A British veteran and former spy has revealed the grueling two-month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne through to prepare for his role in Day Of The Jackal.
The actor plays an assassin attacked by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth.
And before filming the miniseries, Eddie, 42, had to undergo intense surveillance training to adapt to his character.
Oxford-born Paul Biddiss, 56, who spent 25 years in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, now works with A-list actors, teaching them tips on surveillance and espionage.
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous ploy to use a phone as a weapon.
A British veteran and former spy has revealed the grueling two-month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne, 42, through to prepare for his role in Day Of The Jackal.
Oxford-born Paul Biddiss, 56, who spent 25 years in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, now works with A-list actors, teaching them tips on surveillance and espionage.
Before filming the miniseries, Eddie had to undergo intense surveillance training with Paul to adapt to his character.
Paul spent two months teaching Eddie eight hours a day in threat assessment and situational awareness, evasion and self-defense methods, lock picking, tracking, and different types of surveillance.
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a mock undercover mission to locate a woman in central London, who was Paul’s wife.
Paul said: ‘Eddy wanted to know everything he could. I went into all the details and he took it all in – he’s very meticulous and did a fantastic job.
‘The best moment was sending him on a ‘mission’ in London. Eddie had to try to disguise himself and track down a target: the subject was my wife Debbie.
‘She’s the hardest person to find, especially when she goes to a store like Zara! She walked into Superdrug and he had to memorize all the CCTV cameras, all the exits, and try to keep an eye on the target.
In the original novel, the dissident parliamentary group planned to assassinate the then president of France, Charles de Gaulle, which is also a real plot that developed.
The group’s motive was to prevent Algeria from becoming independent from French rule, something the president was planning a referendum on in 1961.
In the book, her initial attempts to assassinate him were based on real life, however everything that follows is fictional.
The actor plays a murderer pursued by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth.
Paul spent two months teaching Eddie eight hours a day in threat assessment and situational awareness, evasion and self-defense methods, lock picking, tracking, and different types of surveillance.
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous ploy to use a phone as a weapon.
Paul pictured with Jackal director Frederick Forsyth
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a mock undercover mission to locate a woman in central London, who was Paul’s wife.
The series is being made by Carnival Films and was commissioned by Sky Studios, who will then broadcast the anticipated series across the UK and much of Europe, as well as on US streaming service Peacock.
The mirror He also reports that the huge salary Eddie earned was “the highest ever paid to a star,” but that’s now becoming the “norm” when deep-pocketed companies like Netflix, Apple, and in this case, Peacock are involved. .
A source said: “Many TV companies and broadcasters are struggling with small budgets, but not with high-end dramas for a global audience that involves streamers.”
“If you can make a deal with one of them, you can go completely broke.”
The Day of the Jackal premiered on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on Thursday 7 November.
