User:Lisztomaniac/Draft

Jim Sturgess – Callum Ferguson
He’s the British intelligence officer who is at the centre of the story. He is given the task of looking after a very important German scientist and overcoming his implacable hostility towards working with the British.

On the surface Callum is an able and decisive officer but underneath he is more fragile. He has experienced some of the worst fighting after the D-Day landings in Normandy and the war has scarred him. Nevertheless he is very committed to his task because he is fuelled by a sense of anger over how unprepared the British were when the war broke out.

He is convinced we must never be caught out like that again. This was a feeling shared by many people, a rage at how so much destruction had been allowed to happen.

But there is also a more sensitive side to Callum; he is an amateur musician and dreams of becoming a movie composer. As the story progresses, the Connington Hotel becomes an irresistible place for him, full of possibilities both for romance and for him to realise his ambitions, while also completing his secret mission.

Where do I recognise him from?

He played opposite Anne Hathaway in One Day, and also starred in the lead role in 21, as well as featuring in Crossing Over with Harrison Ford.

Freddie Highmore – Victor Ferguson
Callum’s brother, a highly strung and very volatile young man. Like Callum he has experienced some intense combat during the war and now, as with so many returning servicemen, he is trying to cope with these memories and to start a new life.

In 1946 the medical profession’s approach to post-traumatic stress disorder was much more primitive than it is now, and many servicemen had to deal with it on their own. Victor has a very idiosyncratic method of getting through the day, which can prove alarming even to those closest to him.

The brothers are alone in the world as both their parents are dead, and Callum feels protective towards Victor. But as the story evolves their relationship undergoes a dramatic shift.

Where do I recognise him from?

He was Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory all those years ago – but now he’s best known for playing Norman Bates in Bates Motel.

Charlotte Riley – Rachel Lombard
Rachel is an American in London whose husband died suddenly and left her a fortune. She is remarried to Alex (Sebastian Armesto), Callum’s best friend from before the war.

Alex spent almost the whole war in Washington and is very conscious of how people regard this. Those British citizens who sat out the war in the US, and therefore escaped the terrors of the Blitz, often found themselves ostracised when they returned, or subjected to savage criticism, as the writers Christopher Isherwood and WH Auden discovered.

Meanwhile, Rachel’s stylish energy is desperately seeking an outlet and this leads her to create fashion shows and music evenings at the Connington, which inevitably brings her into contact with Callum.

Where do I recognise her from?

Riley was May Carleton in Peaky Blinders, and she was in Wuthering Heights where she met her husband Tom Hardy. She also starred in Edge of Tomorrow.

Phoebe Fox – Kathy Griffiths
She’s the feisty, highly committed Nazi hunter who is pitted against Callum in the story.

Although the most senior Nazis were standing trial in Nuremberg, thousands of others were escaping justice. This was mainly due to the chaotic processing of prisoners in Germany, which was often carried out by young officers who were not concerned about rooting out war criminals and let many of these suspects go free.

What’s more, the British were bringing people over from Germany, seemingly totally unbothered if they were guilty of war crimes.

Kathy knows military intelligence are using the Connington Hotel, and she believes there is vital information stored there that could help in her search for those that have perpetrated these crimes. She is determined to get into their secret office, and her dogged persistence yields unexpected results.

Where do I recognise her from?

She is known for The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, Eye in the Sky and Life in Squares. Fox also starred in One Day with Jim Sturgess, but in the small role of “Nightclub Girl”.

Alfie Allen – Ringwood
Ringwood is the intelligence officer running the secret operation in the hotel’s attic. During the war the British were pioneers in bugging people’s rooms, especially captured German officers, and some vital information was gathered this way.

The technology was regarded as so crucial it was kept secret for years. Ringwood and his staff are now employing the same techniques at the Connington, monitoring people of interest, particularly Dieter, the German scientist.

''“This is a great opportunity to play a nicely conflicted character. Ringwood has been on the front line in the war, and now suddenly he has to treat this Nazi scientist like a rock star. He is not happy about that at all. He has to fake being nice to Dieter’s face, but behind the scenes he is very unhappy indeed.”'' – Allen

Where do I recognise him from?

He’s Lily Allen’s younger brother… and he’s best known for playing Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, and also appeared in Atonement and John Wick.

Alfred Molina – Harold Lindsay-Jones
Harold is a mysterious Foreign Office official who seems to delight in spending time at the Connington and probing into Callum’s world. He has an ulterior motive, which Callum eventually discovers.

The story that Harold shares with Callum, and which he wants him to pursue further, revolves around a secret at the heart of government and is based on true events. The audience is in the same position as Callum in regard to Harold – can he be trusted? Is his offer of friendship genuine?

''“Harold has a dark and tragic side. He goes through the story almost like a ghost. He is constantly popping up in other people’s lives, either as a help or a hindrance. You soon realise he has the most enormous tragic past. Other characters refer to him as a “man of mystery” … the war has left him in a place where he exists in a very different world and he feels completely out of place. His story is about rationalising and coming to terms with that.”'' – Molina

Where do I recognise him from?

Molina has had a long and prolific career and is best known for his roles in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Boogie Nights, Chocolat, Spider-Man 2, The Da Vinci Code, and An Education.

Angela Bassett – Eva
Eva is an American singer who rules over the basement ballroom. She is in Britain because she can’t get work in the US – her left-wing views and refusal to play to segregated audiences has made her lose bookings there.

The character of Eva is inspired by the singer Hazel Scott, who took a celebrated stand against segregation, and had to move to Europe in the 1950s. Eva is brutally honest to people, but she is also ultimately an optimist.

''“She invades the space of the buttoned up, stodgy people upstairs with her boldness, her brassiness, her beauty and her sensuality. They have never seen anyone like her before! She puts me in mind of Josephine Baker, who went to Europe, turned it on its head and generally enlivened the joint!”'' – Bassett

Where do I recognise her from?

She’s Ana Spanikopita in BoJack Horseman and voiced Michelle Obama in The Simpsons – but Bassett is best known for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It.

Robert Glenister – Brigadier Wainwright
He’s a military man in charge of getting scientific geniuses out of Germany before the Americans and Russians get to them.

''“It was a race amongst the allies to get the most acute scientific minds to come over to their specific countries and divulge their secrets. He is quite a clever strategist because he understands that if they don’t get this information from the allies, the military secrets, then the possibility for a third world war remains very palpable. In a modern comparison, he’s sort of M to Jim Sturgess’ Bond if you like.”'' – Glenister

Where do I recognise him from?

Glenister is perhaps best known as con-man Ash “Three Socks” Morgan in Hustle, but most recently he appeared in the ITV drama Paranoid. He has also had a regular part in Law and Order: UK.

Lindsay Duncan – Frau Bellinghausen
Frau Bellinghausen makes her entrance halfway through the story. She is the owner of a famous perfume brand and Callum is set the task of getting her to reveal its secret formula. In 1946 even something as seemingly trivial as the ingredients of perfume was of interest to the British authorities.

They wanted to gain a commercial advantage over other countries in any way they could. However, cracking the formula turns out to be a challenge for Callum because Frau Bellinghausen, initially seems a terrifying personality. An Englishwoman who has lived her whole adult life in Germany, she has witnessed the rise of the Nazis first hand.

''“She attacks in order to defend and makes demands to keep her status high… She’s carrying a lot of guilt and sorrow. She is heartbroken about what she’s left behind and what she finds in England. She is horrified by the devastation. At first she seems indomitable. But many things are going on within her.”'' – Duncan

Where do I recognise her from?

Duncan has had an incredibly varied career – from appearing in About Time, Black Mirror and Sherlock to roles in The Honourable Woman and Starter for 10. She is also played Helen Kingsleigh in Alice in Wonderland.

Freddie Highmore on Victor
What kind of man is Victor?

He is very different from the majority of the other characters. He is a bit of a loose cannon and, at least on the surface, very wild and perhaps slightly performative. But that covers up his underlying mental issues. They both come from what we now call PTSD that he is suffering from after being at the Monte Cassino battle in World War Two.

He also his own issues, regardless of whether he had gone off to fight or not; he has depression which he battles at times. So with Victor, it is about keeping him grounded and real and never going over the top. Hopefully it is more a sense of trying to show those mood swings that someone like him would experience on a daily basis.

I think Victor is pretty stuck. He is tied to the past through what he’s going through. So in that way can never truly sever those links with his past and move forward, which I think is what he craves most of all. He’s always expressing to Callum this desire to work, to start a new life, to settle back into a kind of normality.

In a way, that is what Close to the Enemy is like for everyone. All the characters want to redefine what is ‘normal’ and settle back into some sort of routine after being so disrupted by the war. Everyone would like to feel somewhat comfortable and think that it’s OK now, it isn’t as crazy as it was a couple of years ago. They want to find a normal life where they’ll be happy.

Is it hard not to take these emotional scenes home with you?

Yes. But in a way it’s quite cathartic when you do an emotional scene. It’s just like in real life when you have a good cry and you feel almost good after. You can get rid of your tension that way.

How would you characterise his relationship with Callum?

Victor is the younger brother and so I think has always been looked after by Callum. Callum has always sought to help Victor out when he can, to guide him, take him under his wing and protect him. But by the end, it is ultimately Callum who relies upon Victor’s help to be able to become the hero of the show.

What has it been like for you working with Jim Sturgess?

Jim’s great, we get along extremely well. We’re kind of like brothers. I don’t really like the word ’banter’, but the banter between the two of them reflects our relationship off set. And Jim is amazing in this, especially because he is in almost every single scene. It’s incredible how extremely dedicated and focused he is in order to pull it off.

Have you enjoyed the period costumes?

Yes. Often when you do period pieces, you’re stuffed into some itchy jumper or something ill-fitting, whereas the clothes that Victor gets are great. I can see them coming back in style! So, that’s a plus and a difference from other period things – there’s no horrible constricting clothing.

How have you found Liverpool?

It’s lovely. It’s a really beautiful city. You wander around and the architecture is stunning. This hotel is wonderful, and there are so many old buildings you think, “Wow, we could convert this into an amazing library!” In London that would have been seized decades ago by some property developer and turned into flats. But it is brilliant to film in Liverpool. We can go to such central, iconic locations and they let us in!

Were you drawn to the role because it gave you chance to work with Stephen?

Yes, I think that was the case for everyone. This project is so much of him; he is very much the leader in every sense. He does everything, from all the writing to the directing on set and the ideas he comes up with. It’s his energy that drives everyone forward at all moments of the day. Without Stephen, none of it would exist. You can’t really imagine it without him.

I guess coming from his theatrical background, he has a really great understanding of characters and gives really specific notes on scenes because he knows the characters so well. Because he is so into the material, it helps everyone. You feel like he is very much aware of everything that is going on, as opposed to overseeing everything on a more superficial level. He seems to manage to get into great depth on everything. In an amazing way, he doesn’t need to delegate because he can just do it all himself. It’s been absolutely brilliant!
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