EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
THE ACTOR IS MAKING WAVES WITH HIS DEBUT THRILLER NOVEL
During his long career as an actor, Richard Armitage has starred in some of the biggest shows on British TV. A familiar face in Harlan Coben’s addictive Netflix mysteries, including The Stranger, Stay Close and upcoming Fool Me Once, he has also lent his velvet tones to many an audiobook – including his own. When his debut thriller Geneva was first released as an Audible Original,itbecameone of the bestselling audiobooks of 2022, andwas shortlisted for a prestigious British Book Award. As it’s released in hardback, Richard tells us about his writing journey.
What was the inspiration behind Geneva?
I had been watching a lot of documentaries about Sarah Gilbert, who co-developed the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine. I was also very interested in neurology and the advances in neural implants, as Alzheimer’s has touched some friends and family. On top of that, I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, Orson Welles and David Fincher – my storytelling furnace was fuelled by all these influences. An old Jean Simmons movie called So Long At The Fair, and Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain also sparked my imagination.
Did you ever imagine you’d have this kind of success with your debut?
No, it was a delightful surprise. I don’t think Audible would have commissioned it if they hadn’t worked out that there might be an audience for the material, but it was quite an experiment on their part. I delivered in stages – awriting sample, then an outline, then various acts in the books to be honed into the thriller style. My original book was far too long and wordy – Ifell down some science-fiction rabbit holes, and got a bit carried away with some criminal psychoanalysis at times and had to be pulled back on track.
You’ve got your second book coming out in 2024 – can you give anything away about what we can expect?
The Cut is about childhood, and how the twisted roots of an intense but damaged passion in adolescence can reach from the past to shape the present. Set between the present day and 1993, it reveals the story of a local girl who was murdered, but the wrong man may have gone to prison. In the present day, someone is trying to excavate the past to get to the truth. It’s possibly a bit more personal and local to my own teenage years.
What made you want to start writing – and thrillers in particular?
Through my work as an actor, I’ve lived and breathed “thriller” for a very long time now. Initially always from inside the skin of a single character, but more recently, as part of a producing team shaping and crafting long-form storytelling for screen. My doorway into acting came from literature. If I hadn’t gone to d
