Jack Whitehall is the face that launched a thousand Netflix shows, entertaining us all the way back in 2011 with Fresh Meat and Bad Education, all the way up to his legendary Travels with my Father, which made us all grateful for our own slightly more open-minded but slightly less iconic parents. Now, after more than 20 years since he tried to make his acting debut in Harry Potter as a child, Whitehall returns and stars in Prime Video’s new thriller Malice, which is the perfect shape to fill that White Lotus hole in your schedule.
From a complete work-fail involving a spliff and a Toronto Comedy Festival, to a Bad Education crossover, Jack Whitehall shares a pint with us - fittingly, in one of London’s most decadent pubs, Mr Fogg’s Tavern.
1. He loved playing a villain, but he has his eyes set on something a little more magical
Famously, Whitehall went for a role in the original Harry Potter films all the way back in 2000, and despite not having cinched the part, he did walk away with a great anecdote he could, in his words, “dine out on” in everything from stand-up to chat shows.
Now that he’s officially made a successful segue from comedy to proper full-blown-Hollywood acting, he still has his eyes on the wizarding world… “It’s not necessarily a dream role, but something I’d really like to get a role in, but the new Harry Potter series. I’d love to kind of right that wrong - too old to play Harry now, but anything.” Who would he like to play - “I feel like it’s like jury duty for British actors - everyone will get called up eventually”. With eight films and an eleven-year commitment, the odds aren’t looking bad for his chances. In terms of who he could see himself playing? “Anyone really. Dobby?” he laughed.
2. He accidentally joined a nudist beach
Sometimes, when comedians make that leap from stand-up to serious non-sitcom acting, you wonder if they won’t be able to do it without just a hint of fun in there. Even in the most serious of thrillers like Malice, you have that twinkle-feeling of surely there’ll be a nudge or a look or a one-liner? Whilst Malice keeps it strictly drama on-screen, it turns out there were plenty of classic Whitehall-esque moments behind the scenes.
“I was walking to work one morning - it was a beautiful day so I decided to walk along the beach, only to realise it was on a nudist beach,” Whitehall recollected. “I looked out into the ocean, there was this man emerging, stark bollock naked. I didn’t know where to look. He smiled and waved at me. I thought, I’ll take the coastal path the next day. Next day, same guy, walking past with a towel and flip flops, smiles and waves at me,” Whitehall remembers, still visibly cringing. And it turned out, it got worse…
3. The most awkward scene to film wasn’t one you’d expect
There are some very awkward scenes in Malice - cracking TV, awful to watch with any family members, after all, we drew comparisons to The White Lotus for a reason… But what is it like to actually film those scenes, especially as someone whose default is comedy? What is the worst one to film?
“Weirdly one of the most awkward scenes to film wasn't and shouldn't have been an awkward day,” Whitehall confessed.
“A week later, [after his run-ins with the naked local] I’m filming a very intense scene with David down at the police station, getting interrogated. I’m giving what I think is quite a good performance - I’m really in the moment, being authentic to the emotional state of the character,” Whitehall recalls, really building the story.
“Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the extras playing a policeman, and it’s the same naked guy from the beach. And he’s looking at me, grinning, and I was just thinking, God, that’s the same c*ck I saw two mornings in a row. Then I’m trying to stay in the moment, in the scene with this guy in my periphery. Even the best of actors, like even Daniel Day-Lewis, would have cracked - you can’t stay in character when there’s a grinning man whose penis you’ve seen only four days prior.”
Luckily, the take was amazing, the accidental method acting really pulling through - he looked “properly haunted” in the scene according to the director - unsurprising really.
And it got worse again…
“Because it was a small island,” Whitehall laughed, “a lot of the extras were recycled. Honestly, that guy is in about five different scenes. He was a fisherman in one scene, he’s a guest at the wedding. Every time I turned up to set, he was there, waving at me.”
4. If he’s on the karaoke mics, he’s choosing an 80s power ballad
Any series which kicks off on a picturesque Greek island in a billionaire’s villa is going to have some fun-fuelled antics - including a booze filled night on the down, and a proper Greek wedding with traditional dancing from Whitehall to name a few.
In real life, Whitehall recently DJ’d the Arsenal Christmas party, including whacking on Gasolina, but if it was him on the karaoke mics, he knows what he’d go for.
“I actually love a power ballad,” he confessed. “Like Journey's Don't Stop Believin’, Celine Dion, Final Countdown - I love a power ballad. The cop-out is Oasis, I guess,” he mused, but we agreed it doesn’t count at the moment as they’re topical right now.
5. Accents are probably the hardest part of the job - it sometimes goes accidentally Jamaican
Luckily, Whitehall didn’t need to don any different accents for the role; his character Jamie sported the same rounded vowels as him. But between auditions and roles across the pond, accents are one of the most challenging parts of his job - and it’s definitely not always been smooth sailing…
“I had a gig where I had to do an Irish accent,” Whitehall revealed. “I’d nailed it in rehearsals - they’re so hard to get back once they're gone. It started out Irish in the first couple of lines, and I thought, 'This is great'. And suddenly it started slipping; within 20, 30 seconds, it was gone, and I was speaking in Jamaican patois. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get back to Irish - we went all around the world trying to get it back.”
"American is also quite challenging - I have to stay in it for the whole day, which is a bit cringe.”
*Cue us saying water in an American accent for the next five minutes*
6. If he had to create a crossover with one of his old shows, he knows what he’d pick
“I mean, maybe Alfie Wickers - because he is a tutor. Maybe he could be the tutor I could replace. I imagine the trajectory of that character's arc is him getting fired from Abbey Grove, and then try to be a tutor and get fired from that. Then what would happen? End up destitute probably.”
I mean, we could see it - the next spin off: Bad Education: After the P45 lands.
7. His worst gig was a Canadian experiment that went slightly wrong
Nudist locals aside, Whitehall has a plethora of awkward - if hilarious - anecdotes from his career. When you’re in a pub, it’s inevitable that the topic of worst hangovers arises. Luckily, aside from a couple of gigs back in his early days, he's not completed many drunk or hungover gigs, but he does have one memorable gig at the Toronto Comedy Festival where he decided to take a leaf out of some of his fellow comedians' books, and indulge in a pre-show spliff.
"The fear is, you'll go on drunk and be better - and then you need to keep doing it. Then you rely on it which isn't great."
"Particularly in America there are some amazing comics who do their bit shigh and they're brilliant. I went on stage and the first five minutes I was very relaxed and funny and it did feel a bit looser and I thought maybe I am good when I'm like this.
"Then I started doing a routine that was getting nothing, i started panicking thinking I'm losing the room. Then I looked down at a guy in the front row and he went "You've already done this bit, you opened with this." I had to ask them which bits I'd already done and it was awful. I had to come clean and tell them. I only got two minutes into the set before I had to get the compere to come back out."
8. If you want a West London pub recommendation, he’s your guy
You can't chat to a London local in a pub without getting the names of some of their other favourite spots - it's the law. And luckily for us Whitehall isn't one to gate-keep his go-tos.
"We're spoilt for choice where I am," he shared. "Cock and Bottle, Walmer Castle, The Pelican - if you want to stand on the street next to a load of people in Barbour jackets. Fat Badger is great. One of my best mates is a brewer and he has a brewery called Forest Road and has a place called the Forest Road Taproom which I love, it just has a great atmosphere and vibe. It's actually quite rare to get an independent brewery in London and it's a great spot."
So, if you're around North London and finding yourself a wee bit parched, you'll have some Whitehall-approved gems in your back pocket.
Malice, starring Jack Whitehall, is now available to stream on Prime Video.
Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
