Tobias Menzies had more creative licence with Manhunt role than The Crown
"[There was] a bit more leeway to create the character that we needed for the centre of this story."
New Apple TV+ drama Manhunt dramatises the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, which took place over the 12 days following his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
The series stars Hamish Linklater as Lincoln, while Anthony Boyle plays Booth, although the real centre of the drama is Edwin Stanton, the war secretary who is tasked with finding Booth and getting justice for Lincoln.
Stanton is played by Tobias Menzies, who is no stranger to playing real-life figures, having previously portrayed Prince Philip in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown.
However, with Stanton having lived over 100 years before Philip, playing the two roles is a markedly different prospect.
RadioTimes.com spoke with Menzies exclusively, and he revealed the ways in which preparing for the two roles differed.
He said: "The honest truth is you have a bit more licence, because they can't, like, point to the footage of him walking into a supermarket and go, 'That's not what he's like.'
"So, I guess, a bit more leeway to create the character that we needed for the centre of this story. And it goes without saying, it's not a documentary, it's a piece of reimagining."
Menzies continued: "I guess I was keen to bring to it a sense of the kind of political creatures that were running the US then. They were men of, I get the sense, great moral purpose, a great deal of vision about what the country that they were building should or shouldn't be, and they were also men of argument, I think.
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"You know, they could speak to a room, hold an argument over probably many hours. When you read the books, the political debate at the time was certainly not short on words.
"So yeah, I guess the kind of heat and the fact that it was a country at the beginning of its story."
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Manhunt is based on James L Swanson's non-fiction book Manhunt: The 12 day chase for Abraham Lincoln's Killer, and has been described as "a conspiracy thriller about one of the best known but least understood crimes in history".
Manhunt will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday 15th March 2024 with the first two episodes, then episodes will be released weekly. Sign up to Apple TV+ now.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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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.
