Robert Carlyle admits "hesitation" about revisiting The Full Monty
The classic film is getting a follow-up in the form of a new Disney Plus series.
More than two decades since they strutted their stuff on the stage of a Sheffield nightclub, the Full Monty gang are back – with the majority of the original cast reprising their film roles for a new Disney Plus series.
The 1997 film, written by Simon Beaufoy, followed the exploits of six unemployed men who put on a male striptease act to raise some cash – lauded by critics, it won the BAFTA for Best Film and also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It was a box office hit too, becoming the highest-grossing British film of all time.
In the age of the "legacy sequel", a follow-up might seem like a no-brainer, but speaking at a BFI screening of the first two episodes, Robert Carlyle – returning as charismatic chancer Gaz – admitted he had some initial reservations about revisiting The Full Monty.
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He explained: "There is a certain amount of hesitation about it, because you don't want to do anything that's in any way going to downgrade the memory of the film, so at first you're like... 'Are you sure about this?'
"It was through conversations with Simon and then eventually looking at the scripts and saying, 'I can see what this is, he's taken it on and it's 25 years later... that was then, this is now.'"
The eight-part series, Carlyle insisted, is "not trying to remake The Full Monty" – for one thing, the old gang won't be getting their kit off.
"We're not trying to do that," he said. "It's an entirely different thing. So once you're reading it, all these reservations were soon put to bed."
Mark Addy (Dave), Tom Wilkinson (Gerald), Steve Huison (Lomper), Paul Barber (Horse), Lesley Sharp (Jean), William Snape (Nathan) and more cast members from the original join Carlyle in the sequel series.
Read more:
- The Full Monty reveals first trailer for Disney Plus reboot
- The Full Monty unveils first look at Robert Carlyle in new series
The Full Monty is coming to Disney Plus on Wednesday, 14th June – sign up to Disney Plus now for £7.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.
Check out our list of the best movies on Disney Plus and best shows on Disney Plus, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
