Litvinenko star David Tennant only filmed for 10 days on ITVX drama
Director Jim Field Smith revealed that Tennant, who plays the title role in the ITVX drama, was only on set for a brief period.
New drama Litvinenko is now available to stream in full on ITVX. For fans expecting to see David Tennant front and centre, they may soon find that this isn't the case for most of the series.
It is well known that Alexander Litvinenko tragically died after being poisoned in 2006. With the drama going on to focus on the police investigation and subsequent inquiry into his death, this means the protagonist of each episode switches, with Tennant only being the lead for a brief time.
In fact, ahead of the drama being released, the show's director Jim Field Smith revealed that Tennant was actually only on set for "around 10 days" of shooting.
Smith explained: "David was on set filming for around 10 days. As, obviously, Alexander Litvinenko very sadly died as a result of the radiation poisoning.
"That is the core of the first episode and then the story spins out from there. A very wide-ranging, intricate story that goes from that hospital bed in University College Hospital to Moscow."
In the same interview, Smith also revealed what it was like filming with Tennant, explaining that the shoot was set up to feel as real as possible.
He said: "I said to David, ‘I want these police interviews with Sasha [Alexander Litvinenko's nickname to loved ones] at the hospital to feel like we’re there in the room, like they are unfolding live in front of us.’ That’s very much how we shot it. As if we were there documenting those interviews happening.
"It makes for an incredibly intense experience. Particularly as Sasha gets sicker. Filming those scenes was fairly harrowing for everybody."
Smith explained that the choice to shoot in this way was made as an attempt to "scrape away at the machinery of filmmaking" and that he wanted to "strip this down to allow the actors to be in the scene and not feel like there are lots of people standing around them".
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He continued: "We worked very hard to create an environment where the actors could feel that way. As a result, the actors really did feel like they were in that hospital room.
"I remember shooting one scene and it was all I could do to walk over to David and just give his hand a squeeze. Because I couldn’t really say anything. It almost felt like we had parachuted back into that room."
Read more:
- Litvinenko star says David Tennant is “remarkable” in ITVX drama
- Litvinenko director: Nailing David Tennant's Russian accent was "tricky"
- David Tennant explains how he transformed into Litvinenko for drama
Litvinenko is available to watch as a full boxset now on ITVX.
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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.
