In conversation
As he gears up for his latest role as Cary Grant in ITV’s Archie, Jason Isaacs talks to Siân Merrylees about overcoming setbacks, being a family man and the importance of giving back
Aphotographer friend once told me that when working with Jason Isaacs, he has to be careful which half of his face he shoots because one side can appear sinister. It’s a characteristic that might well prove tricky when it comes to photographs, but it has also been gold for any Hollywood casting director in search of a villain.
There’s that sneer from Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the smirk of Captain Hook and the bombastic swagger of field marshal Zhukov in The Death Of Stalin. I’m relieved to report, however, that Jason shares none of their personality traits. When we speak, he is warm and witty, with a quick energy – much like Cary Grant, who he plays in ITV’s upcoming biopic Archie.
‘When I was first offered the part, it was an obvious pass. Who’d be such an idiot to try to emulate the most suave man in history?’ Jason admits. ‘Then I read the script and various biographies and discovered that he was a very complicated man, who wrestled with his demons and found solace in being a parent. I felt I had some common ground with that.’
Jason stresses that the series is about Archie Leach the private man, not Cary Grant the smooth, lady-killing English gentleman who he became on screen. ‘He didn’t even talk like he did in films,’ he explains. ‘I found a rare recording and his voice is very different when cameras stopped rolling. He wanted to reinvent himself to bury the nightmare of his past. He was like an Exocet missile, driving towards fame because he needed the love of the entire world. But when he got it, it didn’t do anything for him.’
This is where Jason differs. He’s delighted, he says, that he can hop on the Tube or wander around London completely unnoticed. ‘There’s the odd time in Sainsbury’s when people are surprised to be buying veg next to Lucius Malfoy, but I prefer to be invisible – to listen to people’s conversations, their accents, watch their body language,’ he says. ‘I don’t know how I’d be able to do my job if I couldn’t. I’m an ordinary person who gets to play ordinary people in extraordinary situations.’
HIGHS AND LOWS
Now 60, Jason has seemingly reached an enviable point in his career. He’s starred in big-budget war films, including Black Hawk Down and The Patriot, as well as prized indies, most recently as a grieving parent in Mass. On TV, he’s won over audiences in the award-winning US series Brotherhood, BBC One’s Case Histories and the cult Netflix hit The OA. He’s even captained his own starship in Star Trek: Discovery.
moments al
