From “Cursed Child” to Christie: Anthony Boyle in “Ordeal by Innocence”

Anthony Boyle seems to excel at playing mysterious sons from dark families, since he’s moved from his role as Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to playing Jack Argyll in Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence. Jack is one of five children in a wealthy English family who is imprisoned for the murder of the family matriarch but is killed in prison just as new information surfaces that may prove his innocence. Boyle sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the creation of the show and how it coincided with the opening of Cursed Child on Broadway:

So I was over rehearsing Harry Potter in New York, and the producers luckily were very accommodating and gave me two days off to basically get on a redeye, land in Glasgow, get my hair cut, do a scene, and then fly back. So that would have been at the start of the year — February, maybe?

Considering that Cursed Child opened in March, it’s a wonder that he was able to balance both productions! The actor also elaborated on the complexities of Jack’s character, pointing out similarities and differences between him and Scorpius:

I think he’s just very, very messed up. In a lot of ways, he’s one of the few people in the show who’s honest. Everyone is keeping secrets and lies, and I think, in a bizarre way, he’s one of the most truthful characters. I felt that he was a bit like Lady Macbeth in the structure of the piece. Like, he’s the catalyst for so much even though he’s quite rarely in it, but every time he is, he’s a driving force behind a lot of the action.

Just like any other Agatha Christie novel, Ordeal by Innocence is a dark, twisted tale that viewers of the show will want to unravel along with its characters. Boyle insisted that no spoilers be given whatsoever – maybe it’s time to start using the hashtag #JackDemandsYourSilence? He claims the show is too well written to allow it to be spoiled for anyone:

I read the script first [before the book]. I was actually just sent one scene and I accepted it. The scene was Jack and Leo in the prison, that scene. I was sent that, and I just went, ‘This is incredible. This is so beautifully written.’ And then I went and read the book. It was the first Agatha Christie I ever read as well and I really fell in love with her writing. The only thing I knew of Agatha Christie was like, Miss Marple. You know, those British TV shows that are on at like 3 o’clock in the day, that your grandma watches? The butler did it! You know, with ridiculous mustaches. That’s what I knew of Agatha Christie. And then reading the book, I was like, ‘This is just gripping writing.’ I could not turn the pages fast enough.

We’re just as excited to see this story unfold, but Anthony Boyle is looking forward to the future beyond Christie and Cursed Child. He’s interested in taking on another book adaptation, including the novel by Haruki Murakami he just finished reading:

 I just finished Norwegian Wood and I thought that would be like a cool TV show, and I think I’d play that guy quite well. He just has a detached, sort of — I don’t know. I just thought it would be a cool TV series. I also just started reading Catcher in the Rye. I’ve never read it. Because I’m in America now, I wanted to soak up classic American novels and pieces of art and stuff. So I’m trying to check that off my box.

We’ll certainly be trying to check Ordeal by Innocence off our lists now that it’s streaming on Amazon Prime Video! Watch all you like, but remember – no spoilers!