Q: Why did you want to play Harry Palmer?
“Harry Palmer is an iconic character. The anti-Bond. I hadn’t seen the movies prior to being sent the project and didn’t know much about him, but I quickly found myself enamoured with the man, the myth, the legend. And once I found out who was on board – the director James Watkins and other creatives – had read the scripts and did some homework on the character, it just felt like a really fantastic opportunity to play someone that is different to me, but also shares some similarities. I don’t know if there is some crossover between, perhaps, who I am as an actor and some shades of the character. So that was what drew me to the role
“I didn’t really plan to watch the 1965 Michael Caine film. But then when I got up to Liverpool to start shooting, I thought, ‘Maybe I better check this out.’ So I watched it. I appreciated it for what it is and what it was, but my Harry is something a little bit different
“I did some research into the time period The Ipcress File is set in and really knuckled down with the scripts. Then just being free once I was on set and not constraining myself too much. Not worrying too much about getting things right or wrong. It’s a fascinating time period.”
Q: Who is Harry Palmer and how would you describe him as a character?
“Harry is a working class British army sergeant on the make while serving out in Berlin, dealing in contraband and whatever else during the Cold War between the West and East. He’s hyper intelligent, charming, almost a figure born in the wrong decade in some respects in terms of his forward-thinking with regard to feminism, social mobility and things like that. He’s got a certain swagger about him underneath a serious exterior.
“Harry uses humour almost like a weapon. He’s quite facetious. His humour treads the line, but it’s facetious in the delivery. He’s not being sarcastic. He’s being playful. The undercurrent is, ‘I get you, you get me, we all understand the situation here. But we’re pawns in a bigger game.’ He reminds me a bit of my grandad. He’s very relatable.”
Q: What is Harry’s reaction when he is introduced to Dalby (Tom Hollander) and his world of espionage?
“Harry doesn’t have much choice in the matter when Dalby gets him released from the military prison. He’s a reluctant participant in Dalby’s mission. As time goes on he seems to start to quite enjoy it. At the end of the day, it’s either that or being sent back to prison.
“I think there is a mutual respect between Harry and Dalby. As the series develops, we start to see that. They are cut from different cloth, but they want the same things. They are both people who now exist in a world which they weren’t initially born into. They are stand outs. They’re anomalies. And I think for that reason there is mutual appreciation and respect.
“Harry has seen death with the army while fighting in Korea. He’s probably got some level of post-traumatic stress disorder. He has seen death and destruction and all of these horrible things. That weighs heavily on him. He doesn’t want to fire a gun again or kill any more people, he just wants to get paid and have his sentence reduced.”
Q: Harry and Jean (Lucy Boynton) also come from different worlds. How would you describe their relationship and how it develops over time?
“That was an interesting one. Jean is very much upper class and a woman in a man’s world. She feels slightly hamstrung by that, and in the same breath, Harry feels hamstrung by the fact he is working class in a middle-to-upper class world as well. They have got that in common.
“Initially, Jean thinks Harry is someone he isn’t. Probably men of that time, by and large, were in a more sexist world than now. But Harry and Jean start to see each other’s personalities and I think Harry grows on Jean.
“They also have a shared bond linked to Korea. She is trying to understand Harry and mentions her brother, because that is something weighing heavily on her.”
Q: What makes screenwriter John Hodge’s scripts so good?
“John Hodge is an incredible writer of story and character. It’s a gift to follow his scripts and say those words. It flows so nicely. As with any good script you get a real flavour of each person, so much so that you could probably remove all of the names from the page and you would know who was talking. And it’s just fun, John has captured the fun. We want to hang out with these characters.
“That’s something that was important. It’s not just about telling this espionage thriller story. It’s about having fun with these characters, really fleshing them out and making them real people.
“That’s the great thing about television. It’s why some of the best writing is on television these days. Because you get that time. You get six hours to really explore and have fun and hang out with these characters. Which you don’t get in a 90-minute movie.”
Q: This is a world where mostly no one tells the truth or is who they say they are.
“There’s subterfuge and being, or pretending to be, who they are not. It all becomes clear as we move forward. But that’s the nature of the world we are in.”
Q: What was it like working with the rest of the cast?
“It’s a joy when you’re working with such good actors. I try to be as free as I can as an actor when I’m working, but sometimes even then you have preconceptions about how you might envisage a scene playing out. And the great thing about working with people like Lucy Boynton, Tom Hollander, Ashley Thomas and the rest is it never plays out the way you anticipated, because you’re just reacting and trying to be truthful.
“I remember working with Tom in one of our first scenes together where Dalby is grilling Harry. I wanted to play it slightly cocky. Then when I got there, I just thought, ‘He’s going to see straight through this. This is an actor who’s been around the block. The only thing I can do is be as truthful to myself as possible. Otherwise he’s going to feel me faking it.’ You just get a different level of authenticity when you’re working with heavyweights.
“And Lucy is the same. She was steely and strong. She played the role of Jean in a way that was tough. And I really liked that because there were times when I would try to be playful
with her and try and win Jean over with a bit of Harry’s charisma or whatever it is. It was very difficult to break the shell. And I thought that was actually really interesting because a lot of actors might have broken sooner. Lucy just stayed very true to who Jean was. Lucy is hugely intelligent and that comes across in the way she plays Jean.”
Q: And working with director James Watkins?
“James is a real actor’s director. I always thought that term was quite odd because you assume that all directors should be actor’s directors. But he really enjoys working with actors and getting that extra 10 percent out of you. When you think you’ve figured it out, then he might take it in a slightly different direction and just give options. And say, ‘Now you’ve done that in that way, why don’t we try the opposite way?’
“Sometimes you’d find new, interesting things. It’s about creating a space in which you can do that and you feel very safe. James worked closely with John Hodge for a few years on this. So there was a real confidence and a deep understanding of these characters and this script. You just felt very safe working with him and really trusting. I very much enjoyed it.”
Q: How did you get on with Harry Palmer’s iconic glasses?
“They had two different types of glasses. Both are clear. But one of them has curved lenses so they reflect light in different ways. Occasionally I’d have to wear flat glasses just for the camera. But most of the time it was the curved lenses that look like real glasses because they’re the same shape.
“The glasses were massive in getting into the character of Harry Palmer. I remember going into Cutler and Gross in Knightsbridge. I tried on every pair in the shop and there was only one pair that worked. As soon as I put them on, I said, ‘These are the ones.’ Then our costume designer Keith Madden turned up and he said, ‘Yeah, they’re the ones.’
“It was great because glasses are tricky to get right – they have to really suit your face. I think we got it right. They really suit this character and my face. Originally we were looking at the same ones that Michael Caine wore back in the day. And they just did not work.
“It was great because glasses are tricky to get right – they have to really suit your face. I think we got it right. They really suit this character and my face. Originally we were looking at the same ones that Michael Caine wore back in the day. And they just did not work.
Q: What does Harry wear?
“Aside from his army uniform at the outset, Harry wears a variety of suits. Costume designer Keith Madden had found a lot of the suits in vintage shops. Originally we were going to get quite a few suits made. But because of Covid and the challenges of getting suits made and sent over to Croatia that proved quite tricky. So we just had a couple made. But actually I think some of the best suits were the ones Keith found in vintage shops and were tailored. These suits have a real personality. They’ve been lived in.
“It’s a team game, and for me, costume is such a big part of a character. Getting the costume right, getting hair and make-up right. It just makes your job as an actor easier. It was a pleasure working with Keith. He’s got a real eye. I’m looking forward to people seeing the costumes.”
Q: Where did you film?
“We had a great crew in Liverpool – which doubles for London – and the North West. Filming in locations with some beautiful architecture and cool streets as well as in country houses. It was right in the middle of various lockdowns, but it was a nice experience filming there.
“I had never filmed in Croatia before and now it’s one of my favourite countries. I love it. Croatia just doubles up as so many different places. The terrain and landscape are unbelievable. One minute you’re filming in the city and then you’re out by the sea and then up in the mountains. You’ve got it all there. Again, great hard-working and talented crews.
“Shooting in Croatia felt special. It will give an international flavour to the show and the visuals when people see it, because there’s so much different architecture that we managed to capture. Croatia doubled for locations like Helsinki, Beirut and the Pacific. It gives it a whole different flavour and also the weather was important in terms of sunny countries and so on.
“It’s all there, all on camera. Not green screen. That was the amazing thing, there’s so much variety.
“So much stuff now, especially post-Covid, is green screen. These big movies. All green screens, but we were actually shooting in all of these different locations. It’s more and more of a rarity, oddly enough, and it’s a lot of fun.
“There were many times when I would look around at the sets and the production design taking us back to 1963. I remember when Harry had to cross the Berlin Wall from East to West. They had built this incredible set out in Croatia with these streets and the wall, the huts with the soldiers, and so on. And I’m driving through that in an army vehicle. That was special, for sure.”
Q: Are there any parallels between actors and spies? Both have to play different roles and both are experts at observing life and people around them.
“I guess as a spy you are acting. You are performing. You’ve got to be able to read people and not necessarily be read yourself. So I guess, yes, there is some crossover.”
Q: Although set almost 60 years ago, is this a story relevant to today?
“I think this story is relevant to today. We’re always fighting for social equality, feminism and so on. And there’s always more to be done. I’d like to think this show moves the conversation forward in some ways.”
Q: How do you reflect back on this role as part of your career?
“Playing Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File has been a very special job. They sometimes say the most enjoyable jobs aren’t necessarily the most well received by audiences. That’s sometimes how it goes. But I’m hoping this is different because we had a lot of fun making it.
“It was partly the pandemic and the strain that put on a lot of people. So to have the opportunity to be able to go and work again and film and be with crews and cast and play these characters felt special. I felt I had a renewed understanding of how lucky we are to be able to tell stories and do this as a career.”
Q: Is there the potential to see more of Harry Palmer on screen after The Ipcress File?
“Who knows? Big shoes to fill. So let’s see how it goes down.”
