The Tourist finds Jamie Dornan under threat in the Australian Outback. The twisty six-part thriller, airing on BBC1 from New Year's Day and later on HBO Max, sees the Fifty Shades and The Fall star play a mysterious Brit known only as "The Man" who is driving through the Outback when he is suddenly chased by a truck. After his car crashes, he wakes up in hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there…
As he tries to piece together his life, eager local cop Helen Chambers (Dumplin’ and Unbelievable’s Danielle Macdonald) tries to help him, while he also encounters spirited diner worker Luci (Line of Duty’s Shalom Brune-Franklin). But can The Man uncover his true identity before danger strikes again?
We caught up with Jamie Dornan to find out more…
'The Tourist' is so twisty! How do you see The Man?
“He's probably made a few wrong turns to find himself in the position where he's in the Outback and people are trying to kill him! I wanted him to come across as likeable because then the things you hear about him are more shocking as the shadiness of his past catches up with him…”
What was the most challenging thing about playing him?
“Not having all the information on which to build the character. Usually in the opening pages of a script, you get a sense of who this person is, the life they have, their family, their job, what their intentions are. But with this, there’s none of that. It's exciting to have all of that revealed to me, as it will be revealed to the audience. That was a big draw.”
How do Helen and Luci impact on his quest?
“He knows nothing about himself so he's desperate and thinks, ‘What am I? Where am I?’ The Man needs answers and sees something in those two characters that he thinks can help him. He has an instant affinity with them and they spark something in him.”
Did the show’s black humour appeal to you too?
“Yes, I’ve never read anything like these scripts. The Tourist merges different worlds, not just drama and comedy. It's heightened and unreal at times and the comedy’s often found in the darkest of places, when the most sinister things are happening within this crazy story that reveals The Man's life.”
The opening sequence where The Man is chased by a truck is incredibly tense. What was that like to shoot?
“In a world of big, expensive television, you want something that gets people's attention and the opening of this hopefully does — it’s fun and exciting. It's paying homage to Steven Spielberg’s [1971 film] Duel, it puts you bang in the middle of this madness and this beautiful landscape. The stunt stuff took days. I did as much as I could and got thrown around a lot but I’m up for that! We just wanted to make it as dynamic as possible.”
When can I watch 'The Tourist'?
The series begins on Saturday 1 January at 9pm on BBC1 and continues on Sunday 2 January at the same time. All episodes will be available on BBCiPlayer. In the US, it will air on HBO Max at a later date.
