Few classics are as known as Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. An unassuming entry point into the world of psychological thrillers, the novel has seen its fair share of screen adaptations—coupled with a multitude of reinterpretations of its protagonist, Tom Ripley. From Alain Delon’s portrayal of the conniving mastermind in Purple Noon to the ever-famous 1999 film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett, the sheer breadth of adaptive material runs the gamut. So it only makes sense then, that any attempt at another remake needed to be able to hold its own against its predecessors. Likewise, Steven Zallian does exactly so, with Netflix’s latest limited series: Ripley.
Starring Andrew Scott as its titular character, the episodic narrative delves into the twisted psyche of Tom Ripley—more intensely than it has ever been done before. Riddled with suspense, the noir-like thriller is precise in its delivery, suffused with an unparalleled nuance for what incredible cinematography looks like. Not to mention Scott’s enrapturing portrayal of Tom, or Dakota Fanning’s bold yet delicate enactment of Marge Sherwood.
Joining the cast is Eliot Sumner—the musician-actor who takes on the role of Freddie Miles, one of Dickie’s well-off friends, a self-pompous individual who considers himself a playwright. As if to add to the building tension in this particular remake however, is Zallian’s characterisation of Freddie. Whilst he still comes from money, he demonstrates a brilliant intuition of Tom’s estrangement from his world and is suspicious of him from the get-go, much unlike the more naive portrayal of Freddie as per the book and 1999 film. “Freddie never wanted to give Tom a chance. From the start, he was always sniffing him out and wanted this guy to turn out unlike who he says he is,”explains Sumner, who epitomises this version of Freddie for the small screen. And it is Sumner’s disquieting, considered and undeniably gripping portrayal of the character that steals every scene he’s in.
With Ripley now out on Netflix, he shares with Vogue Singapore how he arrived at the role of Freddie Miles, what sets Ripley apart from previous adaptations and what acting means to him as a creative outlet.
Congratulations on the release of Ripley. How are you feeling about it?
I’m very excited. I really believe that we did everything that Steve Zaillian set out to do. We were having discussions prior to filming about what he wanted. And it’s amazing to see someone set out to do something, and actually doing it exactly the way that they envisioned to do it. It’s very impressive. So I’m really, really excited for people to see it.
Considering the breadth of source material, what was it like preparing for the role of Freddie Miles?
So the first connection I had to Ripley was Anthony Minghella’s 1999 remake. I watched that when I was nine years old and back then, we didn’t have streaming services, we just had a DVD collection of maybe like 14 films. And it was one of those that I kept going back to. It definitely kind of influenced who I am as a person, but I think it had so much taste and intrigue, that I could still go back and watch it all the time. But we’re not talking about Minghella’s Ripley, we’re talking about Zallian’s Ripley. When I first read the script, it was stunning; I’d never read something as good as that—where the dialogue is so simple, but you can almost hear all the silence in-between. You can feel what’s going on. Steven’s a very, very skilled dialogue guy.
“It’s funny because all the characters have suspicions that Tom Ripley is a fraud, but everyone else is a fraud too. Freddie’s not a playwright. Marge isn’t a writer. Dickie isn’t a painter. So Ripley’s just a mirror for them all.”
Tell us more about the audition process.
I got an email from my agent, and it said ‘Tape for Ripley’ and I couldn’t believe it. I thought that it was really nice of them to give me a shot, but I’m not going to get this even if I do a really good job. So I decided to do the audition exactly how I heard it in my head when I read the character. I didn’t really listen to the sides, I took a bit of a risk. Half of the audition, I had my back to the camera, I just did it in an English accent. And I still can’t believe that I got the role and got to be a part of this incredible thing.
For the audience, it almost feels like we’re entering the psyche of a criminal, with Steven Zaillian’s perspective on the novel. How was it like entering the landscape of a psychological thriller that’s so layered with character nuance?
Yeah, there were a few lines that kept me stable throughout the role; one of which was Freddie’s fundamental dislike for Tom. And there’s also a fundamental intrigue with Tom, because Freddie sees himself as a writer. I doubt that if he was a real person, he would actually be a real writer, but he kind of sees himself in that world as a playwright.
So anyone that’s kind of a potential scandal, or potential fraud or someone that he can pick at just makes it more interesting. So Freddie never wanted to give Tom a chance. From the start, he was always sniffing him out and wanted this guy to turn out unlike who he says he is. So those were kind of the two lines I was towing between.
How did you connect to Freddie’s character?
It was interesting with Freddie; when I did the audition, I could hear his voice in my head already. And it just kind of played out. It was sometimes even easier to slip into that, than to slip into my own shy personality. We all have the capacity to engage with people differently, but it’s our own personality that kind of holds us back. So I think playing that role and exhibiting all of that arrogance and entitlement is something that I’ve never really had the chance to do before and that was really fun to play, because it’s so unlike me.
What would you say sets Ripley apart from its previous adaptations?
I really think it is its own animal. That’s always playing homage to Highsmith’s Ripley, but at the same time it’s so unique. He’s not written as a psychopath, he’s not a sociopath. He’s just a person and you’re kind of rooting for him at the same time. He represents all of us—he’s a victim of circumstance. And it’s amazing to see someone make a decision that’s going to be impossible to take back and watch him think through how he’s going to get out of this or what he has to do next.
Usually we see certain characters, and it’s almost instinctual. They know what’s going to happen next because it’s in the script but with Andrew’s Ripley, you really see him thinking it through. He’s not a killer, he’s just a person that has decided to murder someone and cover up the evidence. But how do you do that without any training or any experience?
Particularly when it comes to Freddie, it’s necessary for Tom to kill him. It’s not without question. This guy just knows too much. He’s been on to him. And at this point, Tom doesn’t have a choice. The world that he’s kind of pretended to be in is so out of his reach that he has to take it for himself. You’re kind of on his side the whole time in a strange way.
How was it like building your on-screen relationship with your fellow co-stars?
Yeah, the apartment scene was actually the second scene that we shot. We had all arrived in Rome two weeks before, to rehearse the scene. And we all went out for dinner, and we all became very good friends very quickly. Andrew is so supportive and so much fun to work with as an actor. We didn’t have too much time to rehearse the dialogue but we would be on the street doing a scene and we would be pissing ourselves laughing.
Even though it’s written in the script that Freddie kind of bullies his way into Tom’s space. But I think as an actor, to allow someone to do that and lead the scene was a very generous act and he’s such an amazing actor to work with. He’s a master at what he does.
There’s definitely a style nuance to Freddie’s character. Anything from his wardrobe you personally wanted to take home?
We had a lot of fun discovering Freddie’s wardrobe. He’s so unapologetically well-off that he doesn’t necessarily need to wear a suit every day. He sees himself as this playwright and I think some of the textures were slightly softer, I suppose? I would love to take all of the clothes home, to be honest. I doubt they’ll give me anything but they made like six cashmere coats, and they all got blood-stained and ruined. The costume designer is a guy called Maurizio Millenotti, and he worked with Federico Fellini so he’s kind of iconic and I knew that it would be an incredible experience to work with him.
What was your biggest takeaway from working on Ripley?
Everyday was an adventure. Living in Italy was the first time that I’d arrived anywhere. And I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt that before, being a musician and travelling a lot. Instead of just a concert venue and a hotel room, I get to live in Rome for months. And live as someone else. I had espresso before work, ten bottles of wine a week and lived like how Freddie might have if he was a real person.
It’s funny because all the characters have suspicions that Tom Ripley is a fraud, but everyone else is a fraud too. Freddie’s not a playwright, he’s just living off his family’s money. Marge isn’t a writer. Dickie isn’t a painter. So Ripley’s just a mirror for them all. And I was having my own sort of Tom Ripley experience.
What does acting mean to you personally and what are some upcoming projects we can look forward to from you?
It’s a kind of playground with safety precautions, if that makes sense. Because you get to explore different personality types in different situations within a safe space. Most of us live in polite society and we don’t get to try out different versions of ourselves in daily life, otherwise people will start to think you’re going a bit insane. So yeah it feels like a playground, even more so than music. I’ve always believed in artistic licence; that music, art and film should always explore the reality of a complex human experience. But sometimes, it’s nice to be told what to say, where to stand and what time to get to work.
I’ve a Swedish series coming out soon called Cry Wolf, a Swedish thriller which I shot over the summer. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’m very, very excited.
Ripley is now streaming on Netflix.
