Prince Andrew actor Rufus Sewell reveals why he had concerns accepting role

Rufus Sewell has shared why he had concerns playing disgraced royal Prince Andrew in Netflix drama Scoop.

The 56-year-old Diplomat star initially panicked when offered the role in the film, which depicts the story behind the Duke of York’s infamous “car-crash” interview with BBC broadcaster Emily Maitlis (played by The Crown actor Gillian Anderson).

Andrew appeared on BBC’s Newsnight in 2019 to discuss the scandal surrounding his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and was widely mocked following its transmission.

Sewell said he “obsessively watched the interview” and “had his own judgments” when it first aired but had a brief jolt of regret when the role was finally offered to him.

“I felt I could get behind it then afterwards, when I got the part, I was like: ‘Gosh what I have done?’” Sewell said on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (27 March).

“I’m not a natural mimic,” he explained.

The actor spent “hours and hours everyday trying to work out what he [Andrew] was thinking.”

With huge public interest in the accusations levelled against the prince, he held concerns his performance would be interpreted as support for Andrew or its reverse.

“I thought about what people might say, they might accuse me of trying to make him look bad, trying to make him look good. That’s the danger of playing a real person.”

The Knight’s Tale actor was conscious of “jumping on a bandwagon” by being involved in the movie, which is set to be released on 5 April.

Presenter Richard Madeley drew criticism for the same segment by asking Sewell if people should feel pity for the prince.

“I think it’s always important to remember that whatever someone is going through, that however high up or low down they are, these are humans,” Sewell responded.

“My responsibility to the actual film and to any human that you’re playing is to show the light and dark and we all have both.”

Netflix’s Scoop is based on the book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews by former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister. It explores the story of how the BBC Two programme secured the interview and the drama that ensued behind the scenes.