Malice's Jack Whitehall teases challenging ending – finishes on a "really strange note"

As Prime Video's Malice ramps up in intensity, there is one seismic question that you will continually come back to: what exactly did Jamie Tanner do to warrant such venomous hatred from Adam?

The tutor-cum-'manny', played by Jack Whitehall – who isn't a tutor-cum-'manny' at all, but has used that as a cover to slither his way into the venture capitalist's world and destroy him from the inside, right under his nose – goes to increasingly extreme lengths to inflict maximum pain and discomfort on Jamie, played by David Duchovny, before razing his world to the ground.

And the reason for that is held back until the show reaches its crescendo. But while Whitehall certainly doesn't condone his behaviour, as the person playing Adam, he had to "find a route into understanding him and empathising with him, to an extent".

"And he is definitely someone that's been wronged, and he's someone that hasn't dealt with his trauma and is trying to process it, but has channelled it completely the wrong way," he added. "He's definitely like a wounded person, so there's a degree of pity that you feel for a character like that."

It's that, Whitehall believes, that will prove conflicting for viewers.

"What's great about the script is that [screenwriter] James [Wood] has left it on this really strange note at the end where it's not completely black and white, and you're left with a very strange feeling as to what you feel about Adam," he explained.

"And I think that's quite important, to have those moments of feeling almost sympathetic. Through the back half of the series, you really see him as a true villain, and you're really wanting him to get caught, and really praying for the safety of the family.

"But then at the end, there's just this... I don't know how to describe it. It's just this strange note that it's left on with him where maybe you do [feel sorry for him]. I think some people will feel sorry for him."

Whitehall then started to doubt himself.

"Maybe they won't, maybe that was just me because I was playing him, and just desperate to play characters that are sympathetic in some way," he laughed. "But I'd be very interested to see what people think. Maybe my take is completely wrong. I'll find out soon enough on Twitter."

Read more:

• Malice's Jack Whitehall on the "strange" challenge of playing a villain while adjusting to fatherhood
• Jack Whitehall talks his dark new psychopath role and his plans for an all-new sitcom

Whitehall also discussed the inherent push and pull in these types of stories – viewers want Adam to face justice, but there's also a darkly fun edge to it, so they want the story to continue.

"There are moments in those first couple of episodes where you're almost trying to play with the audience – you do want him to get away with it," he said. "And then you shift it, and he does something even worse, and then suddenly you're just willing the family to unearth him as soon as possible.

"So I think that that again, the balancing act that James has done really well with the script is just constantly playing with that in terms of what you're feeling about each of these two adversaries at any one time."

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