Star of new Agatha Christie film adaptation Murder Is Easy David Jonsson reveals he initially turned down the role because he’s not a fan of ‘colour-blind’ casting
The star of BBC film adaptation Agatha Christie has admitted he is not a fan of ‘colour-blind casting’, even though programme-makers have changed his character’s race from white to black.
David Jonsson, who stars in tonight’s drama Murder Is Easy, said he initially turned down the role for this reason.
In the radical reworking of Christie’s book, Luke Fitzwilliam is transformed from a retired white colonial police officer into a black Nigerian, newly arrived in Britain for a diplomatic post in Whitehall.
Those behind the new adaptation, which also stars Penelope Wilton, say it is “embedded” with “themes of a dying empire, power and the desire for independence, political and personal.”
Screenwriter Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre said she wanted the drama, about murders in an English village, to reflect the experiences of black immigrants in Britain.
David Jonsson, who stars in tonight’s drama Murder Is Easy, said he initially turned down the role
In the radical reworking of Christie’s book, Luke Fitzwilliam has been transformed from a retired white colonial police officer into a black Nigerian.
The star admitted he is not a fan of ‘colour-blind casting’ (Pictured: Luke Fitzwilliam, played by David Jonsson, and Bridget, played by Morfydd Clark)
Those behind the new adaptation, which also stars Penelope Wilton (pictured), say it is ’embedded’ with ‘themes of a dying empire’
Luke Fitzwilliam arrives in Britain for a diplomatic post in Whitehall and is accused by fellow Nigerian immigrants of working for a boss who is a ‘colonial butcher’
The story concerns Fitzwilliam who socializes in a West African educational center, where he is accused by fellow Nigerian immigrants of working for a boss who is a “colonial butcher” and of “collaborating with his oppressors.”
He is also asked whether it would not be better for him to ‘help his own people to gain independence in their own country’.
Jonsson said, “I’m not a big fan of colorblind casting… being blind to anything is not a good thing.” So I think I said no and they were pretty persistent.”
But he said that after speaking to the show’s bosses, he realized they weren’t “blind to anything” and that’s why he agreed to take part.