Richard Armitage on casting The Stranger co-star in new audiobook The Cut
Jacob Dudman previously played Armitage's character's son in the Harlan Coben series.
After his first audiobook Geneva went down a storm in 2022, The Hobbit and Red Eye star Richard Armitage is back with a new thriller for Audible, The Cut.
While his first effort starred both Armitage and his Spooks co-star Nicola Walker, for The Cut, Armitage cast Jacob Dudman. The story is split into two timelines, with Dudman taking on the section set in the past, in 1994, and Armitage reading the section set in 2024.
Of course, Armitage and Dudman previously worked together on Harlan Coben's The Stranger, in which they played father and son. Speaking with RadioTimes.com exclusively, Armitage explained how Dudman's casting came about.
"There was a conversation early on about having multiple readers, or female characters. We talked about maybe having a teenage girl read the 1993 chapters, because the victim of the crime is female. But then I realised that this was a battle of wills between two boys, really.
"So there was a discussion about whether I should read both parts, but I felt that this needed somebody that could access that kind of exuberance and youthful joy of graduating from high school, that could tackle multiple voices, the school teachers, the kids, the teenage girls, the teenage boys, the sensitivity of that period of life, and of course, the person that just dropped into my head, because he is a master of voices, was Jacob Dudman."
He continued: "And I knew him personally because we worked together on The Stranger, and I knew what a great actor he is, and also what a lovely person he is.
"And I just thought, 'Someone with a big heart like Jacob would be perfect for this character', because I knew that he would handle the really difficult passages so well. So yeah, I'm glad he said yes."
Read more:
- Richard Armitage feared he'd be fired from The Hobbit: 'I didn't even unpack'
- Richard Armitage wants his Red Eye character to be an "enigma"
The Cut follows Ben Knot, who in 1994, along with his friends, bullied a younger boy named Mark Cherry. Violence escalated, and tragedy struck, with one of them being killed.
Thirty years on, the audiobook sees Ben move back to the village, as his career as an architect starts to unravel and the murderer from all those years ago is poised to be released from prison.
When Ben’s son Nate, a budding actor, lands the lead role in a new horror movie, Ben’s paranoia makes him question the filmmakers’ motives.
While speaking with RadioTimes.com, Armitage also confirmed that his first audiobook, Geneva, will be produced as a TV series, with the actor and writer calling it a "daunting and exciting" prospect.
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The Cut is available to listen to on Audible now.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
