The Suspect's Aidan Turner casting ‘plays with audience expectations'
ITV's new thriller will play with "preconceptions" about the Poldark star, says director James Strong.
The director of ITV's new thriller The Suspect has hinted that Aidan Turner's role in the series will toy with audience's "preconceptions" about the actor.
Based on the novel of the same name, The Suspect casts Turner as Joe O’Loughlin, a psychologist whose squeaky-clean image comes under scrutiny when he becomes entangled in an investigation into a young woman's death.
"It's an incredibly brilliant role for an actor," director James Strong told RadioTimes.com. "But it's got to have somebody who can be credible as a top clinical psychologist but also as a man who's got secrets, and has flaws, and has another side to him – [we need] to be able to explore that and unpack that journey, whilst giving the audience just enough insights into his character.
"You want somebody where you're not sure [about them] – someone who's initially likeable, someone you trust and someone you want to like... so when they start to turn, you're even more like [gasp], no, no, no no!"
Strong, who was recently lead director on BBC One's hit drama Vigil, explained that it was fun to play on Turner's heroic persona on-screen, established via his involvement with series like Poldark.
"It was delightful to be able to play with those preconceptions, particularly with Aidan who's used to playing the hero and playing the good guy unequivocally."
Adapted for the screen by Gangs of London writer Peter Berry, The Suspect also stars Shaun Parkes (Small Axe) and Anjli Mohindra (Vigil) and is from Vigil and Line of Duty producers World Productions.
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The Suspect begins on Monday 29th August at 9pm on ITV, with episodes also available after broadcast on ITV Hub.
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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.
