He’s perhaps too modest to admit it, but Sope Dirisu (Mothering Sunday,Gangs Of London), who plays the title role in Mr Malcolm’s List, isn’t exactly averse to the idea of being seen as 2022’s version of Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy.
In the Regency-set comedy, Mr Malcolm is London’s most eligible bachelor. He makes no secret of looking for a wife, but what he keeps concealed is his list of requirements – until a disastrous outing with the capricious Julia Thistlethwaite (Zawe Ashton). When their association reaches the gossip columns, she feels humiliated by his rejection and hits upon a plan to teach him a lesson. It involves her best friend Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto) pretending to be his perfect match and it doesn’t take long for Malcolm to start believing that, at long last, he’s found his ideal woman.
In this exclusive interview, Dirisu talks about the original short film of the story and how it became the feature film which is released in UK cinemas this week. He describes how his character has changed and developed since the short and recalls immersing himself in the world of Jane Austen as part of his research. And he reveals he enjoyed wearing the fashions of the day and learning to dance for the ballroom scenes, as well as speculating on which periods of history he’d to explore in the future.
‘Mr Malcolm’s List’ is released in cinemas on 26 August 2022.
