Aren’t I posh?" Forgotten! Every single one of them. Your work lives on. Waris, what was in that original episode, An Unearthly Child, that still resonates today? Waris: I never cease to be amazed at how it managed to take off. I know it was the Daleks in the next story. But what was the magic? Russell: It wasn’t just the Daleks – it was episode one! I must have seen that 100 times. It’s still so beautiful, so mysterious. And what’s astonishing is that the show has never changed. It’s still about a mysterious police box in which an almost unknowable man leads human beings into a world of adventure. Every time I write an episode one I never skimp on those scenes of the companions staring at the TARDIS, discovering not just a new space, but a whole new life. That is magic every single time, because Waris made it magic in the beginning. Waris: I envy the people working on it today, because we worked with such parsimonious circumstances; no money for special effects. I watch now with a sense of awe! Russell: Isn’t that funny? Because we watch yours with a sense of awe. You created the original awe that we’re trying to replicate. Why do you think the show has survived as long as it has? Russell: It’s extraordinarily loved by people who don’t fit in. I love Star Trek, but Star Trek is a military show. There’s a formality to it, an establishmentarianism. Whereas, with Doctor Who, the lead character’s a mystery. Everyone wishes they could be taken away from taxes and parents and homework. It’s the ultimate magical door. Waris: The magic is being able to bring the Doctor back as someone else. William Hartnell left, but that eccentricity was still there. Russell: The moment they realised that Patrick Troughton could step in, that’s when they really discovered it could run and run. That was the incredible decision, because they could have just ended it and said, "Let’s invent Professor X who travels in time." How did you find working with William Hartnell, Waris? Waris: He was an eccentric. A hardened Brit from the old Second World War mood. He was always apprehensive of foreigners. And at the time I was introduced to him he wondered who I was and where I came from. But as soon as I convinced him that I knew what I was doing, we developed a great affection for each other. Did you experience that kind of prejudice often? Waris: Of course. We were living in times where Enoch Powell had made that terrible speech about rivers of blood. If you were an immigrant, then you had to put up with that subconscious prejudice. Russell: I look back and I think, "What an extraordinary figure you must have cut walking through Television Centre as an Asian man." Frankly, that wasn’t the norm then. And now you look at it 60 years later, where Ncuti [Gatwa], a black man, is about to walk through the BBC as the Doctor. Does that feel like a victory of sorts? Waris: It does. I was the first British Asian in my field to be doing what I was doing. What did worry me internally was working on set and all these people watching me. I’d think to myself, "They’re waiting to see whether I’ll fall on my face. But I’m not going to fall on my face." Russell: I felt that as a gay man. If you fail, you fail all other gay men at the same time. When you revived Doctor Who in 2005, Russell, did you think that the show would still be on air today? Russell: It very much felt like all or nothing. We poured everything into that first year, thinking it might never come back after that. I never actually suspected it would take off to this extent, that it would still be running in 2023. We thought, "Maybe we’ll get three or four years out of this." We never saw this coming. But that’s the programme. It keeps on being strong. You’ve returned to take over Doctor Who again. How are you finding the experience this time? Russell: It’s not hugely different, it’s just a 2023 take on the same show. I knew I had more stories in my head. That’s the most important thing. The BBC had already decided it was going to team up with a streaming service overseas – in this case, Disney Plus. It was going to go worldwide, it was going to have an increase in budget. And I believed in the BBC’s ambition. It’s what I would have done anyway, and there they were, planning it, and asking if I wanted to run it. It felt right. I didn’t hesitate for a second! Check out more Doctor Who interviews in Radio Times magazine, on sale now. View Green Video on the source website Doctor Who's first 60th anniversary special The Star Beast airs at 6:30pm on Saturday 25th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Classic episodes are available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Andor's Adria Arjona on entering the Star Wars universe
Arjona spoke with Radio Times magazine about her role in Andor, the "crazy" sets and Star Wars secrecy.
With the first season of Andor having gone down a storm with fans, and a second season on the way, Radio Times magazine caught up with Bix Caleen star Adria Arjona to talk about her first foray into the Star Wars universe. Arjona was quick to point out that she's a "big fan" of the franchise, before hyping up the "crazy" sets, the secrecy and her "badass" character's costume. She also revealed that she planned on getting a tattoo of Bix's name, although admits she hasn't done so... yet. Read on for the full interview with Adria Arjona. Nothing's bigger than Star Wars "I’m a big fan so being cast in Star Wars is a huge deal for me. At the beginning, I had all of this nervous energy, and you have to put that to the side and get to work. But then you get to set and everything you see and touch just reminds you that you’re in Star Wars. The sets on Andor were enormous! They basically built a real, 360° city. I could run anywhere. There was running water in the buildings! It was crazy." I couldn't tell anyone - not even my mother "Secrecy on Star Wars is serious. You desperately want to share what you’re living through with the people you love, but there’s also a responsibility to conserve the audience experience. The hardest person to keep secrets from was my mother because I know her too well. I thought, 'If I tell her, that’s telling the whole of Puerto Rico. I can’t do that. That’s how I get fired.'" View Green Video on the source website I planned on getting a Star Wars tattoo "I play a character called Bix, who’s an old friend of Diego Luna’s character Cassian Andor. I have never taken as many selfies in my life as when I tried on the costume! It got me feeling just how badass this character was. I even considered getting her name tattooed on me but then Tony [Gilroy, the showrunner] called and said, 'Yeah, maybe don’t do that until the trailer comes out' - and I haven’t had the opportunity to do it since." I have a ready-made fan disguise "I did think about how this role could make me more recognisable. I did Morbius, a Marvel film, and realised while filming, 'Oh man, this is going to change things,' but with Star Wars you’re entering a completely different, massive fanbase. I’m excited to get to know the fans, but I’m less excited about being recognised all the time. I have naturally curly hair anyway, so I’ll just wear my hair curly if I don’t want to be recognised; no one will know it’s me. That’s my secret weapon!" Andor is available to stream on Disney Plus now. New episodes arrive weekly. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Stephen Lang: 'I always had the greatest confidence in James Cameron'
The returning series villain reveals why he’s back – and the big changes that could be coming to future Avatar movies.
After 13 years, James Cameron’s Avatar is set to make a big comeback with new sequel The Way of Water – but it’s not the only surprise return to Pandora. Despite his death in the original movie, baddie Quaritch (AKA actor Stephen Lang) is back facing off with the Na’Vi, this time in a towering Avatar body of his own. Recently, we caught up with Stephen to find out how much he knew about his return, and what it was like to switch from his live-action role to the motion-capture suits of the Na’Vi characters. There’s been such a big gap between the first Avatar and the second one. Did you ever think that James Cameron would make another one? Stephen: I did. Indeed, I never had anything but the greatest confidence in Jim Cameron. We were talking about it before the first one emerged, even as the first one was released, and then discussions began soon after its success, I would say. So I never for a moment doubted that would come out. So you never doubted it would come out – but your character died in the first one. Were you quite surprised to get the call? I was delighted to get the call. I was aware. Even as we were making the first one back in 2007, Jim had told me that he had planned for Quaritch to be around for a long time. What I’ve learned is that when Jim says something, he pretty much means it. Now, what was absolutely thrilling to me was, I think, the extent to which Quaritch returned. In no way did he become a peripheral player or anything like that. He remains a very important figure throughout the world of Pandora and Avatar. So what is the deal with Miles in this one? Because obviously he’s escaped death in the first one, and now he has returned in an Avatar body, right? Well, that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. He did not escape death. He died. As it happens, it was company policy – RDA policy – to bank someone with his experience and his qualifications, bank their DNA. You have to understand that Quaritch probably had far more success on Pandora than he had failure. Failure came at the end, no question about that. But he had done a difficult job very well for a long time at that point, and probably no one knew the indigenous better than Quaritch. So there was every reason, I suppose, from RDA’s point of view to continue to reap something out of their investment in him, which is what they do. It puts him in a rather odd position because he is Quaritch – and yet not really. He’s got most of the memories of Quaritch – not all of them, but most of the memories of Quaritch. But he’s in a completely new body. He has to learn to operate in a completely different way. View oEmbed on the source website Does he sort of embrace that? I got the impression in the first one he was a bit of a… maybe a human supremacist. He had a sort of distaste of the Na’vi, I guess. Well, you know, if you can’t beat them, join them, right? He does embrace it. He does understand, I think, that there has to be a new way, a different way, to win this particular war – for this mission to succeed. And he has really no choice other than to accept the fact that he’s grown in stature, changed in colour, and he’s got a tail! And I would always say that Quaritch – I don’t know that he’s noted for it, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s got a fairly sharp and wicked sense of irony. Him being put in the body of a Na’vi is nothing if not ironic. How would you say this film differs from the original? Well, I think that it expands upon the first one in some regards. This one is about family, first and foremost. That was not a theme of the first film. And also, we are of course going to different environments in this film. I think it’s fair to say that in the original Avatar, we stayed pretty much exclusively in the bioluminescent rainforest and up in the Hallelujah Mountains. And now the world is expanding. We’re seeing how much larger and how much more expansive Pandora really is, and some of the different environments, which actually go way beyond what we’re going to see in Avatar 2 – that I would say is a hallmark of all the sequels, that they keep building on that world, and expanding it outwards, and you learn more each time about Pandora, and what an extraordinary world it is. How do you reflect on the first film’s success now? Did you have any inkling it would become one of the highest-grossing films in the world, for example? I mean, I felt in my heart that what we were making was a singular film; that it was unlike anything else. But it was just a matter of absolute shock, awe, and delight to me that it was embraced as universally as it was. And sure, I’ve had time to reflect on the reasons for that. And in the end, I think it really comes down to… Jim’s such a master storyteller. Jim is thoroughly versed in what makes a compelling story; what gets to the heart of a story; what gets to the heart of a reader. Because Jim has a distinct literary bent at the same time, it’s what gets to the heart of a reader, as well as how to translate that to cinema. And then, of course, there’s the visual aspect of it, which is to say that Jim is also a painter. The man is quite a renaissance man, and he’s got more than a painterly eye – he’s got a master’s eye. And so the compositions of this film – of Avatar and of The Way of Water – are just so thrilling to kind of lose yourself in. View Green Video on the source website Was it quite life changing for you personally? I would say rather than “life changing”, I’d say it was life enhancing. It certainly enhanced my career in many ways. It brought forth opportunities that had not been, you know, present before. It created opportunities for me, certainly. And more than that, on a personal level, it just creates a certain sense of fulfilment and satisfaction and peace – a sense of a peace – that comes from having been part of something that really was everything that it set out to be. Look, I don’t spend my life looking for validation, you know? I do my work, I enjoy my life. But in some way, a film like Avatar, it really is so validating in so many ways. You kind of go, “No matter how bad stuff gets, well, at least I did Avatar!” In terms of filming for this one – I imagine you didn’t do a lot of motion-capture work for the first one. Obviously you must have done loads of it for this. How did you find that? I did almost exclusively performance-capture for this one, and I did very little performance-capture on the first one. On the first one, I did enough performance-capture to know I’d really like to do more of it. Because in so many ways, I feel that the performance-capture aspect is one of the defining points of this film. The take on acting in this film has everything to do with performance-capture. And so as you say, on this one, it’s what I did. And very quickly, you integrate it into the work you do. It’s a given, you know? Rather than viewing it as acting despite all the accoutrements that are necessary for the technology – you incorporate that. That becomes part of your wardrobe, as it were. It becomes part of your makeup, as it were. It becomes part of the DNA of the character. You just incorporate it. I think that Cameron is very, very adept at, number one, making the performance-capture as inviting as possible for the actors. He makes it easy to work. It’s not an easy gig. But, you know, the truth of the matter is, acting is not an easy gig under any circumstances. It can be simple, but it’s rarely easy, particularly in— like, a lot of the kinds of roles that I’ve played over the years, which can be very, very physical kinds of roles. So I love it. I love the performance-capture. Did you do much of the underwater stuff, or is your character not really involved in that? No, my character is involved underwater. I will say this: when my character is in the water, he really is generally trying to get out of the water. It’s not his environment. I did a lot of the training. I did the same kind of training – all the free-diving training, the breath-hold, and all that. How would you describe James Cameron to work for? What kind of director is he? I couldn’t ask for a better director and a better partner as someone to work with. He has such great admiration and respect for both the craft and the art of acting. He loves his actors. Now, Jim is a very demanding director. He leads by example. He demands… you know, “Bring your A-game. Always bring your A-game.” But he will too. That’s the thing. He demands as much from himself as he does from anyone else. I have a very particular working relationship with Jim, which is very good. At times, it can be— there’s a lot of sparring involved between Jim and I, and it works very well to our advantage. When you think about it, I play a character who takes up a lot of space, who tends to conceive of himself as the centre of any environment he happens to be in. And you know what? Truthfully, the same could be said for Jim Cameron as well. I’m not afraid to tangle with him, because it’s all done for the purpose of getting something right. There was a great deal of laughter on the set, which might come as a surprise to people. But there really is, with him. He’s a good-humoured guy. He occasionally gets explosive now and again. I’ve heard. He has a reputation. Who doesn’t? So do I. James Cameron is making two or three more of these movies – what makes him so focused on this? Look, we’re a good way through already. We’ve done 2 and filmed 3. There’s plenty of work to go. There’s Avatar 4 and 5. I have no idea what Jim will end up wanting to do. He’ll never be anything less than deeply, deeply involved in the film. But it’s not a spoiler for me to say – because I saw him say it in the paper – that… I don’t know. He might not direct 4 and 5. He might bring someone else to do it, should we be fortunate enough to be in the position where we will be going on. But he is the founder of the world of Pandora and Avatar. So in that sense, he occupies a central position as the Eywa does, you know? In a sense, he is the Eywa of this project. How would you feel about that, working with a director who wasn’t Jim on this? Say, for example, you got asked to come back for the second one, and Jim wasn’t directing, would you have been less enthusiastic about the idea? I think it’s difficult to think in that direction. I don’t think it’s particularly useful to think in that direction. And being an actor of superstition, I think it might not be karmically the right thing to do, to think in that direction. I brought it up just because Jim said something in the papers or online about that. I think that I will in one way or another be part of the Avatar family for the rest of my career – and my life, actually. Which is just fine by me. And I expect the same from not only Jim Cameron, but from others – from Sam and Zoe, from Jon Landau and Sigourney; and all the people who have joined us since then: Winslet, Cliff Curtis, and, of course, Giovanni Ribisi and Edie Falco. Great cast. A really great cast. Read more: Avatar: The Way of Water review – An enchanting but meandering sequel Avatar 2 cast tease future sequels: "There’s mysteries there" Avatar: The Way of Water is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 16th December 2022 and the original Avatar is available to view on Disney Plus – you can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year now. Check out more of our Film coverage or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. The Christmas double issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington on how life has changed since Avatar
The pair speak to Radio Times magazine about reprising their roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri in Avatar: The Way of Water.
Australian actor Sam Worthington, now 46, had tried and failed for many years to break into Hollywood. He even auditioned for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale — “I would have been another George Lazenby,” he jokes. But then, after selling everything he owned – save for a bag of clothes and a bag of books – he was invited to audition for the lead role of Jake Sully in Avatar. The studio, Fox, didn’t want him. They wanted someone more established, a star. But James Cameron believed in him. “That man changed my life,” Worthington says, leaving little doubt of whether he ever considered not returning for a sequel. “If the boss says, ‘jump’, I jump. I’m his soldier, man.” He’s even on board for Cameron’s proposed five-movie saga. “I’ve read all of the scripts,” he says. “I know exactly where we’re going.” “I’ve grown a lot in my career thanks to Avatar and the doors that it opened for me,” says co-star Zoe Saldana, who plays Jake’s wife Neyteri, but is perhaps better known for her role as Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. “I feel grateful to be part of something so special. But the test when it came to the sequel was time. We were always waiting. ‘Is it gonna be now? Is it gonna be now?’” When the call finally did come years later, it found a Worthington and Saldana that had grown almost in parallel with their characters. Worthington, for instance, describes the young man who walked into his Avatar audition as “fearless and reckless, similar to Jake in the first film". But Jake has changed. He’s a family man now, a father of five, and not the wild Na’vi warrior he used to be. Worthington can relate. In 2014, he married Australian model Lara Bingle, and together they now have three children. “When you’re young, you can risk it all,” he says. “But as soon as you become a dad, your head’s on a swivel, because you’re always looking out for them.” View Green Video on the source website In a remarkable quirk of symmetry, Saldana has also become a parent of three children, after marrying Italian artist Marco Perego in 2013. Much like Worthington, motherhood has given her a profound sense of empathy for the plight of Jake and Neyteri, who are caught between fighting for their clan and protecting their family. “Something interesting happened to me when I became a mother,” she says. When you love something more than your life, the fear of losing that, the fear of jeopardising its safety, it paralyses you. It puts so many things that were a priority in your life into a second perspective. So I was definitely able to use my personal life to relate to Neyteri.” For Worthington, who went on to star in films such as Terminator: Salvation and Clash of the Titans, Cameron’s exploration of what it means to be a family provided him with a sense of emotional depth that had been missing from previous roles. “I’ve done movies in the past where it was about a solitary hero,” he says, “and there was no responsibility or consequences. To be honest, I got a bit bored of doing them. But here, you have Jake dealing with ‘will his sons die in a time of war?’ "His kids want to be like how Jake used to be, and he has to turn himself into a pacifist to try and stop his family from destroying themselves. It’s pure emotion.” A condensed version of this interview appeared in Radio Times magazine. Read more: Avatar: The Way of Water review – An enchanting but meandering sequel Avatar 2 cast tease future sequels: "There’s mysteries there" Avatar: The Way of Water is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 16th December 2022 and the original Avatar is available to view on Disney Plus – you can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year now. Check out more of our Film coverage or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. The Christmas double issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Cowboy Bebop review: A pale imitation of the original series
Netflix's live-action remake of the classic anime has its moments, but it'll probably just remind you how good the earlier version was.
There is an extraordinary sense of alchemy to the original 1998 anime series of Cowboy Bebop, directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The opulence of its images, the fluidity of its animation, the seamless blending of science fiction, western and noir – all elevated by Yoko Kanno’s vibrant jazz and blues soundtrack. Few shows have come close to its command of style and mood. Pity then the Netflix remake, which has the unenviable task of rebottling Watanabe’s lightning – this time in live-action. It is, in parts, an admirable attempt, although generally amounts to nothing more than pale imitation. At best, it functions as affectionate homage; at worst, it struggles to escape the feeling that this is all just a big cosplay project that got way out of hand. Set in the year 2071, in a future in which humanity has colonised the solar system, Cowboy Bebop follows the adventures of the laid-back bounty hunter Spike Spiegel (John Cho) and his partner Jet, a grumbling ex-cop with a metal arm, played by Mustafa Shakir. The remake retains the basic structure of the original. Each episode is set around a different bounty or problem – a bomber who dresses up as a teddy bear; a seemingly unkillable killer clown – while telling the grander, overarching story of Spike’s past (as a member of a crime syndicate) coming back to haunt him. Developed by showrunner André Neme (co-writer of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), and featuring scripts by Thor: Ragnarok writer Christopher Yost, it is a fairly uneven adaptation. The scripts are often tiresomely quippy (I hope you like compound swearing). The tight and sharp 20-minute stories of the original have been stretched to nearly an hour, which gives the episodes a slower, baggier feel. While the stories themselves shine when flirting with the source material’s weirder moments, they never quite embrace them in a way that feels imaginative or interesting. If anything, it just ends up reminding you of how good the anime is. Unfortunately, some of the show’s least engaging moments also come from its original ideas, such as a tedious episode in which Spike is stuck in a VR timeloop, or flabby adaptations of stories like Jet’s search for the man who took his arm. This is not to say that there's no good stuff here. When the wise-cracking Faye Valentine, played by the charismatic Daniella Pineda, joins the crew in episode four (after an earlier cameo) she gives the show’s central dynamic a much-needed shake. The scenes in which she either clashes or bonds with Spike and Jet are some of the remake’s best. Another positive: the series ends with a relatively strong run of three final episodes, as Spike confronts his silver-haired-samurai-sword-wielding nemesis, Vicious (Alex Hassell, in a bad wig, just on the right side of cartoonishly deranged). But none of this really matters in the face of Cowboy Bebop’s most glaring issue: it is, in almost every way that matters for an adaptation of a space-western noir, jarringly, painfully flat. This is most obvious in the show’s largely uninspiring cinematography, especially in its use of lighting. Scenes set at night are shot with a textureless palette of blues and purples, while daytime exterior shots are dressed in the kind of drab, neutral tones that only accentuate the show’s unremarkable sets/locations, cosplay costuming and notably poor CGI. There is an unescapable feeling of cheapness that hangs over the whole thing – a feeling only amplified by the absurd dissonance of Yoko Kanno’s original score being played over such vapid, lifeless imagery. It’s like playing jazz at a funeral. Beyond a few stylish touches (such as the camera spinning in time with a somersault kick), the direction and editing are also largely flat. The fight scenes in particular lack the fluency of the original. This is perhaps understandable – John Cho can hardly be expected to move with the grace of the Bruce Lee-esque Spike – but its over-reliance on quick cuts and rudimentary choreography robs the fights of flow and kineticism. (It says a lot that the remake’s best fight scene, in episode nine, is presented as one continuous shot). More generally, a lack of rhythm permeates much of the Cowboy Bebop remake, including the lead performance. Cho looks the part but can often struggle to muster the charisma and screen presence needed to sell Spike as an effortlessly cool rogue. Although, as already mentioned, he’s hardly helped by the show’s limp direction and scripting. Much of the acting has a mannered, stilted quality to it, which at times can create the surreal spectacle of grown adults trying to act like they’re in a cartoon. Read more: Where’s Ed in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop? Perhaps this is simply the price you pay for dragging anime kicking and screaming into the harsh light of reality. After all, animation is a medium with its own visual language, and to a certain extent is blessed with an ability to tell a story without limits. But that feels like a poor excuse for a remake whose flaws are to be found in execution rather than some fatalistic idea that a remake was always doomed to fail. This a show not only bereft of its own creative vision, but also woefully incapable of recapturing what made the original Cowboy Bebop so bold and exciting. It's a tribute band that knows the songs, but has neither the ability nor stage presence to nail the hits. Frankly, it's perhaps the greatest advert for the art of animation you could hope for. But more than anything, it's a stark illustration of the ineffable difference between trying to be cool, and simply being cool. Cowboy Bebop streams on Netflix from Friday 19th November. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.
Foundation review: Science fiction has hardly ever looked this good
Adapted from Isaac Asimov's classic creation, this Apple TV+ series makes some huge changes – for better and for worse.
In the early 1950s the renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov published the Foundation series, a collection of short stories that would go on to become his most famous, most influential work. Put simply, said stories are based around the idea of psychohistory, a fictional science which can apparently predict the future. Its inventor, a genius called Hari Seldon, uses psychohistory to forecast that the galactic empire he is living under will crumble within 300 years – prompting him to put in motion plans to grow a new one from a 'foundation' of scientists. In the years since publication, the books have influenced everything from Star Wars to Dune to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And yet it doesn’t take a genius to predict why it’s taken so long for the story to be adapted for screen. Told across hundreds of years, Foundation is structured like a series of snapshots, with each short story focusing on a different period of galactic history and featuring a different cast of characters. It’s a story too vast and episodic for film, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a natural fit for television either. TV drama tends to be built around characters who change, relationships which develop, and neither of these were particularly Asimov’s concern. In Foundation the main character is society itself – how it develops over the course of history, how it changes from one political system to another. Fascinating on page, potentially too dry for screen. David S Goyer and Josh Friedman, co-creators of Foundation’s first ever TV adaptation (premiering today on Apple TV+), have got around this issue by probably doing the only thing you can possibly do: fleshing out the book and its characters to such an extent that it practically becomes a different story. The character of Gaal Dornick, for example, is a thinly written mathematician whose perilous trip to Trantor – the empire’s capital planet – takes up the opening 37 pages of the first book. In the show, Dornick (played by the relatively unknown Lou Llobell) has been fleshed out as a young woman who is torn between the oppressive anti-intellectual religion of her home planet and winning a competition to work with Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) on psychohistory. There is also a hint that she is special in some way, although it’s unclear how. The first half of the opening episode is dedicated to establishing all these newly expanded characters, whether they be Llobell’s Dornick, Harris’ Seldon, the emperor Cleon (played by Lee Pace, best known as Ronin from Guardians of the Galaxy) or Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), the protagonist of another story set in the future on Terminus, the planet that will one day play host to Seldon’s new society. These early set-up scenes – spread thin between various characters, planets and timelines – are too dramatically inert and fragmented to prove instantly grabbing. But they do eventually build to a convincing whole. The key (as is often the case in any project) is Jared Harris, who anchors the show with an authoritative sense of gravitas. It's at the point when Dornick finally meets him – where Seldon tells her about the frightening predictions of psychohistory, and reveals that they will soon be arrested by the state and put on trial – that Foundation finds its momentum. Here, facing charges of treason for saying that the empire will fall, Seldon must defend his theory in court, and Dornick must decide whether to betray him or die. It's these scenes that capture some of the dramatically engaging and intellectually stimulating spirit of the source material, while also offering enough new elements to make the show feel genuinely fresh and exciting. Episode one, for instance, closes with an entirely original set-piece that is as visually lavish as it is utterly enormous. View oEmbed on the source website And this is another thing about Foundation: it looks gorgeous, like the cover of a pulp 1950s science fiction novel. Whereas so much of modern sci-fi prioritises drab and washed-out realism (for instance, the forthcoming Dune, which clothes most of its characters in boring black), Foundation has chosen to embrace the bright and opulent. Characters dress in reds, golds and blues. The vibrant city planet of Trantor – the version in the books an obvious influence on Star Wars’ Coruscant – is only accessible by an elevator called the Star Bridge, which stretches for thousands upon thousands of miles into space. Science fiction on TV has hardly ever looked this good. Episode two explores territory hardly mentioned in the book at all: Seldon and Dornick’s journey, along with thousands of others who make up the Foundation, from Trantor to Terminus. Again, there’s an interesting difference in the material here. Asimov’s books dealt primarily with the macro, meaning that the day-to-day life of the Foundation, and the little people who lived within it, would often get lost in the gargantuan tides of history. The TV show, meanwhile, has the chance to concentrate on smaller relationships and details. How did people feel about travelling to the other side of the galaxy, based on the outlandish theory of one man? What was their plan for food, settlements, population growth? It’s an interesting approach, although some of these micro stories are stronger than others. The romance between Dornick and Seldon’s assistant Raych (Alfred Enoch), for instance, is not hugely engaging. Raych’s creeping doubts about the prophetic abilities of Seldon’s psychohistory, however, are. As it stands, with only two episodes available to review, it's too early to predict whether Foundation will live up to the towering influence of Asimov’s books. But there’s more than enough here to leave us intrigued by what the future holds. Foundation is now streaming on AppleTV+, with new episodes released on Fridays. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.
To Mondas and back again: a brief history of the Cybermen in Doctor Who
As the Cybermen return to Doctor Who, we recall over four decades of redesigns, upgrades and parallel timelines
The Daleks might be the most iconic of Doctor Who villains, but the Cybermen are – at the risk of extermination – the more interesting. For whilst Dalek creator Terry Nation, who grew up during the Second World War, based the pepper-pots on Nazi values – presenting them as the manifestation of hatred and conformity – the Cybermen's roots are in a question more complex and tragic than the simple desire to kill: what does it mean to be human? Just like the Daleks before them, the Cybermen were reflections of the era that created them. In 1966, the show's scientific advisor, Dr Kit Pedler and writer Gerry Davis were fascinated by innovations in prosthetic surgery and the ethical issues it brought with it. If, they asked, you became more machine than flesh, were you still technically human? And what makes a human anyway, is it the physical or the emotional? At what point do you cease to be you? This is why, despite all the different forms the Cybermen would take over their 46 years, their ideology remains the same: human existence, physically and emotionally, is weak and cruel – the Cybermen are the saviours. And now, they're back once more to take on Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor in the series 12 finale Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children. That makes this the perfect time to take a look back at the history of the Cyber menace... Mondasian origins The Cybermen made their first appearance in William Hartnell's final story, The Tenth Planet, in 1966. And it was here, on Earth's twin planet of Mondas, that the age of steel truly began – born out of desperation and pain. Originally twinned with Earth, Mondas is essentially our planet ravaged after drifting out of the solar system and into the abyss of space. Isolated and frozen by their distance from the sun, Mondas' people suffered. That is until some brain-box had the idea of replacing failing organic parts with cybernetics in order for them to physically deal with the brutality of their new environment. In order to psychologically deal with their grotesque new form, however, they were also stripped of their emotions – eventually rendering them cold, harsh and cruelly logical. Emotions were rubbish, the Mondasians concluded, and being an unthinking machine was just swell. Everyone should be like this – whether they liked it or not. It was, after all, for their own good. Mondas was destroyed, eventually, but the Cybermen lived on in their charitable cause to conquer the galaxy and set existence free from its chains of thought and feeling – upgrading as they went. Derek Martinus, who directed The Tenth Planet, recalls working with the original Cybermen... The date: 1966 The place: Ealing Studios The story: The Tenth Planet The Doctor arrives at South Pole Tracking Station, which is about to be invaded by the Cybermen. It is the aliens' first appearance on the show, and William Hartnell's last as an ailing Doctor (he will regenerate into Patrick Troughton at the end of the story). Director Derek Martinus recalls, "The Cybermen costumes were very hot to wear, and it was difficult for the actors to see. They were also very bulky and the actors tended to fall over." Even before that, casting had caused problems. Martinus adds, "It was quite funny because we were in the office of Doctor Who and the reception was full of very tall men. We felt they should look impressive and as menacing as possible. I got the agents to trawl through their books to see who was over 6ft 4in." But, he adds, they had to be actors, too, to convey the necessary sense of threat. With new creatures, an outgoing star and Antarctic location to simulate, not to mention blizzard conditions, it was an especially challenging adventure. Polystyrene chippings were used for snow. "When they had the wind machines going it choked everybody." The Tenth Planet Cybermen, despite looking like they were built on Blue Peter, were eerily zombie-like. Being the earliest version, they were a hodge-podge of patchwork humanity and cybernetics. The outline of their human faces, for example, were noticeable underneath their cloth masks and their hands were still clearly flesh and blood. They even had names – even if they were names like “Krang”. They wouldn't last long. As the Cyber-empire evolved, so did their style. Popular from their first outing in the first Doctor's last story, they returned a mere three serials later for Patrick Troughton's The Moonbase. It's here that their pragmatic nature was fully realised, with their look changing – sometimes subtlety, sometimes drastically – with every appearance. With The Moonbase and their famous follow-up story, The Tomb of the Cybermen (set on their new adopted home of Telos), they became sleeker and more streamlined – exchanging the cloth masks and oversized chest units for a body, seemingly, made from tin foil. For The Invasion (again, a second Doctor story), they became bulkier and, bizarrely, wore lace-up shoes. View oEmbed on the source website After their popularity with the second Doctor, the Cybermen were totally absent from the Third Doctor’s era and didn't return until seven years later with Tom Baker's Revenge of the Cybermen. This time, due to their weird allergy to gold, the last great Cyber-War was over, but one ship – along with the Cyber-Leader – remained. This would be their only appearance alongside the Fourth Doctor and it would be another six years before producer Jason Nathan-Turner decided to bring them back with a big re-design for fifth Doctor Peter Davison's Earthshock, which saw them trying to – shock! – destroy the Earth. From here on in, the Cybermen were much bigger and more mechanical – with only subtle varying elements being introduced, such as transparent chins and, in their last story, Sylvester McCoy's Silver Nemesis, cricket gloves for hands. A new age, a new upgrade When 2005 Who came around, after 17 years since their last appearance, the lovable iron-clad murderers were as prevalent in the fans' minds as the revelation of who would play the new Doctor. But when Christopher Eccleston's era began, Russell T Davies vetoed the frights in shining armour in favour of the Daleks, who took centre stage in Who's return. David Tennant's Doctor, however, was not so lucky. As it transpired, the Cybermen had been tucked away in a parallel universe all along under the auspices of Trigger from Only Fools and Horses. Viewers were not so surprised by their reappearance, having spotted the clue in the episode's title, Rise of the Cybermen – but the look on Tennant's face was one of the more memorable Doctor grimaces of recent years, making the moment we heard the dreaded “Delete!” emitting from the familiar, relentless plated faces all the more ominous. Not to mention their sleeker design where no weapons were needed; just a simple electrocuting touch. Once Steven Moffat took over from Davies, it was expected the Cybermen would get an old-style makeover. With budgets only extending to a Dalek re-design, however, it wasn't to be. Even so, Moffat still managed to make one rogue Cyberman head in The Pandorica Opens scarier than entire legions of invading forces. From this point on, the Cybus design prevailed even when the Cybermen in question were, as in Closing Time, supposedly the original Mondas model. All in all, it was around this point that Doctor Who realised it didn't really know what to do with the villains, relegating them to the meagre fate of being defeated by James Corden's baby and smack-talked by Rory the Roman. Harder, better, faster, stronger With 2013's Nightmare in Silver, the Cybermen would be upgraded once again - this time looking a lot sleeker and more advanced. These Cyberman, according to Gaiman, were a mixture of Mondas and Cybus Cybermen. His rationale being that the Cybus Cybermen who were "zapped off into time and space" at the end of The Next Doctor eventually met the Mondas Cybermen; cross-breeding and exchange of technology resulted in the new variety. As well as a new design, the new Cybermen also had new abilities, including the talent to move super-fast. As Gaiman told Collider: "I just figured that my phone doesn’t look anything like what it looked like five years ago, and that didn’t look anything like what it looked like 10 years ago. My computer looks nothing like it looked like, 15 years ago. "I thought, 'Cybermen talk about upgrading, so let’s watch them upgrade.' What would an upgraded Cyberman do? I thought one of the things it would do is move pretty fast. I loved the idea of a Cyberman that was essentially so dangerous that, if you find one on your planet, you blow up the planet." After Nightmare in Silver – where they went out with a bang – there wasn't much seen of the Cybermen in Matt Smith's era beyond a nifty cameo in The Time of the Doctor in which we see a Cyberman made out of wood. But that didn't last long once Peter Capaldi took over the TARDIS, with series eight's two-part finale Dark Water/Death in Heaven featuring a Cyberman army with Michelle Gomez's regenerated Master 'Missy' at their helm. There were no notable design tweaks this time, but their method of harvesting bodies was altered, with dead bodies whose consciousness had been saved to a Time Lord hard drive filling the metal shells. These Cybermen were also able to fly and "seed" themselves through rain onto already-dead buried bodies, though they were totally enthralled by Missy rather than acting out their own aims. Well, except for the recently-converted Danny Pink and a certain Brigadier brought back from the dead... The return of the Mondasians In 2017, the Cybermen came full circle. As well as bringing back 2006 and 2013 models of the Cybermen, the series ten two-part finale World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls saw the twelfth Doctor facing the Mondasian originals, and they were creepier and more dangerous than ever. Almost too creepy, in fact... Converting the Doctor's companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) and countless others, the various generations of Cybermen were built and created in a time-dilated spaceship (helped along by John Simm's Master), and waged war on what was left of the Mondasians as they stood beside the Doctor. In the end, the Doctor triumphed even as the Cybermen ended the life of Capaldi's incarnation (even if he did hold off a regeneration for another episode), and we hadn't seen or heard from them since - until they made a spectacular return in the 2020 series. For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides. The Cybermen Ascend In Doctor Who series 12's eighth episode The Haunting of Villa Diodati, fans were introduced to a new breed of Cyberman, half-converted, rusting and still filled with human emotions. Formerly the human called Ashad, this Lone Cyberman had travelled back in time to pick up a Cyberman AI called Cyberium with a view to rebuilding the Cyber-Empire. Going forward, we know the Cybermen will have a new, shinier look as well (above) and we can only hope it's a grand return for some of Doctor Who's best villains. Could it be time, once again, to be converted? Doctor Who airs on BBC One on Sundays
Get acquainted with the new Doctor, the new Tardis team and beyond...
Pretty much everything is new in the new series of Doctor Who – including a new Doctor, and a new cast of companions and monsters. It's never been a more exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan, or to become one. New Doctor Who stars hit the red carpet for series 11 premiere Doctor Who fans perfectly cosplayed 13 Doctors with Jodie Whittaker Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter Meet the cast and characters of its first episode, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, below... Jodie Whittaker plays the Doctor Who is the Doctor? The Doctor is an alien who travels through time and space with the aid of her ship, the Tardis. She belongs to a race known as the Time Lords, who have the ability to cheat death by regenerating into a totally new and different person. Having regenerated into a man for her past 12 (technically 13, if you count John Hurt's the War Doctor) incarnations, the Thirteenth Doctor made television history last year by regenerating into a woman for the first time. Where have I seen Jodie Whittaker before? Jodie Whittaker is best known for playing grieving mother Beth Latimer in ITV1 crime hit Broadchurch, but has also appeared in 2011 Black Mirror episode The Entire History of You, and played the lead in medical drama Trust Me last year. Beyond television, she also made her cinematic debut in 2006 film Venus, where she played a love interest opposite Peter O'Toole, and had a memorable turn in 2011 cult hit Attack the Block, which also featured Star Wars star John Boyega. Tosin Cole plays Ryan Sinclair Who is Ryan Sinclair? Ryan Sinclair is a member of the Doctor's new Tardis team – companions who she will take with her through time and space. He is a young warehouse worker from Sheffield who suffers from dyspraxia, a co-ordination disorder which means, among many other things, he struggles to do relatively basic tasks like riding a bike. Throughout the course of the episode, he will encounter the Doctor, and get caught up in an alien plot. Where have I seen Tosin Cole before? Tosin Cole is perhaps most recognisable as 2011 - 2012 series regular Neil Cooper from Hollyoaks. He has also made appearances in Eastenders: E20, Lewis, had a minor part as an X-Wing pilot in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and played a big role in Netflix film Burning Sands in 2017. Bradley Walsh plays Graham O'Brien Who is Graham O'Brien? Graham O'Brien is another member of the Tardis team, and is married to Grace, the gran of Ryan. This makes him Ryan's step-grandad, although Ryan certainly doesn't think of him as such. Where have I seen Bradley Walsh before? Nowadays Bradley Walsh is best known as the host of ITV1 daytime quiz sensation The Chase, which he has fronted since 2009, but he is also known for a long career in presenting and acting. In terms of the latter, he's probably best known for his role as factory boss Danny Baldwin in Coronation Street, which he played from 2004 - 2006; and later his recurring part as DS Ronnie Brooks in ITV crime drama Law and Order: UK, which he played from 2009 until 2014. Mandip Gill plays Yasmin Khan Who is Yasmin Khan? Yasmin Khan – or Yaz to her friends – is the final official member of the Tardis team. She is a low-ranking police officer who's frustrated with breaking up small-time crimes like parking disputes. That will all change however when she gets called out to check on something rather unusual... Where have I seen Mandip Gill before? Like co-star Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill's biggest claim to fame is Hollyoaks, where she played Phoebe McQueen from 2012 - 2015. Elsewhere she has appeared in BBC sitcom Cuckoo, daytime soap Doctors, The Good Karma Hospital and Casualty. This article was originally published on 6 October 2018
Doctor Who: did the Doctor really used to have sisters?
How much do we really know about the Time Lord's younger years? Stephen Kelly trawls the show's 50 years of confusing canon to figure it out...
In Doctor Who series 11's fourth episode, Arachnids in the UK, Jodie Whittaker's Doctor hints at her mysterious family life for the first time in a while, suggesting that she might have once had sisters when younger. “Sisters. I used to have sisters," the Doctor muses when meeting Yaz's (Mandip Gill) own sibling. "I used to be a sister, in an aqua hospital. Actually turned out to be a training camp for the Quistin Calcium Assassins.” 11 questions (and some answers) we have after Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK View oEmbed on the source website Ignoring the second part of the anecdote, it's an interesting admission from the Doctor, whose family life has remained shrouded in mystery over the decades of the BBC TV series - but what DO we know about her past? Has there ever been reference to her sisters before? And why is the whole thing left so enigmatic anyway? To find out, why not revisit Stephen Kelly's 2014 examination of the Doctor's family life, as we've seen it presented in Doctor Who episodes... Steven Moffat says Doctor Who risks looking ‘cheap’ compared with big-budget TV series Doctor Who boss Chris Chibnall may still save Torchwood, says John Barrowman It’s hard to believe that the Doctor – a being who’s ancient and forever, who burns at the centre of time and can see the turn of the universe – was once a child. A sad, sobbing child, if 2014 episode Listen is anything to go by. The Doctor’s childhood is a strange, confusing and mysterious area of Doctor Who mythology. Indeed, before CBBC commissioned The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2006, there was interest in a spin-off focusing on a young Doctor, an idea that Russell T Davies strangled in its crib. "Somehow, the idea of a fourteen-year-old Doctor, on Gallifrey inventing sonic screwdrivers, takes away from the mystery and intrigue of who he is and where he came from,” he once said. In the actual show, the Time Lord’s early life is shrouded in secrecy – only ever opened up in snippets of dialogue. Put those snippets together, however, and you can construct a vague picture – one that is often contradicted by Big Finish audio stories, books and even the show itself. First off: the basics. The Doctor was born on Gallifrey into a family of “wealth and privilege.” According to 1974’s The Creature from the Pit, the Doctor was born under the sign of “Crossed Computers,” the symbol of the Gallifreyan maternity service. (FYI: One theory put forward by the expanded universe books such as House of Lungbarrow is that the citizens of Gallifrey don’t give birth at all. Instead, they are grown in ‘looms’ and emerge from them as fully grown adults. I think we can agree that it’s a terrible theory.) As the Third Doctor reveals in The Time Monster, he grew up on a house perched half-way up a mountain. View oEmbed on the source website Not much is known about the Doctor’s family. In Smith and Jones, The Tenth Doctor mentions that he had a brother. In The End of Time, as suggested by T Davies, the mysterious Woman is his mother, who the 1996 TV movie said was half-human. Everyone tends to ignore that last bit, mind. If we knew more about the Doctor’s family then it might reveal why she was, as Madame de Pompadour once discovered, "such a lonely little boy.” In Listen, the young Doctor (then in a male incarnation) is seen sobbing in bed. He has run away from some sort of school, upset about something and doesn't want the other boys to see. At a guess, the loneliness, the reason he cries “all the time,” is reminiscent of children who are sent to boarding schools. Perhaps he was forced to leave his family, or perhaps his parents sent him to Gallifrey's Eton? Both would make sense, given that Time Lord society is often depicted as cold, pompous and fusty. It's also overheard that, “he's not going to the academy, is he, that boy? He'll never make a Time Lord” – those being the elite of the elite on Gallifrey, a planet with few job prospects. This chimes with what's been said before: that the Doctor was a dunce. According to 1978's The Ribos Operation, the Doctor barely passed the qualifying exams to become a Time Lord, scoring the lowest possible pass mark – 51% – on his second try. Doctor Who books are full of tidbits about life at the Academy. The Doctor apparently underperformed on purpose (so as to not draw attention), or a joker who trapped a teacher in a time loop for a day and was part of a Hot Five band along with the Master, who – brilliantly – played the drums. As is always the case, though, the stuff written outside of the show is only as real as you want it to be. View oEmbed on the source website Speaking of the Master: the Doctor's arch nemesis is an important piece of the childhood puzzle. As recalled in The End of Time, the pair were friends, and used to play on the “estates” of the Master's father as boys. In terms of TV canon, it's unclear whether this was before they were classmates at the Time Lord Academy or during. In fact, the whole area of what age Gallifreyans apply for the Academy or whether they apply at all are pretty sketchy. In the The Sound of Drums, for instance, the Doctor says that the pair were taken from their families at the age of eight to stare into the Untempered Schism – a sort of Total Perspective Vortex in which, through a tear in reality, you can see all of time – as a Time Lord initiation. But if, as established in Listen, the Doctor went to a school before the Time Lord Academy, how does that fit together exactly? Did he willingly apply for the Academy after school or was he taken from his family? It's almost as if it doesn't matter. All in all, it feels like Russell T Davies had the right idea: those young years should only be touched upon lightly. Take the 2003 Big Finish audio story Master, which, while superb, claims that as children the Doctor accidentally killed a school bully, and then – through a personification of Death – transferred the memory of the murder over to a mini Master, causing his friend to take on all his guilt and pain, twisting him in the process. Beyond the fact that it contradicts The Sound of Drums, is that something you would really want set in stone? If the Star Wars prequels have taught us anything, it's that sometimes the mystery is best left mysterious. Doctor Who continues on BBC1 on Sundays