Andrew Scott feels the Pressure as 'unsung hero' in WW2 thriller

5:02 PM ETDeveloping

Entertainment Desk

In Short: Andrew Scott, known for his roles in theater and film, has taken on a new challenge in his latest acting role as Group Captain James Stagg in the World War II thriller 'Pressure.' Stagg.

Andrew Scott, known for his roles in theater and film, has taken on a new challenge in his latest acting role as Group Captain James Stagg in the World War II thriller 'Pressure.' Stagg, the chief meteorological adviser to General Dwight D Eisenhower, played a crucial role in the success of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Scott, 49, describes Stagg as an 'extraordinarily interesting cinematic character' and an 'unsung hero from history.' The film, according to Scott, delves into the high-stakes environment of Stagg's character, who was not particularly garrulous and thus perhaps an unlikely hero.

The film 'Pressure' is also a personal project for Scott, who is openly gay and has been acting since the '90s. He produced 'Elsinore,' a film that took a significant amount of encouragement and support to bring to fruition. Scott's career has included notable performances such as his turn as Hamlet, which he described as his 'last act of defiance.

Scott, who has faced his own speech impediment, credits acting as a way to overcome it. He shared that when he was a child, he had a lisp that led him to elocution lessons, which ultimately 'fell in love with acting.' Despite the internet's obsession with his role as 'The Hot Priest,' Scott was proud of how it helped ease his anxieties about audience acceptance.

What's still developing

“Group Captain James Stagg may not have been the most charming person, but I think he had a huge amount of humility in the face of nature. And that's one of the themes I think of the film," Scott tells the BBC.
Stagg isn't a traditional war hero, something Scott clearly relished sinking his acting teeth into.
The talk began with Bennie asking Scott, 49, who was sporting a striking purple jumper, about the internet’s obsession with him.
“If you had got a script that said, ‘The Hot Priest,’ you’d be like, ‘This is dodgy,’” joked Scott.
“It’s about how we use our time, and he was enormously fun, attractive, beautiful, amazingly gifted actor,” Scott said of playing Charleson.
Scott is himself a celebrated London Hamlet, here playing a man whose Hamlet was his last act of defiance.
12, Scott took the stage at the Royal Alexandra Theatre to roaring applause as part of TIFF’s “In Conversation” series to discuss his much-heralded turn in “Elsinore” and his storied career.
“It was just called ‘The Priest’ and then the internet took over.” Scott, however, was immensely proud of “The Hot Priest” craze in the sense that it helped ease some of his own anxieties about whether the audience would accept a gay actor in a role as a woman’s love interest.

Sources

BBClink