One of Andrew Scott’s breakout roles was Moriarty in the beloved Sherlock series. Out of all the Sherlock movies and TV shows, this modern take on the beloved detective’s stories was met with acclaim, and many adored the actor’s take on Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis. Now, Scott is in another adaptation of a beloved project, as he’s taking on the role of Tom Ripley in Netflix’s series Ripley on the 2024 TV schedule. So, when CinemaBlend had the chance to catch up with the actor about his latest adaptation, he spoke about taking on beloved roles and why characters like Ripley and Moriarty can survive multiple interpretations.
Ripley is the latest book-to-screen adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Along with the novel being adored, the 1999 film of the same name is widely considered one of Matt Damon’s best movies. With all that in mind, and considering Andrew Scott’s history playing characters like Moriarty as well as his upcoming role in an audio version of George Orwell’s 1984, CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell asked him about why these characters are able to be interpreted over and over again. In response, the Ripley star said:
No, I think there is a comparison to be made there. I think what it is, is it’s always about being respectful, but not too reverent. If you're going to do something, you have to put your own stamp on it. And that's why these things are open to interpretation, and why Shakespeare, for example – there are countless productions every single year, and people can still find themselves in it because you're able to pour the personality of whoever are the interpreters of it into these characters.
Andrew Scott makes a great point, when stories are based around complex and deep characters, it's easier to create more unique and thought-provoking interpretations of them without being repetitive. He cited Shakespeare’s work as an example, which makes sense, because he starred in a West End production of Hamlet in 2017. Along with that classic play, he was in Vanya in 2023, which was a new take on Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.
Continuing to tell us what it takes to make a successful new interpretation of a beloved story, Scott said:
So if you're going to do that, you really have to do that. And you have to really find out who you are in order to interpret these other famous characters. Some of the most brilliantly written ones can really take that. And the ones that are a little bit more flimsy, there's only really one way to do it. But with somebody like Tom Ripley, I do feel like you can have lots of different versions of it.
That makes a lot of sense. When I watched The Talented Mr. Ripley I was taken by Tom Ripley’s complexity, and Matt Damon’s ability to take his character on this journey as he transformed himself into someone else. The way that transformation happens, and the psychological effects of it feel like they can be interpreted and performed in many different ways, which goes along with Andrew Scott's point about why this character can go through multiple interpretations.
It’s always interesting to see how different actors take on the same role. I think Tom Ripley, a character who is constantly wearing a mask to try and complete his mission, is a perfect example of a great person to interpret multiple times because it can be so different.
To see Andrew Scott’s take on Tom Ripley, you can stream Ripley with a Netflix subscription.
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