Steve Coogan was aware of the "potential for catastrophic failure" in playing Jimmy Savile.
Steve Coogan knew the dangers of playing Jimmy Savile in 'The Reckoning'
The 57-year-old star portrays the paedophile TV presenter in the controversial BBC drama 'The Reckoning' and was fully aware of the pitfalls of playing a man who was unmasked as one of Britain's most notorious sex offenders following his death in 2011.
Coogan told BBC News: "I felt like there's probably a handful of people in this country who could play the part, and I did consider myself one of them.
"It wasn't enjoyable, it was a professional challenge that I wanted to take on... I knew there was the potential for catastrophic failure if you get it wrong, but that's not a reason not to do it."
'The Reckoning' tells the story of Savile's career and examines why he never faced the consequences for his abuse and Coogan hopes that the drama prevents something similar from happening again.
The Alan Partridge creator said: "To bring him to life again is to learn about how these things happen. To stop that happening again."
Coogan continued: "You have to show the things that perhaps initially seem counterintuitive. He was charismatic, undoubtedly, because that was part of the Trojan horse that he created, to go about his sexual assaults.
"He created, over 30 years, quite an elaborate machine... which served him very well. And the court jester character that he created was his armour. It was very difficult, even for very reputable journalists, to pierce that armour."
Coogan has previously done comedic impressions of Savile but knew he had to play the abuser differently in the show.
He said: "I've got quite a good ear, and as an actor I didn't really treat Jimmy Savile differently from any other role.
"I'm a professional being hired to do a job, and that means to not do something which has any kind of caricature or comedic content, or to render him some pantomime villain, which would be a disservice to the survivors and victims."
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