Line of Duty’s Tommy Jessop is embarking on an exciting and inspirational dream to create a superhero movie with a protagonist leading the story who has Down syndrome – and Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is helping him along the way.
For years, esteemed actor Tommy has been gaining prominence through his many acting credits, starring in productions including Coming Down the Mountain with Nicholas Hoult, the stage show of Hamlet and, of course, Line of Duty as Terry Boyle.
Following his stint on the police procedural, the 38-year-old grew tired of waiting for the phone to ring and so decided to pursue his dream of playing a superhero by making a film himself with his brother Will Jessop, in a journey documented in the BBC film Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood.
The powerful documentary sees Tommy and Will literally hop on a plane to speak to producers and an influential director in LA, as well as having a face-to-face meeting with one of the most famous actors on the planet, which they recalled while speaking to Metro.co.uk.
The brothers decide to reach out to several high-profile actors on a whim in the hope that one might be interested in playing the nemesis opposite Tommy’s titular character, Roger the Superhero, who’s named after his teddy bear.
Following some guidance from The White Lotus star Will Sharpe, who Tommy worked with on Casualty in 2010, they receive a response from none other than Jon Snow himself, Kit, and so arrange an in-person meeting.
The meet-up goes swimmingly well, with Kit reading for the part of the evil villain, whose aim is to eliminate all people with Down syndrome from the world.
The Eternals actor praises Tommy on the work that he’s done on the script so far and encourages him to go all the way, while also revealing his personal connection to the story by opening about his cousin who also has Down syndrome.
During a conversation with Metro.co.uk, the filmmakers both shared how much they enjoyed meeting Kit, 36, revealing that they have stayed in touch with him in the months since making the documentary while they continue to work on Roger the Superhero.
Tommy described their meeting as ‘heartwarming’ and ‘enjoyable’, saying that it was an ‘emotional time’ when his peer was talking about his cousin.
‘It was funny, because he’s a lovely guy, isn’t he?’ Will chimed in.
The Line of Duty star explained why it was especially significant for Kit to be reading the part of a villain, as the Game of Thrones actor had admitted being ‘typecast’ as a hero, while now ‘he wants to be a baddie’.
Recollecting the scene in the documentary, Will added: ‘It’s quite funny, because he’s such a lovely guy, so friendly. He smelt really nice. But yeah, he was playing kind of such a baddie. It was quite nice actually. It was quite fun and he seemed to enjoy it, didn’t he?’
‘A bit too much,’ Tommy quipped with wisecracking humour.
When asked whether they’ve stayed in touch with Kit in the months since they first met, Tommy admitted that it was ‘top secret’… but Will did share a small tidbit hinting at their future collaboration.
‘It’s all top secret for now. We’ve definitely stayed in touch. He’s super, super lovely and supportive. But we can’t say too much,’ he stated.
In Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood, viewers will witness the brothers compile lists of A-list actors who they hope might be tempted to consider a role in Roger the Superhero, including the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Ralph Fiennes.
So have they heard back from any more of them?
Taking inspiration from one of his most famous roles, Tommy took a leaf out of Line of Duty’s book by responding: ‘No comment.’ No spoilers for this superhero story!
Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood airs on Monday August 21 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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