It’s rare that TV Magazine has witnessed the actors in a telly drama visibly excited as they recall their first meeting with the show’s writer.
But then, not every actor gets the chance to work on three adaptations of JK Rowling’s novels.
“I met her in the toilet,” laughs Holliday Grainger, 29.
“The person who flushed the chain at me was JK Rowling!”
Tom plays private eye Cormoran Strike while Holliday is his assistant, Robin Ellacott, in the dramatisation of Rowling’s three Strike novels, which were written under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
“The first story is about the fashion industry, the middle one is set in the literary world, and the third is about ex-soldiers and is a bit darker.”
Having read the books first, Tom and Holliday felt they knew the characters – but Tom had his work cut out to bulk up to fit JK’s description of his character, a former military cop.
“I had heard someone say there’s a lot of Jo [JK Rowling] in Robin,” adds Holliday.
“When I read it, I thought: ‘She’s just like me.’ Every woman that I’ve spoken to thinks Robin is just like her. She has all the likeable qualities you want to have. She’s compassionate and practical, and brave and intelligent.
“She’s just so lovely – you recognise the best aspects of yourself in Robin.
She feels like your mate, or someone you’d want to be your mate.”
There’s also a definite frisson between Robin and Strike.
With the first three books now adapted, Tom and Holliday are keen to read more – when JK has written them, of course.
“I can’t wait to read book four,” says Holliday, excitedly.
written by admin on August 27, 2017