John le Carre's 'Our Kind of Traitor' adaptation premieres in London

Record ID: 900708

  • Title: John le Carre's 'Our Kind of Traitor' adaptation premieres in London
  • Date: 5th May 2016
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 5, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** DAMIAN LEWIS GREETING NAOMIE HARRIS ON THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAMIAN LEWIS, ACTOR ON THE RESEARCH HE HAD DONE FOR THE ROLE, SAYING: "Well, I met some MI6 agents, operatives, people who were working in embassies abroad and I had a very nice slap up lunch in a club in London. That's my kind of research." DAMIAN LEWIS ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAMIAN LEWIS, ACTOR ON WHETHER HE PREFERS WORKING IN FILM OR TELEVISION, SAYING: "It's always been about script, it's always been about directors and people you work with. Storytelling, whether it's in film, TV, theatre or radio for that matter - the pull is the same. It's the story. The platform is unimportant to me mostly."
  • Embargoed: 19th May 2016 22:16
  • Keywords: Our Kind of Traitor Film Stellan Skarsgard Ewan McGregor Damian Lewis John le Carre Naomie Harris London premiere
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA0044GJ7IH9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The latest film adapted by a book by John le Carre premiered in London on Thursday (May 5), with stars Naomie Harris and Damian Lewis taking to the red carpet at the screening in London's Mayfair.
    'Our Kind of Traitor' follows married couple Perry (Ewan McGregor) and Gail (Naomie Harris) as they meet a money launderer for the Russian mafia (Skellan Skarsgard) and travel from Marrakesh to Paris, Bern and the French Alps as they try to help MI6 protect their new friend and his family.
    Director Susanna White, who is better known for her working directing on television said she was very excited to get the chance to work on a John le Carre story.
    "I've been a big fan of John le Carre going right back to 'The Spy who Came in from the Cold' with Richard Burton, or the original 'Tinker Taylor [Soldier Spy]' which I grew up on." She said, "So, it was a real thrill to be given the opportunity to make this movie."
    Damian Lewis, who plays MI6 agent Hector in the film said he researched his complex role in a rather unorthodox way.
    "Well, I met some MI6 agents, operatives, people who were working in embassies abroad and I had a very nice slap up lunch in a club in London. That's my kind of research."
    The film features some stunning scenery - both in Marrakesh and in Europe. Naomie Harris - who plays a barrister married to lead character Perry (portrayed by Ewan McGregor) who gets embroiled in the Russian mafia spoke about her favourite place she filmed.
    "I really loved the French Alps, you know. I really loved being able to just get up in the morning and go for walks for miles and not see anybody in the wilderness." She said, "I absolutely loved that, but Stellan Skarsgard, who plays Dima, absolutely hated it. He was like, "get me out of here, there's nothing to do". So they had to kind of get him off to Paris quickly to get some life and action. But I was very happy there".
    Veteran actress Saskia Reeves plays Stellan Skarsgard's Russian mafia wife in the film - and said it was a big challenge to play a Russian woman.
    "I did say to them "why aren't you getting a Russian actress to do this?", but it was important to Susanna [White] that that relationship was alive and I think Stellan [Skarsgard] wanted to work with an actor he knew and he wanted to work with somebody he could talk to in English." She said, "But I did learn Russian and I got some help from [actor] Ralph Fiennes actually who had made a film in Russian last year so Ralph put me onto somebody who was very helpful."
    'Our Kind of Traitor' is full of twists and turns, stunning locations and, unusually for a movie of this genre, quite a few laughs.
    It's set to be released in the UK on May 13 and in the U.S. in July.
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