The Tourist creators Jack and Harry Williams has admitted The Matrix’s Hugo Weaving being forced to drop out of the BBC drama was for the best after scooping Damon Herriman at the very last minute.
The six-part thriller launches on BBC One tonight, starring Jamie Dornan as ‘The Man’, a lone nomad who wakes up in hospital with amnesia after being run off the road by a huge truck, with no idea who he is, why he ended up in Australia or why anyone might want him dead.
In turn, he’s on the hunt for answers.
Starring alongside Dornan is Dumplin’ actress Danielle Macdonald, Line of Duty’s Shalon Brune-Franklin, and Damon – who stars as Agent Lachlan Rogers, replacing Hugo after the Lord of The Rings star pulled out of the series due to scheduling conflicts.
But speaking to Metro.co.uk, the Williams brothers (The Missing) explained why they were in luck when Mindhunter’s Damon stepped in.
‘We had a version of Hugo Weaving in our heads, which actually kind when we think about, it probably wouldn’t have been as interesting to watch him do that, because we’ve seen him do that,’ Jack told us.
‘So when we got Damon, he had a completely different take on it that was just brilliant, he’s a fantastic actor.
‘It was sort of a journey for both of us,’ he continued. ’It was a very last minute thing, because obviously, the scheduling thing happened just before we’re about to shoot so we jumped to the Zoom with Damon, I think the day he was supposed to fly to The States
‘It was kind of an excellent thing that happened, unfortunately, was because he’s just perfect for the role.’
Director Chris Sweeney agreed, adding: ‘When people do change or things change in any respect on any production, it’s always a bit of a fool’s errand to try and replicate what you had before.
‘You have to take what’s in front of you and go, “so what’s this and what was Damon’s input on to what he could be? That’s when you get the great stuff. Yeah, he’s so brilliant.’
The Tourist is one of the most anticipated new shows of 2022, packed with non-stop tension, huge stunts and a game-changing role for Fifty Shades star Dornan, balancing the content threat of danger with a dry sense of humour.
‘With The Tourist I was presented with this merging of all kinds of different worlds – not just drama and comedy, there’s all sorts of stuff in there.’
Jamie described The Tourist as ‘very heightened and unreal at times’ but added: ‘The comedy is often found in the darkest of places when some of the most sinister things are happening.
‘But then this crazy story that reveals (his character) The Man’s life – there’s comedy there, so I thought that was really interesting and just a challenge and a fresh take for me.
The Tourist airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One and will be available on BBC iPlayer.
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