Winter TCA Tour: The Night Manager (2016)

January 8, 2016: 

The Night Manager had its press debut at the Television Critics Association Winter Tour in Pasadena, California. Footage from the series wouldn't be shown until the World Premiere at Berlinale but the cast and creatives did sit down to discuss their upcoming show, their characters, and differences between the novel. Simon Cornwell (executive producer and son of The Night Manager author John le Carré), Stephen Garrett (executive producer), Susanne Bier (director), Hugh Laurie (Richard Roper), Tom Hiddleston (Jonathan Pine), Elizabeth Debicki (Jed Marshall), and Tom Hollander (Corky) all joined the show's panel. The only major absence was Olivia Colman - who can be forgiven for missing the event since she had just given birth.

Tom describing his character Pine and what attracted him to the role: There is a tension between a very calm exterior and a turbulent and chaotic interior that he’s someone who actually has a great amount of vulnerability and a huge amount of doubt. Le Carré describes him as a self exiled creature of the night and a sailor without a destination... And Angela Burr, played by Olivia Colman, compels him to make a commitment, and she lights a spark within him that impels him to act and to follow through on that commitment, which is to take down Richard Roper (Laurie). And I think all the way through Susanne always encouraged me to lean into the tension between his obligation to be very, very calm and very passive on the surface while he’s actually on fire beneath that, and that tension I enjoyed playing very much. 

Hugh Laurie on his character Roper: He’s psychotic. I mean, if you’re on the wrong end of his misdeeds, the difference is just an academic one, because the violence that he does, the violence that he brings to the world and profits from, may as well be psychotic. He’s he is a man who has cut himself loose. There’s a sort of piratical element to him. He sort of cut himself loose from the conventions of society and normal commerce, and he set up his own empire in an almost medieval fashion, and he is there’s a sort of Colonel Kurtz aspect to it, I think, that he has surrounded himself with people whose livelihoods depend on his good opinion...It’s not good for one’s sanity, I think, to be able to operate unopposed, and this is a man who has created a world for himself where he can operate unopposed, unchallenged. And yes, he has given way to the dark side in a very, very big way. A very big way. He is described in the story as the worst man in the world, which is a pretty exciting challenge to take on as a character to play, but a thrilling one too.

Sadly, the TCAs are not recorded. I would've loved to see what caused some of these reactions! 

Maarten de Boer took a group photo of the main cast for the Getty Images Portrait Studio. 

The cast of The Night Manager celebrated the one year anniversary of this event (to the day) by winning big at the Golden Globes. 

Fashion:

After this jacket going MIA for three years (from public events at least) Tom Hiddleston wore his Emporio Armani leather jacket. Tom debuted this jacket back in 2012 during the press tour for The Avengers. He almost completely matched his look from the photocall in Moscow with his Reiss shirt and jeans very closely matching the original color scheme. Tom is also wearing the same Ariat Roper boots - appropriately named since one of the characters in The Night Manager is named Roper. 

Credits: 

Zimbio
Maarten de Boer