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Why you’ll never see Rowan Atkinson in the same light after Maigret

LIVERPOOL — It may take a while to get used to Rowan Atkinson in a role in which he doesn’t twitch, spasm or trip over his own feet. But once you see him as Detective Maigret, said film producer Barnaby Thompson, “you’ll never think about him in the same way again”.

Rowan Atkinson stars in Maigret. Photo: BBC

Rowan Atkinson stars in Maigret. Photo: BBC

LIVERPOOL — It may take a while to get used to Rowan Atkinson in a role in which he doesn’t twitch, spasm or trip over his own feet. But once you see him as Detective Maigret, said film producer Barnaby Thompson, “you’ll never think about him in the same way again”.

Thompson is one of the executive producers of Maigret, the latest screen adaptation of the bestselling novels by Georges Simenon set in 1950s Paris and featuring French detective Maigret, who solves murder mysteries. Another of the show’s executive producers is the author’s son John Simenon.

Atkinson was their first choice for the lead, said Thompson, for several reasons. “He was the first person we thought of, and we’re very happy that he said ‘yes’. He has a real humanity and he has tremendous empathy. And I think that there’s also something surprising about casting him, which makes everyone look at the show differently, because he’s so well-known for such physical comedy,” he said. “It’s a risk, but I think that it will make the show very distinctive because once you see it, you’ll never think about him in the same way. You’ll think of him as a serious, dramatic actor rather than as a comedian.”

It wasn’t difficult to convince the Mr Bean and Blackadder actor to take on the role. “I think we caught him just at the moment when he was looking to do something serious. And so, it was very good timing,” Thompson said. “Rowan has done a lot of acting. He’s done stage acting. So he was keen to show that side of his personality.”

Even Simenon, for whom the project is very close to his heart, has found himself moved by Atkinson’s performance. “My father’s novels have been adapted many, many times,” he said, but “this is going to be, for me, a landmark in the adaptations of Maigret … From my point of view, it was a big leap of faith, obviously, but at the same time, I will never look at Maigret in the same way since I’ve seen Rowan in it”.

He explained: “Empathy is the key to Maigret — that is the difference between him and other detectives. And Rowan has portrayed that to a point of excellence that has not been matched before, I think. So, not only will people see him as somebody else, but I am seeing him as Maigret like nobody else.”

That, surely, is high praise coming from someone personally invested in Maigret’s legacy.

Maigret is available on BBC First (StarHub TV Ch 522).

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