Archie's Jason Isaacs Was Afraid To Play Cary Grant At First (For A Good Reason)

Cary Grant is synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood, with his debonair attitude and iconic transatlantic accent. It goes without saying that Grant's body of work has inspired many modern actors, so it's understandable Jason Isaacs would be hesitant to play the performer in the new television miniseries "Archie."

The show follows various stages of life for the leading man, whose real name was Archibald Leach. With such a distinct image associated with Grant, it makes sense Isaacs would have a hard time figuring out how to portray him adequately, especially when it came to his manner of speaking. Isaacs told Virgin Radio UK, "I didn't want to take the job, partly because everybody thinks they can do an impression of him." The transatlantic accent, which denotes a sort of upper-class sensibility, is quite specific and can easily descend into parody if one's not careful. 

Isaacs stated how he was "terrified" to try to do justice to Grant, one of many legendary actors who've been due for a biopic for some time. One method Isaacs employed was to "break down all the movies phonetically." However, a special, uncovered secret is what made everything click for Isaacs.

Cary Grant performed for most of his life, getting his start in vaudeville before venturing to Hollywood. He honed a persona he maintained even when the cameras weren't rolling. In fact, there's one part of the "Archie" trailer where Grant says, "Cary Grant is a character. Have to be very careful about how he's perceived." With that in mind, Jason Isaacs effectively had to play someone who was always playing someone, which is a daunting undertaking. But one tape made everything click for him.

The Harry Potter star told Virgin Radio UK, "I found a tape that was never meant to be made because he didn't give recorded interviews, he didn't like it. He gave a recorded interview in the last year of his life." It was a game changer for Isaacs because he finally had something that made it clear there was a real person underneath the Cary Grant persona. Basing a real person on various characters could lead to a performance that reads more like a caricature.

All four episodes of "Archie" debuted on ITVX in the United Kingdom on November 23. Viewers in the United States can stream the miniseries on BritBox to see yet another fantastic performance from Jason Isaacs.