Steven Moffat made son audition for Inside Man role

By James Hibbs

Published: Monday, 26 September 2022 at 12:00 am

Steven Moffat’s latest series Inside Man features a host of big name actors, many of whom he’s worked with before – including David Tennant, Lydia West and Dolly Wells.

However, there’s another actor featured in the series who Moffat and executive producer Sue Vertue know particularly well – their son, Louis Oliver, who plays David Tennant character Harry’s son Ben.

Speaking at a recent event for the series attended by RadioTimes.com and other press, Moffat explained the casting choice, and revealed that despite the family connection, it was actually another writer’s recommendation which put Oliver in the frame for the role.

Moffat explained: “He was recommended to me, genuinely, by Mike Flanagan. He did a show you must watch on Netflix, Midnight Mass, which is fantastic and Louis was in it, and Mike Flanagan sent me an email saying ‘he’s brilliant, your son’. And we were looking to cast a Ben and we thought ‘well, OK, Ben’s a bit based on Louis’, and we just thought maybe we should try.”

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Louis Oliver (far left) with father Steven Moffat (fourth from left) and mother Sue Vertue (far right) and the cast and crew of Inside Man.
Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images

However, Moffat revealed that that wasn’t the end of it, and Oliver still had to audition for the part alongside other actors.

He said: “We made him audition. And other people auditioned too and Sue and I were not involved in the casting choice at all, we told Paul [McGuigan, director] that we would forgive him – ‘It’s fine, go and choose one of these – that one’s our son – but it’s okay whichever one’.

“And Louis was fine with it, he was saying, ‘That’s absolutely fine, I’ve got no problem, I understand’. Sue and I didn’t sleep for three nights. Three nights worrying about it! And thankfully he got it.”

As well as Tennant, West and Wells, Oliver also joins Stanley Tucci in the series, who recently revealed that he agreed to be part of the show partly because he “loved” Moffat’s previous work on Sherlock.

Inside Man is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Monday 26th September. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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