The Forgotten, a Jerry Bruckheimer show set to appear on ABC in the Fall, was going to be Rupert Penry-Jones' stab at US stardom - sort of. He was to play the part of Alex, a former cop whose daughter was kidnapped and never found, and who now runs a network for identifying dead bodies. You can read all about it in my ABC fall preview.
However, Penry-Jones - and just about every foreign actor in every pilot - was dropped from the show, along with former 24-star Reiko Aylesworth. No reason's been given but the general assumption is that to save cash, the networks hired cheaper actors from outside the US for the pilots, with the intent of dropping them in favour of bigger, more expensive names once the pilots had gone to series.
Anyway, our Rupe has been talking to Simon Mayo about being dropped from an unnamed US pilot (ie The Forgotten) and what he thought of it.
The odd thing is that he talks about it having been cancelled - implying it's not being done at all - when as we all know, it's still on ABC's books for the Fall and is likely to have Christian Slater playing his part. Rupes trying to make it seem like the show was the issue, rather than him/any foreign actor in the role, or does he know something we don't know?
Here are some of the things he talks about:
- He didn't really want to do it, as he's just moved house to the country and he has two kids
- It was cancelled from under him - ie, it wasn't his decision
- His agent talked him into it and he was going to be paid a lot of money for it
- Even when he read the script and was doing it, he didn't think it was very good
- ABC must have thought so, too, given they 'cancelled' it
- He's glad it didn't pan out
The points about the quality of The Forgotten seem to echo my own thoughts. You can see some footage of Rupes in action in the pilot below and I think you might agree with me (and him):
You can listen to the full interview at the Radio 5 Mayo podcasts page or download it from here for a few days at least.
Related entries
- September 24, 2009: Review: The Forgotten 1x1
A review of the first episode of ABC's The Forgotten starring Christian Slater
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July 3, 2009 | Reply
I think you have made more of his comments that maybe he meant you to. Rupert was having a relaxed conversation at Wimbledon between matches and explaining why he wasn't working at the moment. And inevitably he was going to frame the outcome from his perspective. I think there is still a lot about this we don't know.
From what I have heard the original script wasn't that hot and from what I have seen it wasn't a good pilot but ABC are keen to have a Bruckheimer. They may want to develop the concept but the project seems doomed.
July 3, 2009 | Reply
And re Slater, in my eyes he's damaged goods, as I said so much as said in my post, and thanks for the link.
I was more disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing Richard Coyle in Miami Trauma, actually, but since he's signed on for Prince of Persia (the Jake Gyllenhaal movie) I guess we will be seeing a big of him.
Coyle in Coupling = Sublimely Silly.
July 4, 2009 | Reply
If you listen early on in the interview, right before he says the show got cancelled, he does say that he was taken out of the running for meetings and work that would be happening now.
How he believes the show to be cancelled is inexplicable - if he's trying to put a brave face on it and claim that the show is cancelled in its current form (but will return in another), then surely he knows he would be caught out with the trades reporting on its progress.
On the other hand, let's just say he was misled by the agents he refers to and that he does not follow the trades - that really would be shocking!
Sounds like he did not enjoy the experience at all - I wonder whether he got on with Reiko A, given their common interests - starring in similar dramas, Spooks and 24.
July 4, 2009 | Reply
Interesting tidbit at the end of the interview -- the role Rupert Penry-Jones is describing is surely C J Sansom's Matthew Shardlake, originally announced by the BBC as a starring role for Kenneth Branagh.
August 6, 2009 | Reply
Funny because there are pictures up on The Forgotten IMDb page of Christian Slater filming in NY city.
I guess Penry Jones was dumped!
November 14, 2009 | Reply
Oohoh! Anyone think Christian Slater reaches the ankles of Rupert Penry-Jones???? PURRRR-lease!!!!