BFI and Radio Times TV Festival (2017)

April 9, 2017: 

The Night Manager was one of the featured shows at the 2017 BFI & Radio Times Television Festival at BFI Southbank. Tom Hiddleston, Alistair Petrie, Susanne Bier, and Simon Cornwall all took part in the Secrets of Le Carré Revealed panel moderated by Samira Ahmed (Samira also interviewed Tom in 2019). 

During the 20-minute panel, no one revealed any clues about Series 2 but all signs point to it still being in development. 

(4:10) Tom talked about what attracted him to the role: "I wanted to play the part on the basis of the first episode. That was all I read and was sent to me initially. Because it was so tightly constructed and so brilliantly plotted, and seems to be a espionage thriller but also a discussion about identity, about Englishness. And the character was so appealing. He was a lost soul in search of a cause."

(5:55) Alistair said that when he first read that script he didn't think the series would ever be made because the BBC couldn't afford the high budget. Susanne revealed that the most important location was Roper's lair because "Pine needs to be seduced by Richard Roper's extremely wealthy world". Tom credited the crew and their "impeccable craftsmanship" for being able to make it all "look more expensive that it is". 

(11:10) Tom on Hugh Laurie's Richard Roper: "I think his casting is a piece of genius. It helps that The Night Manager is Hugh Laurie's favorite novel. But also there is something that his presence in the mind of the audience - we all love him so much. And he's already done so much great work as an actor in his life... What his casting does is it presents a conflict in duality in the mind of the audience because we like him. He's so charming, he's funny. He keeps good company. He looks after his family, his people. And yet he is doing something so deeply wrong..."

(12:30) Tom talking about how John Le Carre made their short scene very difficult: "When I approached the table to say 'I'm terribly sorry about all the commotion, is there anything I can do?' he refused to be settled. Like a great actor, he was forcing me to try harder to achieve my objective. Which I almost didn't achieve..."

(15:15) Tom talking about the inspiration for his character: "The whole character for me was an exploration of the malleability of identity. The idea that somehow there is something blank and broken about Jonathan Pine which is very unique to him. And something is sublimated or repressed from his military service, from his tragic love affair with Sophie, and all of this grief has been coiled up inside him for so long. That's why he's a night manager. He hides behind the uniform, he hides behind the cover of darkness literally. And he doesn't really have a character except for whatever moral compunction lies within him that Olivia Colman latches onto..."

Fashion: 

🎵Tommy Shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo 🎵 Tom Hiddleston brought back his Gucci "Shark Suit" from the London premiere of Kong: Skull Island. The Shark must've eaten Tom's tie and the top three buttons of his shirt but I don't think anyone is going to complain too hard about that one. He is also wearing my favorite Rich Burgundy socks from London Sock Company. 

Credits: 

Zimbio