Murder Is Easy's David Jonsson explains why he initially turned down role
"I wasn’t so sure about it, just because I’m not a big fan of colour blind casting."
It wouldn't quite be Christmas without an Agatha Christie mystery to crowd around the TV and attempt to figure out with the family, would it?
It's a good thing, then, that Murder Is Easy has landed on our screens after the big day itself for some appropriate amateur sleuthing. The two-part series may be a lesser-known title to some Christie fans, but follows Luke Fitzwilliam, played by David Jonsson, who attempts to figure out just who is behind a string of murders in a sleepy English village.
The Rye Lane star leads the cast, which boasts the likes of Morfydd Clark (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Tom Riley (The Nevers) and Mark Bonnar (Guilt), to name a few.
But Jonsson very nearly wasn't the lead on this Christie project, telling RadioTimes.com and other press at a screening for the series that he turned down the role on multiple occasions.
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Jonsson said about leading the series: “I feel very, very privileged and lucky to be doing what I’m doing and to get any offer through as a young actor is rather special.
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"I’m in awe of Agatha Christie, because not only does she feel incredibly British, [but] just from a human perspective, the amount of work she created is crazy – and to be a woman is rather brilliant.
"I’ll be honest with you – at first, I wasn’t so sure about it, just because I’m not a big fan of colour blind casting and I didn’t know what this was.
|To be blind to anything is not a good thing, so I think I said no and they were quite persistent. So they said come and meet with the lovely team … and we spoke about it, and it turns out that Siân [Ejiwunmi-Le Berre] wasn’t blind to anything."
He continued: "They were really doing something different with this one and incorporating things that felt very true, I just wanted to make sure that whoever Luke was, he was real. People look at me and the first thing they’re going to see is going to be a Black man so we’re not going to be blind to that, we’re just going to make sure that’s there.
"But then there’s the question of the other cast members – are you just going to put different people in it? And it wasn’t – every single person you see has a history and it’s true and real. I was on board. Terrified, but on board.”
The new series unfolds across two nights, with the first episode already throwing up major questions about the identity of the murderer and keeping viewers hooked with the backstories of the villagers we meet.
Read more:
- Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy adaptation gets star-studded trailer
- The Crown’s Imelda Staunton doubts Peter Morgan would ever revive show
The two-parter is based on the novel of the same name by Christie, but has been adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and is directed by Meenu Gaur (Zinda Bhaag, World on Fire).
According to the synopsis: "England, 1954. On a train to London, Fitzwilliam meets Miss Pinkerton, who tells him that a killer is on the loose in the sleepy English village of Wychwood under Ashe.
"The villagers believe the deaths are mere accidents, but Miss Pinkerton knows otherwise – and when she's later found dead on her way to Scotland Yard, Fitzwilliam feels he must find the killer before they can strike again. Because for a certain kind of person, murder is easy…"
Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday 27th December at 9pm. 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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