Archie tells the incredible real-life story of Tinseltown icon Cary Grant, who was born Archie Leach in Bristol in 1904.
The four-part drama, which lands as a box set on ITVX on Thursday, November 23 in the UK and will air on BritBox in the US in December, sees Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs take center stage as Cary Grant.
It explores how, despite his success in classic films such as North by Northwest, His Girl Friday and To Catch a Thief, Grant remained haunted by his childhood, which saw his mother Elsie (Mr Selfridge and EastEnders' Kara Tointon and later Killing Eve and The End's Dame Harriet Walter) battle mental health issues and his father Elias (The Irregulars' Henry Lloyd-Hughes) abandon him.
Meanwhile, Grant’s relationship with fourth wife Dyan Cannon (Casualty and Gavin & Stacey's Laura Aikman) also comes under the spotlight.
What To Watch caught up with Jason Isaacs to find out more about Archie…
Archie takes an in-depth look at the real man behind a Hollywood legend. How did you feel when you were approached to play Cary Grant?
“I had a notion of him and initially that made me not want the job because he was the epitome of sophistication, cool and suavity and I’m not that!
"Then I read the script and every biography and thought, ‘That I can play, that's a very complicated, troubled, damaged and damaging human being.’ I was terrified because there's only one Cary Grant, but Cary Grant was a character he created and even he struggled to play him, so that made it easier.”
Tell us about your take on him…
“He battled dark things but he also was funny and charming. When he arrived in Hollywood, he wanted to climb that greasy pole and stay there as long as he could, and he built a persona from scratch to succeed in the career he’d chosen, but also to build himself a wall of protection.
"There was a hole in him that he tried to fill with various different wives and he was tortured by his failed marriages – why did he drive people away? But we’ve tried to tell a rounded picture about the baggage and secrets that can destroy people.”
What impact did his upbringing have on him?
“He had a traumatic childhood and struggled with fear of abandonment. But when he found the theater, he walked into a world which was warm, exciting and full of community and people who liked him. It was a home and he just wanted to belong.”
Dyan Cannon and Jennifer, her daughter with Cary, are both executive producers on Archie and Dyan’s book, Dear Cary, inspired the drama. What was it like talking to them?
“They've both been incredibly trusting with myself and Laura. Jennifer knows Cary as her dad, and Dyan knows him as the man who wooed her and then with whom she had an acrimonious split.
"I wanted to know how he really spoke, so Jennifer generously gave me private films and audio recordings. I also found a man who, as a student, had done an interview with Cary for a film festival. That guy has never played that recording to anybody in the 40 years since, but he played it to me. Now, I can play back Cary’s voice and feel like he's talking to me.”
Have you had to wear a lot of prosthetics to play Cary Grant?
“It can take six hours in makeup when I’m playing him as 80-odd. It’s amazing prosthetics. And when they make me look younger, my face is pinned up like human scaffolding! But for me, it’s a huge change when I put those dark brown contact lenses in, Cary comes out when they go in.”
Do you think you have more of an idea what made Cary Grant tick now?
“Yes, I've connected with him. I recognise how ludicrous this sounds, but I feel like I might understand some of the things that he was struggling with. I'd love to talk to him.”
All four episodes of Archie are available on ITVX from Thursday, November 23 and will be available on ITV1 at a later date. The drama will air in the US on Britbox in December.
