Joseph Fiennes shares update on Gareth Southgate TV series and how he'll be watching the Euros

Yahoo UK

When Joseph Fiennes watches the Euros this Summer, the experience may be a little odd. The Emmy-nominated actor recently portrayed the England football team’s manager Gareth Southgate on stage in the play Dear England, winning Fiennes rave reviews and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor. The BBC has even commissioned a TV adaptation.&nbsp; Fiennes: Return to the Wild premieres on National Geographic on Sunday, 26 May at 8pm, followed by the second episode on Sunday, 2 June at 8pm.

Transcript

00:00 Obviously the Euros is coming up.

00:02 Watching someone like, someone you've played, someone whose psyche you've gone into,

00:08 does that feel surreal? Does it feel like you're kind of watching someone you know almost?

00:13 If you're watching Gareth Southgate managing them?

00:16 Yeah, I mean I feel somewhat connected.

00:19 The play deals with so many more themes than just football.

00:23 Football is sort of a metaphor where we look at identity and national identity

00:28 and other themes and politics.

00:30 But I'm certainly looking at the Euros, I'm wildly excited and I do feel incredibly nervous.

00:36 I believe the squad's just been named.

00:38 It's quite an interesting young component to the squad,

00:41 which seems to be very much leaning into the theory of bringing in young,

00:45 which was I think the big success of Gareth.

00:48 And he knows well how it works in the under-21s

00:55 and so it's interesting to me that he's picking young players,

00:58 especially in defence it seems to be one or two very, very good, wonderful, strong, young talents being brought in.

01:07 Yeah, but I do, it's funny, I'll be watching this in a very different way had I not done this production.

01:14 And you have a TV show coming up as well, the TV adaptation.

01:17 Apparently.

01:18 How's that going on there?

01:20 I don't know.

01:21 It's a little bit like the group stages I think with the BBC.

01:25 I think maybe we have to, you know, I think James has to do the heavy lifting.

01:29 James Graham, our wonderful, illustrious, prolific writer has to deliver the scripts

01:33 and then they have to be kind of accepted I guess.

01:38 And then we move on to the next stage of possibly going into production next year.

01:42 Fingers crossed.

01:43 Fingers crossed.

01:44 Or maybe it'll be a new narrative.

01:45 Who knows what this year will bring because obviously that will affect what next year might,

01:50 the tale that will be told next year.

01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended