The Night Manager is one of the most loved British series. The spy thriller is based on John le Carre’s 1993 novel of the same name. The series stars Hugh Laurie as Richard Onslow Roper (Dicky), Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, Tom Hollander as Major Lance, Elizabeth Debicki as Jemima and others. The series aired in 2016 and received positive reviews.
In The Night Manager, both Tom and Hugh gave exceptional performances. The Loki actor played the spy with such perfection that no one can imagine anyone else as Jonathan Pine. But did you know, that Hugh Laurie once revealed that he wanted to play Tom’s character? Yes, Hugh loved the novel in the 90s itself and wanted to adapt it into a show. However, that didn’t happen until Sussane Beir decided to adapt the book in 2016.
During the show’s press launch in 2016, Hugh Laurie revealed that he wanted to play Jonathan Pine and had a hilarious reaction to Tom Hiddleston’s performance. The Veep actor stated, “I rather arrogantly dreamed of the possibility of playing the character of Pine – and have had to sit back now and watch Tom Hiddleston be virile and charming – and it’s f**king galling to watch.”
In another interview with Indiewire, Hugh again spoke about wanting to play Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine in The Night Manager. Laurie said that he was thinking of himself as Pine. The actor was glad he didn’t play Jonathan, as he would’ve made a dreadful hash of the character. The House actor shared, ” I saw Tom Hiddleston half an hour after we started; I thought, ‘Oh, he’s plainly the absolute right guy to do this’.”
Meanwhile, The Night Manager Seasons 2 and 3 were recently confirmed, with Tom Hiddleston reprising his character of Jonathan Pine. It is not yet known whether Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, or Elizabeth Debicki will be back in the new seasons. Furthermore, the show’s popularity was such that it was also adapted in Hindi with Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead roles.
