A British veteran and ex-spy has revealed the grueling two-month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne to to prepare for his role in Day Of The Jackal.
The actor stars as an assassin targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, which is based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth.
And prior to filming the miniseries, Eddie, 42, had to undergo intensive surveillance training to get into 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 insider tips about surveillance and espionage.
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous trick of using a phone as a weapon.
A British veteran and ex-spy has revealed the grueling two-month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne, 42, to 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 and teaches them insider tips on surveillance and espionage
Prior to filming the miniseries, Eddie had to undergo intensive surveillance training with Paul to get into character
Paul taught Eddie eight hours a day for two months in threat assessment and situational awareness, self-defense and evasion methods, lock picking, tracking and various types of surveillance.
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a supposed undercover mission to track down a woman in central London, Paul’s wife.
Paul said: ‘Eddy wanted to know as much as possible. I went into all the details and he took it all in. He is very meticulous and did a fantastic job.
‘The best moment was to send him on a ‘mission’ to London. Eddie had to try to disguise himself and follow a target – the subject was my wife Debbie.
‘She’s the hardest person to find, especially when she goes into the store like Zara! She went to Superdrug and he had to memorize all the CCTV cameras and all the exits, trying 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-life plot that unfolded.
The group’s motive was to prevent Algeria from gaining independence from French rule, something the president scheduled a referendum on in 1961.
In the book, their first attempts to kill him were based on real life, but everything that follows is fictional.
The actor stars as an assassin targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, which is based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth
Paul taught Eddie eight hours a day for two months in threat assessment and situational awareness, self-defense and evasion methods, lock picking, tracking and various types of surveillance.
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous trick of using a phone as a weapon
Paul pictured with Jackal director Frederick Forsyth
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a supposed undercover mission to track down a woman in central London – Paul’s wife.
The series is being made by Carnival Films and has been commissioned by Sky Studios, which will then broadcast the expected series in the UK and much of Europe, as well as US streaming service Peacock.
The mirror also reports that the enormous paycheck Eddie earned was the “highest ever paid to a star,” but that is now becoming the “norm” when big money companies like Netflix, Apple, and in this case Peacock are involved.
A source said: ‘Many TV companies and broadcasters are struggling with tight budgets, but not with high-end drama for a global audience involving the streamers.
“If you can make a deal with any of them, you can absolutely break the bank.”
The Day of the Jackal premiered on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on Thursday 7 November.