‘Archie’ Interview: Jason Isaacs and Dyan Cannon

Jason Isaacs and Dyan Cannon discuss ‘Archie.’

Premiering on BritBox in North America on December 7th is the new series ‘Archie,’ which chronicles the life and career of legendary movie star Cary Grant, and stars Jason Isaacs in the title role. The series was executive produced by Grant’s ex-wife Dyan Cannon and his daughter Jennifer Grant.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Isaacs and Dyan Cannon about their work on ‘Archie,’ Isaacs approach to playing the iconic movie star, learning the specific way Grant moved, how Cannon and he fell in love, and why producing the series finally gave her closure.

Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

Moviefone: To begin with, the series explains how Archibald Leach became Cary Grant. Jason, what was your approach to playing Cary Grant in this series?

Jason Isaacs: It’s exactly that. I wasn’t playing Cary Grant. He was playing Cary Grant. He did it very well and the world can see them in the movies, how brilliantly he did it. From Jeff’s script and from talking to Dyan, and reading Dyan’s fabulous book, it became clear to me at least that that was a character he struggled to play for the world, which is why he spent so much time alone or with Dyan at home. He didn’t give any interviews. He didn’t want the public to see the mask slip. Our series is about who he was when the mask came off. That felt, to me, playable because Archie was a very damaged, very scarred, wounded, and wounding person. As someone once said of him, it might’ve been Alfred Hitchcock. “I’ve never known anyone who’s so charming onscreen who can be so charmless offscreen.” Not always, but often.

Laura Aikman as Dyan Cannon in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

MF: Dyan, do you agree with Mr. Hitchcock’s assessment? Was Cary Grant charmless offscreen?

Dyan Cannon: No, he could be charming offscreen too. Maybe he wasn’t with Hitch, but there were times when he was both. We were married. Stuff happens, but it changed the minute we were married. His troubled, devastating youth, it bothered him like a bad meal. He could never digest it and he suffered from it. Like Jason reminded us of a little while ago, unhappy people make unhappy business.

(L to R) Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant and Laura Aikman as Dyan Cannon in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

MF: Dyan, the series depicts your character as being resistant to Cary’s romantic efforts. Is that what really happened and why were you resistant to fall in love with him?

DC: In the beginning, I was in Rome filming. I was an actress then. I was acting a lot. My agent called saying he wanted me for a part in a film. I said, “Is he paying my way back?” They said no, I said, “Then I’m staying.” I was having such a good time in Rome. When I returned some months later, my agent, without telling me, took me to Universal Studios, where Cary’s bungalow was, introduced me to him, and we spent four hours talking. There was an immediate connection. It was so easy. He pursued me after that for eight months. He called and asked me out and my little voice said, “Don’t go.” He was older than my father, he had been married three times, I heard that he did LSD, there were so many reasons and I just thought, “No.” But he caught me in a lie one day. He called and said, “Would you like to have lunch at Universal?” I said, “I can’t, I’m looping over at MGM.” He said, “Tell me who it is. I’ll call and erase it, get it changed for you.” I pretended to wrestle some papers. I said, “I just realized I’m not doing that, so okay.” I had lunch with him and after that it was on. Even though there were so many red flags.

(L to R) Laura Aikman as Dyan Cannon and Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

MF: Jason, did you have a lot of discussions with Dyan and Jennifer about Cary, and what did you learn that helped you with this performance?

JI: I did, I spoke to Jennifer who was very interesting, very brave and vulnerable. But the story she has, the man she knew was a loving, devoted dad and she knew him obviously in his 60s. Dyan as his wife in a marriage that went, ultimately very badly wrong and caused Dyan tremendous pain and damage, as chronicled so brilliantly in her book, all the fault lines in Cary, going right back to his childhood and with such generosity, frankly, because what he put her through was unimaginable, intolerable, but you understood with perspective when she wrote the book, why and where that rage and all that fear came from. Dyan was really an invaluable resource. I read all the biographies, I did a bunch of other stuff and watched a bunch of things, but really it was the very open and amazingly brave conversations Dyan had with me that made me feel like there was something I could play that I recognized.

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Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

MF: Cary Grant’s movements and speech patterns were very specific to him personally. Was it challenging to embody him physically?

JI: Yes, it was a nightmare. I knew what the world was expecting, I knew people were sharpening the knives. There’s an incredible costume department that all those suits are tailor-made, and the makeup and hair department did transformative things, but ultimately there was a point I was going to have to step out front and try and seem, luckily not like the Cary Grant of the movies, try and seem like how he was at home. The voice was tricky because the voice that people know from the movies is not only exactly his accent, but Jennifer also told me he was much more English off camera. I couldn’t find a recording, but he has the same intonation pattern every time he speaks in the movies. Its why mimics did him so easily and well. I needed to find a recording somewhere and there wasn’t any, he just didn’t give interviews, he didn’t want people to know who he was behind the mask. I found one illicit interview. A journalist had spoken to him and recorded it against his will, and I tracked that guy down after 40 years. He’d never played it for anyone and he very kindly allowed me to listen to it. For the first time, I heard a man, not a screen icon, talking like a normal person. That was my reference point for the voice.

(L to R) Laura Aikman as Dyan Cannon and Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

MF: Finally, Dyan, what has this entire process of making this series been like for you personally?

DC: Relieved, excited, grateful. What wasn’t in the miniseries is that I went to such lengths, I wound up in the cuckoo bin after this marriage. It was that much of a harmful experience. Yet, we had a wonderful daughter, and some wonderful things came out of it, but quite honestly, it’s like the end of a chapter for me. It’s like I can let go of it now. I didn’t know when I wrote the book that it would be made into a miniseries because when you read a book, you form your own pictures, you do your own outlines. But when you see something and you see it in a room filled with strangers and you hear their reactions, it’s an entirely different experience. To see someone acting you, it’s weird. It’s weird, but it’s exciting. I’ve had revelations in the last few days from what Jason and Jeff have shared and by seeing it. All in all, it’s been a really good experience.

Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie.’ Photo: BritBox International.

What is the plot of ‘Archie’?

The series depicts the man originally named Archibald Leach, born into poverty in Bristol in 1904, before becoming Hollywood’s Cary Grant (Jason Isaacs). Additionally, scenes set later, in the 1960s, feature Grant in Los Angeles with personal issues affecting his happiness despite international stardom and many box office hit movies.