The Town hits ITV tonight and sees Andrew Scott take his first massive leading role in TV drama. Rewind only a couple of years though, and few knew of the incredibly talented Irish actor. So how did he become a name big enough to hang a whole drama on in such a short time?
Andrew Scott In Sherlock
The new drama sees a Scott playing Mark, a young man heading back to his small home town from his life in London, after a shocking incident call him back there for the first time in a decade.
For years Scott was a much bigger presence on stage, with him previously having headlined in two Olivier Award winning stage productions and starring alongside Bill Night and Julianne Moore in play ‘The Vertical Hour’.
Scott’s not had the easiest or smoothest route to TV stardom, for years appearing on screens in bit-part roles and guest appearances on procedurals. When given a bigger licence though, he always excelled, be with Chris Marshall in the short lived, but very funny, My Life in Film or playing Colonel William Smith in historical drama John Adams alongside Paul Giamatti.
It was only when he landed the part of evil genius Jim Moriarty in the BBC re-interpretation of Sherlock Holmes that he really began to turn heads though.
Playing the wonderfully deranged nemesis of Holmes was always going to be a make or break part, and thankfully, Scott was up to the challenge and then some. A constant highlight throughout his time on the show (how painfully brief it was), Scott’s performance as Moriarty was simply magnificent.
Stealing scenes from Benedict Cumberbatch is a tricky thing to do, yet Scott pulled it off with consummate ease, his performance utterly magnetic as the deranged villain.
He was rightfully rewarded for his sparking turn come awards season, taking home a BAFTA earlier this year.
He proved his range beyond a show of a doubt by following it up with a wonderfully subtle performance in drama Blackout, which saw him play a police detective being shut out at work and who’s personal life is crumbling around him.
The Town sees Andrew Scott’s first time as the centre of a drama on screen, something that may be seen as a gamble by ITV, but even after his stellar work as Moriarty (a role which he’s keen to move away from and play something “A little more human”) the channel has surrounded him with enough talent that there’s very little risk.
With ITV stalwart Martin Clunes in support and the debut TV script from Olivier Award winning playwright Mike Barlett (who’s worked with Scott before) in its arsenal, The Town looks set to be a sure fire barn stormer for the channel, and lets them give Scott the chance to lead the line for once.
We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for one of our favourite faces on British TV.
The Town starts tonight at 9pm on ITV1
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith