The 'Fleabag' star shares how his new Netflix drama differs from Matt Damon's 1999 film, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley.'
Andrew Scott's new Netflix series, Ripley, may be based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, which inspired the 1999 film of the same name starring Matt Damon, but most of the similarities end there.
Ripley follows Scott's character, a New York City grifter hired by the father of Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to bring his son home to the United States and enlist him in the family business. Things take a dark turn when Ripley finds himself enjoying the lifestyle a little too much and decides he will not let anything get in the way of his newfound happiness and freedom.
Speaking with ET's Denny Directo at the premiere of the series, the Fleabag star, 47, teased how the new iteration of the novel "vastly" differs from the adaptations that precede it.
"I absolutely adore the film, it had a huge influence on me. But this is a vastly different version of it," Scott told ET. "It's completely different and so I think as soon as people start watching it they'll go, 'Oh, this is a completely different thing.'"
In the eight-episode series, set in the 1960s, Scott plays conman Tom Ripley, who is dispatched to Italy by a wealthy man in order to convince his wayward son to return home. Emma star Johnny Flynn plays said son, Dickie Greenleaf, whom Jude Law played in the previous film adaptation.
Rather than focusing on bringing Dickie back home, however, Ripley becomes enamored by his lavish life abroad and deeply ingratiates himself into his wealthy world. The trailer, released last month, shows him even imitating Dickie's voice, attempting his casual American accent.
For the new version, the show's creators opted to give the classic story a darker and more sinister spin that will leave the audience in suspense. The series is also in black and white, giving it a film noir quality.
The series also stars Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood, the character Gwyneth Paltrow played in the 1999 film.
Marge is Tom's biggest doubter, who becomes increasingly skeptical of the new character in Dickie's life as it devolves into fraud and murder.
ET also spoke with the Uptown Girls actress, 30, who said that despite their characters being at odds throughout the limited series, she could not have picked a better scene partner for the project.
"Well, we are so lucky that we are friends in real life and got along so well," Fanning said. "I think we have a very similar way of working and I just couldn't have asked for a better person to get to work with. And he's very unlike his character, thank goodness."
She added, "He's just such a brilliant actor. There's nothing he can't do. Yeah, it was a real pleasure."
Scott echoed Fanning's doting comments, saying that even with hostility between their characters, they still had the most fun two actors could have together.
"Dakota is one of the most fun people you could possibly encounter," the actor said. "We had a great time having slightly icy, thin smile scenes with each other."
Ripley premieres on Netflix on April 4.
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