Guy Pearce says he could ‘feel’ Helen McCroy on set with Damian Lewis

Guy Pearce has spoken about filming A Spy Amongst Friends with Damian Lewis shortly after the death of his late wife Helen McCrory last April.

The actor, 55, said he could feel the “essence” of the Peaky Blinders actress on set as they filmed the drama together, during an appearance on Wednesday’s This Morning.

Guy admitted he was “surprised” that Damian was back shooting so soon after Helen’s death, but he revealed that she had insisted he take the job.

Candid: Guy Pearce has spoken about filming A Spy Amongst Friends with Damian Lewis shortly after the death of his late wife Helen McCrory last April

Helen died of breast cancer at her London home on April 16, 2021, at the age of 52.

Discussing his relationship with the star, he said, “I loved Helen when we did The Count of Monte Cristo. I found this woman with a great intelligence and sense of humor and a real passion for life and she was a real inspiration and I never forgot her…

“When Damian and I started working together she had only passed away quite recently and I had to let Damian know and I was surprised he went through with this but he said she said to him ‘you better make sure you do this show.” Her essence and soul felt quite present [on set].’

In the miniseries, Guy plays Kim Philby and co-stars with Damian [Nicholas Elliot]who is now in a relationship with singer Alison Mosshart.

Sweet: The actor, 55, said he could feel the ‘essence’ of the Peaky Blinders actress on set as they filmed the drama together, during an appearance on Wednesday’s This Morning

Of the research he did for the series, he said, “I had to brush up on my knowledge of this relationship between Kim Philby and Nicholas Elliot.

“I found a book one of their wives wrote, the letters they wrote I thought was the most intimate thing I’ve struggled through. From that point on I got a sense of his emotional journey and personal journey for him.

“I think Philby was very well entrenched in the British ruling class on some basic levels. He was fascinated by the philosophy of communism.’

In the new show, Guy, who seemed absent from the premiere, plays the infamous British intelligence officer and KGB double agent, Kim Philby.

While Damian, who was also a producer on the series, takes on the role of fellow intelligence officer, Nicholas Elliott.

The espionage thriller is based on Ben Macintyre’s non-fiction book of the same name and will be released on the new ITVX later this year.

So fast? Guy admitted he was ‘surprised’ that Damian was back shooting so soon after Helen’s death, but he revealed that she had insisted that he take the job.

Elsewhere on the show, Guy discussed his rise to fame following his stint on the recently canceled and then revived Australian soap opera, Neighbours.

He said: ‘It means a lot to me, that show and I’ve never shied away from it, we know how popular the show was in the late ’80s and beyond.

“The hard news, when we found out the show was canceled, a friend of mine had just been on the show and then it was canceled.

“When I was asked to come back and reprise the role of Mike, I absolutely said, I want to play my friend Annie’s father. I was asked to go back to the show a few times.’

Discussing his relationship with the star, he said, “I loved Helen when we did The Count of Monte Cristo. I found this woman who had great intelligence and a sense of humor’