"I felt like I was going insane because I was playing this character that I played before, but nothing is familiar."
On New Year's Day 2022, The Tourist launched with 11.4 million viewers on the BBC, becoming the most-watched drama of 2022 across all platforms.
The six-part thriller, created and written by Jack and Harry Williams, stars Jamie Dornan as Elliot Stanley, a man looking to rediscover his true identity after his memory loss, alongside Danielle Macdonald as police officer Helen Chambers.
Following their adventure in the Outback in series one, series two is set against the striking backdrop of Ireland as the pair travel to find answers about Elliot’s identity, but instead, they are forced to face the dangerous consequences of his past actions.
I recently caught up with Danielle Macdonald to talk about the reaction to the end of series one as well as what it was like to shoot in Ireland, why Helen fell in love with Elliot, the switch from series one to series two and so much more.
The first series of The Tourist was the UK’s most-watched drama of 2022. What was that reaction like?
It's funny because I was in America when it came out, so Jamie and Shalom, who played Lucy in season one, were like "Wow. It's kind of crazy here." and for me, it hadn't come out here yet, so my experience was different from theirs because they were on the ground during it.
But when I was in Ireland, it was my first time actually in the UK since it came out and I was like "Oh wow! People saw it." I could now tell that. I could tell that a lot in Dublin, but when I went to Belfast I was pretty sure that every person there had seen it. I felt watched.
The Tourist was only ever meant to be one series and done. So how did you feel when you found out it was coming back for a second series?
I was excited, you know. I was actually at a television festival with Harry Williams, mid-last year for season one, and we were talking and having so much fun because people had mentioned season two so we were kind of joking about that.
And I was like, honestly, I would do it in a heartbeat because I love you guys. I love your writing. I love Jamie. I love the entire cast from season one. But I was like, realistically, I know I'm not going to get to work with them again. But I would love to and I think it would be fun.
Then a couple of months later, I got a script! I got the first draft of season two.
Does the reaction to series one add extra pressure?
It definitely does. I've never done a second season of anything because I've only ever done film and miniseries, and this was a miniseries.
You don't really think about it when you're on set. but now it's approaching coming out, I'm like "Crap. Helen's different. I don't know how people are going to react." You have no idea, but also no control over, so it's going to be out there, I can't change it, you can't please everyone. But hopefully people still enjoy it.
I remember when the first series ended so ambiguously, some people felt a bit let down and wanted to know if Elliot was alright. Did you understand that? And do you feel like series two satisfies those people?
I got it. When I read the script for season one I thought, "Ooh, this is going to be divisive." Because of course, it will be. You follow a character for so long, you're like "Are you kidding me?".
But I think that was also kind of the fun of it. That's their style. It's what they do. They're like, it's up to your imagination and I think people actively thought one or the other.
A lot of people were like "No, absolutely he saw the text message. He was fine." and then other people were like "He died." And I was like "Well... second season will answer your question."
What were your first impressions of Helen when you read the script, because she's really funny, isn't she?
She is and my first thought was that I was really going to have to work on making this funny because I knew she was the comedic relief. Everyone else is in this really dark world with all this crazy stuff happening and she's light and funny, and I was like, "Oh my God. How do I make that work in this world?"
So that's a lot of what I worked on with the director of season one, Chris Sweeney, before we started shooting to really find the character. And now, I think with season two it's quite different really, because Helen is very much in this new world and not really the same person that she was in a lot of ways.
Also, you as an actor are in a new world in this series. The first series was shot in Australia, this one was shot in Ireland. What was that change like?
It was crazy because Jamie was the only familiar thing, Jack and Harry (Williams) obviously too, but they were not on set, so it was an entirely new crew. New directors. New cinematographers. We did have one of our cinematographers from season one come back at the end, but not at the beginning and so every single person is new.
Every single person was new. Every single actor. And Jamie and I weren't working together for the first three weeks. So I felt like I was going insane because I was playing this character that I played before, but nothing is familiar.
But it was actually kind of perfect, in the sense that Helen is also going through that so hopefully it all worked out.
Where do we meet Helen at the start of series two?
Jamie and I spoke about it and decided that they've just been going from place to place, from country to country, living this great lavish life for the last year and a bit, but when they come to Ireland to figure out more about him, reality hits again and they're having to confront where we left off last season, for the first time.
I've watched the first episode, so I know that Greg Larsen is back as your former fiancé Ethan. What can you say about his return?
He's really funny. I thought he was funny in season one, in an obtuse way, but he's even funnier in this season. He's great. Greg is so great and so funny and I'm so happy he's back. Again, he wasn't there for the first couple of weeks and I wasn't filming with him at first, so it was nice when other people started to come back.
He's hilarious in this. That's all I can say. You're going to be obsessed with Ethan just for his humour.
Let's talk about a new character then. Detective Ruairi Slater, played by Conor MacNeill. What was it like working with him?
I loved working with Conor. I loved working with him. Weirdly, I feel like I was so intimidated by working with him because he's so good. He's so so good. All my stuff at first was with him.
All the first scenes I shot were with him which meant we got very close very quickly. We were staying in the same apartment building so I was like "I'm going to be annoying you" - which I did and he became a very fast friend. I love him to pieces. He's amazing.
What were some of your favourite scenes to shoot this series that you're allowed to talk about?
That's the tricky thing. I'm not really allowed to talk about some of my favorite scenes, but you know, there were just a few days I remember, filming in Wicklow Beach, we're by the lighthouse and it was the most perfect sunny day and there were literally wild horses running around.
We sat outside for lunch and were like "We don't want to go inside." It was the nicest day. It was such a fun day, because the material we were doing was actually wild, but I remember the last scene of the day was this car scene and we didn't have long but we laughed for seven straight minutes.
We don't do this usually, but it was just like one of those days where we were all really high on life. That was a really good day that I remember and there were many, many funny moments with everyone.
Do you relate to Helen in any way? Is there anything you can learn from her?
I definitely relate to her in some ways, but I actually do think she's quite different from myself. In a lot of ways I think she's just kind of trying to do the right thing at the end of the day and I can relate to that.
I think at the end of the day, you're like, I just kind of want to be a good human being and so am I making the right choices? In that sense, I can absolutely relate to her. Her struggle to find herself and confidence is something that I've gone through in my twenties and stuff. So it was nice to get to play that aspect of her.
I think you learn from every character you play. It's impossible not to. It's kind of why you become such an open human being as an actor. I think a lot of actors are very open-minded, which I think is because we play so many different people. I know I didn't grow up in these circumstances, but I weirdly lived them for a while.
So our brain expands and we feel like we've lived many different lives. It's a weird thing, but you have to believe the circumstances you're in.
What is it about Elliot do you think, that Helen fell in love with?
This is the interesting thing. I think in her gut, she knows he was a good person because she can feel it. And she knows it. She trusts her gut and her moral compass and just knows that he's good and is making the right choices.
But then the evidence is not great. He kidnapped her and also we find out some darker stuff, so there's this weird war raging inside her. She can feel that he's good and everything he's showing her is.
This version of him is kind and compassionate and he doesn't want to hurt anyone, but what are all these other things we start to learn. That's the turmoil and questions that are raised and explored in season two, which are fascinating.
What was it like working with Jamie this series? Was it easier having worked together before?
So easy. We got along really well in season one so we'd already done all of that. We knew each other so well which meant we weren't awkward at all or uncomfortable with each other. We just got straight into it and it was really fun. We got even closer on season two which has been amazing. It's been really good.
The first series of The Tourist was the UK’s most-watched drama of 2022. What was that reaction like?
It's funny because I was in America when it came out, so Jamie and Shalom, who played Lucy in season one, were like "Wow. It's kind of crazy here." and for me, it hadn't come out here yet, so my experience was different from theirs because they were on the ground during it.
But when I was in Ireland, it was my first time actually in the UK since it came out and I was like "Oh wow! People saw it." I could now tell that. I could tell that a lot in Dublin, but when I went to Belfast I was pretty sure that every person there had seen it. I felt watched.
What's next for you?
I am working on a miniseries called The Last Anniversary right now, which is based on a Liane Moriarty book. Nicole Kidman and Bruna Papandrea are producing it. It's set in Sydney and it shoots in Sydney. We started a couple of weeks ago so I'm in the middle of shooting right now. It's been such a blast so far.
The Tourist returns New Year's Day at 9pm on BBC One