Archie star Jason Isaacs: 'This is about Archie Leach, not Cary Grant'
"It’s about a damaged man, who created an avatar so people couldn’t see how damaged he was."
If you heard there was a new drama coming to ITVX called Archie, you would be forgiven for being confused when you realised it was a dramatisation of the life of film icon Cary Grant.
This is because Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach, and only became Cary Grant in later life - with the series set to explore his former self, according to star Jason Isaacs.
Speaking in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, Isaacs said: "When I was offered the role, I thought I ought to run a million miles in the other direction.
"Cary Grant was dazzlingly suave, a lady-killer and beloved by the entire world.
"Then I read the script and realised this was about Archie Leach, not Cary Grant. It’s about a damaged man, who created an avatar so people couldn’t see how damaged he was."
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Isaacs continued: "He got the whole world to love him, but he was riddled with anxiety and addiction. He destroyed his first four marriages — and almost every other relationship, too.
"He only found peace when he gave it all up, and realised it wasn’t the adulation of the world he wanted. He needed to love himself."
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Isaacs also said: "He was one of the most famous people in the world. He played the perfect man, leading the perfect life. Many of us see people with lives that seem perfect, but none of them are. In almost any life, you can compare and despair."
As well as Isaacs, the cast also features Dainton Anderson (Patrick Melrose), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) and Oaklee Pendergast (Home) as younger versions of the character, while Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey), Harriet Walter (Succession) and Kara Tointon (Mr Selfridge) star, too.
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The four-part drama comes from screenwriter Jeff Pope, who most recently produced the BBC's The Reckoning.
Archie premieres on 23rd November on ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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