David Oyelowo applauds BBC's Les Misérables for 'colour-blind' casting
Airing this Christmas, BBC One's spectacular new adaptation of Les Misérables has set itself apart from previous versions in one important way – and we're not talking about the lack of songs.
From War & Peace screenwriter Andrew Davies, this take on Victor Hugo's novel is embracing inclusive casting – most notably hiring Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo to play Javert.
Related: BBC Christmas TV guide: All the listings and highlights for 2018
Speaking at a launch for the series, Oyelowo suggested that this is just the next logical step in making period drama feel relevant to audiences of today. "The thing that often gets overlooked when we have this conversation is the really radical thing that we've been doing forever – taking a 150-year-old French novel and transposing it onto English life," he said.
"That's something we've done for so long, and the reason to do that is to make it relevant to a wide and varied audience that we want to speak to. So in relation to the casting, it's just an extension of that."
Oyelowo explained that while the themes of earlier period dramas "were relevant to [his] life", their "images... didn't necessarily reflect" who he was. "But they still were resonant to me," he added. "Now, a 12-year-old sitting in Islington can have the same experience, but moreso. So I do think that [this type of casting] is a great extension of what we've been doing for decades, which is to make pieces feel relevant to the people who we are showing it to."
Oyelowo will star opposite Dominic West - playing Jean Valjean - and Lily Collins - cast as Fantine - in the new Les Misérables, and promised that his version of Javert will be different to previous screen and stage versions.
"He's always played posh and I actually think that's incredibly lazy, because he's not – as Hugo clearly states, he was born in a prison, he's working class, he's a prison guard," the Selma actor said.
He added that other versions of Les Mis often have Javert, the son of criminals, "marginalised as an antagonist, as a villain" – and that he felt this sort of "primary colours" interpretation would quickly get "tired" across a six-part series.
"He has a very clear moral compass from which he is operating," Oyelowo suggested. "He is there [working as a prison guard] in order to fight against a part of himself that he loathes, and he sees that embodied in Jean Valjean and that, to me, explains his obsessive pursuit of this guy... he's pursuing something that he needs to expunge within himself."
He wasn't entirely convinced, however, by Andrew Davies' suggestion that Javert "may possibly be in love" with his nemesis Valjean. "Reshoots! We need to do reshoots!" Oyelowo laughed.
Les Misérables begins on Sunday, December 30 at 9pm on BBC One.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
('You Might Also Like',)
