Eva Longoria has said she was terrified to star opposite David Suchet in a BBC period drama after comedian Jack Whitehall labelled him “a big deal”.
The former Desperate Housewives actress features in Evelyn Waugh adaptation Decline And Fall, where she admitted to suffering from on-set nerves about working with Poirot star David.
She said: “I had a lot of scenes with David Suchet. I remember walking on set and Jack’s like, ‘David’s a really big deal’.
“He’s such a great, well-respected actor that I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so terrified to have a scene with him because I think he’s going to eat me up’.
“But he was lovely, his character is so inferior to mine that he immediately put me at ease.”
Jack plays the lead in the comedy-drama as a disgraced former Oxford student who goes to work at a school in Wales where David’s character is in charge, and falls in love with Eva’s character, who is the mother of a pupil.
Eva said: “You know, from the first moment I stepped on set I knew I was surrounded by geniuses… They’re just amazing, amazing actors and great comedians. If you’re not paying attention you’ll miss the joke.”
She said of the filming locations: “I’d never been to Wales and because this is in the 1930s and it takes place in a school there were some gorgeous locations we shot at. Castle after castle, and manor after manor.”
Eva said that she had not been familiar with Waugh’s novels, but jumped at the chance to be a part of a BBC period drama.
She said: “I’ve always been dying to do a period piece, I’ve always wanted to do something with the BBC and I’ve always wanted to do something in the UK.
“So when this came up, it felt like it was written for me – I was like, ‘who else would play this part?’.”
:: Decline And Fall begins on March 31 at 9pm on BBC One.
