Born just after the turn of the 20th century in working class England to a factory worker and seamstress, no amount of crystal ball gazing would tell you that Archibald Leach would grow up to take cinema by storm. But those were the strangely auspicious beginnings for Hollywood royalty Cary Grant whose story is told in new mini-series Archie – streaming from Thursday, November 23.
You can watch Archie for FREE in the UK on the ITVX streaming service. But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on because you can watch Archie on ITVX from anywhere with a VPN.
UK: ITVX (free)
US/AUS: BritBox
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
His real name and humble upbringing aren't the only things that Grant kept hidden from his adoring fans in a time when actors were still able to keep their private lives private.
Jason Isaacs plays Grant over four one-hour episodes, exploring his life in and away from the spotlight – from the mean streets of Bristol, through to music hall troupe act and eventually the highs and lows of Hollywood super stardom.
Prepare for faithful period details, portrayals of acting royalty from Hollywood's Golden Age and to get the warts-and-all story of one of the UK's most famous acting exports. The series is penned by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jeff Pope (Philomena) and directed by Bafta-winning Paul Andrew Williams (Murdered for Being Different).
Interested to take a peek behind the curtain? Here's how to watch Archie from anywhere in the world. Read on for all the information you'll need to stream all four episodes, no matter where you are in the world.
How to watch Archie in the UK for free
How to watch Archie in the US and Australia
The international streaming rights for Archie are held by BritBox – the streaming service that specializes in British TV.
Note that Archie doesn't start internationally until two weeks after its UK premiere. That means you'll need to wait until Thursday, December 7 for the first two episodes to drop on BritBox, followed by episodes 3 and 4 another week later.
BritBox is available in the US and Australia for $8.99 / AU$8.99 a month or $89.99 / AU$89.99 for a whole year.
However, there is currently a Black Friday offer in the US that lets you get your first three months for just $10 (available until Sunday, December 3). There's no Black Friday offer in Australia, but you can try the service out Down Under thanks to its 7-day free trial.
How to watch Archie from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch Archie on any of the streaming services above by using a VPN – no matter where you are in the world!
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar. There's a helpful guide to the best VPN services on TechRadar if you'd like a deeper read.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
What is the Archie release date?
All four episodes of Archie will become available to watch on the ITVX streaming service on Thursday, November 23.
International viewers will have to wait two weeks until Thursday, December 7, at which point the first two episodes will land on BritBox. The last two episodes will become available to watch one week later.
All you need to know about Archie
Archie trailer
What does the title Archie mean?
Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach. Archie is a shortening of Archibald.
The actor changed his name at the age of 27 to Cary Grant so that it would sound more American.
Who is Cary Grant?
Cary Grant was one of the most famous leading men during Hollywood's so-called Golden Age.
Born in Bristol, England in 1904, his acting career spanned 23 years from 1932 until 1955. A favorite of director Alfred Hitchcock's, he was the lead actor in four of his movies: Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest.
Outside of those pictures, he was nominated for two performing Oscars in 1942 for Penny Serenade and 1945 for None But the Lonely Heart. He was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1970 for his 'unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues'.
Cary Grant was married five times and died in 1986 at the age of 82.
Who is playing Cary Grant in Archie?
Cary Grant is played by English actor Jason Isaacs in the Archie mini-series.
60-year old Isaacs is probably best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, and has over 100 film and television credits to his name.
They include movies such as The Patriot, Black Hawk Down, The Death of Stalin and Mass. TV credits include The West Wing, The State Within, The OA and The Great. In 2009, Isaacs was nominated for a Bafta TV award for playing actor Harry H Corbett in the mini-series The Curse of Steptoe.
What is the cast for Archie?
- Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant
- Dainton Anderson as young Archie
- Oaklee Pendergast as Archie
- Calam Lynch as Archie
- Harriet Walter as Elsie Leach
- Kara Tointon as Young Elsie
- Ian McNeice as Alfred Hitchcock
- Alexandra Guelff as Doris Day
- Jason Watkins
- Lisa Faulkner
- Niamh Cusack
- Henry Lloyd-Hughes
- Ian Puleston-Davies
