Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne has said he received tips from “a military espionage expert” for his role in Sky Atlantic series The Day Of The Jackal.
The 10-part adaptation is based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth and the subsequent 1973 thriller starring Edward Fox as the Jackal.
Redmayne, 42, plays the Jackal in the forthcoming series, while The Woman King actress Lashana Lynch stars as British intelligence officer Bianca – who starts to track him down.
Speaking on the red carpet of the show’s UK premiere, Redmayne told the PA news agency: “Lashana and I, well we were sent to this gentleman… who is a military espionage expert.
“And to show his versatility, he was also working on Gladiator at the same time.
“And he was amazing. He taught us to track people, he gave us all these tips, like, if you want to hide in a public place you put on a hi-vis jacket and suddenly you kind of disappear because no-one sees people in hi-vis jackets, which I thought was paradoxical and weird.”
He added: “I just adored working with these two. I think Lashana and Ursula (Corbero), the cast in this were just formidable, and it was a real treat.
“We also got to travel, I’m one of those people, when I watch TV I love what I call kind of armchair tourism, when you’re sitting and you are dreaming of being somewhere else. And we got to shoot in Croatia, in Budapest, in London, in Vienna.”
Lynch, 36, who showed off her baby bump at the premiere, told PA: “I wanted to approach Bianca’s take on weaponry and stunts in a different way.
“Characters I played before had it all together, very slick, very together, and Bianca just doesn’t, although she’s an expert, she doesn’t know what to do. She’s a bit complex and messy.”
The series stars Money Heist actress Corbero as Nuria, a character who is close to the Jackal’s personal life, and Game Of Thrones actor Charles Dance as Timothy Winthrop.
The cast also includes The Crown’s Khalid Abdalla, The Capture star Lia Williams, The Walking Dead’s Eleanor Matsuura, and Slow Horses actor Nick Blood.
The Day Of The Jackal premieres on Sky, November 7.
