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THE LUMINARIES
New series
Streaming, Paramount +
Erik Thomson (centre) plays a pimp in this BBC period drama set in the New Zealand goldfields.Credit:
The BBC’s adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s epic novel, The Luminaries, set in New Zealand’s gold rush era, offered three firsts for Erik Thomson: a BBC period drama credit, the fulfilment of boyhood Wild West fantasies, and the opportunity to play a pimp.
“I’ve never played a pimp before and I never really thought I would, and there’s probably only a very small chance I’ll play one again,” laughs the Scottish-born, New Zealand raised actor.
The role of Scotsman Dick Mannering, the flamboyant, opera-loving conman with his sights set on ambitious heroine Anna Weatherell (Eve Hewson, Behind Her Eyes), is worlds away from Thomson’s decent family men of Seven’s Packed to the Rafters (revived as Back to the Rafters on Amazon Prime), and 800 Words. Mannering is even a stretch from Thomson’s memorably arrogant chef, Easton West in the ABC’s foodie drama, Aftertaste.
“It was great to throw all that naturalistic, nice father figure stuff by the wayside and have a real muscular go at something more theatrical and character-driven,” he says. “With Easton West as well, both of those characters are quite a long distance from me, so it was really nice to make that leap and flex the muscles and give it a good whirl … Eve and I got on really well and I think she trusted me. We could delve into that relationship, and it is a bit icky. There’s no other word for it. But she’s such a nice person to work with, I felt I could go into that ickiness without feeling too ashamed.”
Filmed in Auckland’s sticky summer in heavy costumes in the city of Dunedin and on a purpose-built set in the South Island town of Hokitika, the cryptic story weaves thwarted romance with betrayal and astrological trickery, and the brutality of life on the goldfields in the 1860s. It was to be one of Thomson’s last shoots before the pandemic hit. He treasures the memories of the carefree atmosphere among the international cast, which includes Australians Callan Mulvey and Ewen Leslie; EastEnders’ Himesh Patel; and French actress Eva Green.