Matthew Goode has said he based his portrayal of a vampire in his new TV series on tennis ace Roger Federer.
The actor stars as vampire Matthew Clairmont in A Discovery Of Witches, which is adapted from the novel by Deborah Harkness, and saw parallels between the character and the Wimbledon star.
He said: “When I did think about who my inspiration for Matthew was, who could be a vampire like Matthew de Clairmont, I was like, Roger Federer.
“Roger Federer seems like, to me, he sort of looks like a vampire in a weird way.
“I’m meant to be the most formidable assassin of all time, from the vampire world, and I thought he was quite a good person to base the performance on, physically, as he’s an assassin on the court.”
![Roger Federer at Wimbledon](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/Z3R5NIEJSVKRPMP54EZ5WB4FZA.jpg?auth=8d8fb8d409a05a39c6b817b75033e85119f669f7425b86bd255587e0c515045d&width=800&height=513)
The series also stars Teresa Palmer as professor Diana Bishop, who is also the most powerful witch that has ever existed.
The actress said: “I’m really excited. I think there’s a great movement towards showing strong female characters on TV and on film these days and it was just really nice to know that I was coming in and getting to play someone who has a lot to say, and she’s as strong as the guys, stronger even.
“God I love that she can be all things – vulnerable, the divine feminine, she can also be really strong and have these insane powers.
“I am really gravitating towards characters like that and I’m really excited that we’re in a climate where we’re just seeing more and more of those characters coming to life.”
A Discovery Of Witches will be available on Sky One and streaming service NOW TV from Friday September 14.