Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch have lifted the lid on starring in and being involved in the production side of thriller series The Day of the Jackal.
The actor, 42, and actress, 36, who play Jackal and Bianca in the cat and mouse show, opened up Radio times about how to step into the roles and how this updated version of the story compares to the original.
The upcoming political thriller follows the 1973 film of the same name and the second English-language adaptation of the 1971 book of the same name.
Reimagined in a contemporary political setting, The Day Of The Jackal (2024) revolves around an unparalleled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, who makes his living by carrying out hits for the highest fee.
However, the Jackal meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who begins to track him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in his wake.
Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch have lifted the lid on the lead role and are involved in the production side of their new nail-biting thriller series, The Day of the Jackal.
The actor, 42, and actress, 36, who star as Jackal and Bianca in the cat and mouse show, opened up to Radio Times about stepping into the role
The upcoming political thriller follows the 1973 film of the same name and the second English-language adaptation of the 1971 book of the same name.
Chukwudi Iwuji from Guardians Of The Galaxy, Charles Dance from Game Of Thrones and Ursula Corbero from Money Heist also appear.
Eddie told the publication: ‘When I saw this in my inbox I was pretty… You don’t want to mess with something as brilliant as this, so I was a little cautious.
“What I like about the original structure, which Ronan has managed to keep, is the strange idea of having two protagonists who are deeply morally compromised, making cruel choices and yet still kind of warm to both of them.”
He added that this new version makes it harder to figure out who to advocate for since the morals are “grayed.”
“We all have that blurry territory within us in some way – that idea of the binary of good and evil doesn’t exist that often,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Lashana admitted that when she was approached to take on the role of Bianca, she asked to be involved in the production side as well.
The actress said she wanted to: “Protect the things that I knew I really wanted to discuss in the play.”
When the interviewer suggested that Bianca may feel like she has something to prove because of her character’s race and gender, the star revealed that that was another driving force behind her desire to become a co-executive producer.
Reimagined in a contemporary political setting, The Day Of The Jackal (2024) revolves around an unparalleled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal.
Lashana admitted that when she was approached to take on the role of Bianca, she asked to be involved in the production side as well.
Eddie told the publication: ‘When I saw this in my inbox I was quite… You don’t want to mess with something as brilliant as this, so I was a little cautious’
“To tell that story, you have to not shy away from it,” she explained, “but also protect it enough so that we’re not singing from the rooftops about how hard that is.
It’s literally just part of the experience of people who look like me, and it’s built into the fabric of the workplace all the time.”
The new interview comes just after Eddie revealed he ‘barely’ saw his co-star Lashana on set, despite the pair being the focus of their exciting new series.
Eddie revealed that promoting the series was the “fun” part now that the pair are finally “hanging out and spending time together.”
Eddie revealed that they barely saw each other during filming, saying, “Even though Lashana and I are in it (the series), we barely saw each other during the making of it.”
“Because it was kind of a cat and mouse story and we were kept apart to a large extent.”
He confessed, “So the advertising side was the fun part because we got to hang out and spend time together.”
Lashana agreed with Eddie’s statement saying, “It’s really true, because we are also producers of the show, we spent a year talking about every nook and cranny of the show.”
Lashana agreed with Eddie’s statement saying: ‘It’s really true, because we are also producers of the show, we spent a year talking about every nook and cranny of the show’
The Day Of The Jackal was directed by Brian Kirk, whose credits include Game Of Thrones and Luther (Eddie and Lashana pictured above)
“We saw everything, every edit and every moment of this process, and it was just really fun to get to know each other that way.”
Eddie also revealed to the radio host why he decided to take part in the new series, a modern take on the original film and book.
Eddie revealed that he was initially hesitant to star in it, saying, “I did like the original movie and book growing up,”
“So when the scripts arrived in my inbox, there was a huge amount of fear because you don’t want to butcher something you love.”
He admitted that he had a change of heart when he saw the script, adding, “(The script) was basically updated to this point, and the scripts were just so propulsive and it felt completely fresh and new.”
“But it kept the DNA of what was so great in the original, this kind of cat-and-mouse quality, and the fact that Jackal is basically a shape-shifting chameleon, you never quite know what you’re going to get.”
The story of Frederick Forsyth is told in 10 parts by Sky and Peacock.
It was adapted into a film by Ronan Bennett, the creator and writer of the critically acclaimed English crime drama Top Boy.
The Day Of The Jackal was directed by Brian Kirk, whose credits include Game Of Thrones and Luther.
The series is produced by Carnival Films, part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Eddie serves as executive producer, Lashana as co-executive producer and author Frederick as consulting producer.
The Day of the Jackal premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW on November 7.
