Former This Life star, Jack Davenport, talks about his new role in ITV thriller, Next of Kin, and his long commute to work from the US!
Former This Life star, Jack Davenport, plays political lobbyist Guy Harcourt in ITV’s new drama Next of Kin. Guy is married to GP Mona Harcourt, played by The Good Wife star Archie Panjabi, and the couple live in London with their young son and Mona's mother.
However their lives are plunged into turmoil when they discover Mona's doctor brother, Kareem, has been murdered on his way to Lahore airport in Pakistan around the same time that London is rocked by a terrorist attack.
Here the 44-year-old star talks about the gripping new series, working with actress Archie Panjabi and how he fares commuting to the UK from Trump’s America…
Jack Davenport talks to TV Times about his new ITV drama Next of Kin...
TV Times: What drew you to Next of Kin?
Jack Davenport: "The very difficult subject matter. Recent terror events make it particularly poignant, it's an issue of our times and there’s no avoiding it. The writers found a way to think about the wider families who become involved simply because they’re related to someone who may have made a certain decision. It's a very intelligent and interesting way to approach the unapproachable."
TVT: Next of Kin is very close to some recent real life terror events. How did you feel about that?
JD: "Sometimes mass communication, in the form of a fictional television drama, is a good way to present a really complicated idea in a way that speaks to people’s hearts. I definitely had an awareness that the victims in these situations tend to be a wider pool of people than you might initially think and I feel I have a deeper understanding now."
TVT: What was it like to work with Archie Panjabi as Mona?
JD: "I’ve known of Archie for years and always thought she was amazing. I knew from the start she was playing this role and thought ‘that’s a lot to ask of any actor’. It makes everyone’s life more enjoyable when the lead actor is joyfully and lightly the captain of the ship. She set the tone."
TVT: You live in America. How was it coming back to Britain to film Next of Kin?
JD: "It’s a little bit difficult. My son is in school now and I’m on a plane lots, and I’m jet lagged a lot. I mean, poor me! Before, my son would come along too but that’s not possible now. The running away to join the circus bit about being an actor is a hoot…until it isn’t! Part of the reason I live where I live, New York, is just geography, it’s half way between London and Los Angeles, so it’s slightly less brutal."
TVT: What’s it like living in Trump’s America?
JD: "A bit Trumpy! But I live in New York - I think he got 6 per cent of the vote there. But it’s pretty much like you read in the papers!"
Next of Kin begins on Monday January 8, ITV, 9pm
