Andrew Scott Doesn’t Believe Ripley Is a Villain: ‘He’s an Anti-Hero’

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Andrew Scott Doesn’t Believe Ripley Is a Villain: ‘He’s an Anti-Hero’

Andrew Scott is stepping into the role of the infamous Tom Ripley in Netflix’s Ripley. Because of Ripley’s criminal actions, the character has drawn comparisons to another wicked character played by Scott, Jim Moriarty in Sherlock. Despite the immoral characteristics shared by the two characters, Scott believes Moriarty is a villain while Ripley is an anti-hero.

“It does feel different [to playing Moriarty],” Scott told Radio 4’s Today. “As Moriarty, I felt like I was playing a villain, and for some reason, I retreat against calling Ripley a villain. He’s an anti-hero, and it’s up to me to make the audience know what it’s like to be Ripley, not to be a victim of Tom Ripley. We should empathize with him. He is the protagonist in this.”

What to Expect in Ripley?

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling novels, Scott stars as Tom Ripley with Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf. Additional cast members include Eliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, John Malkovich, Kenneth Lonergan, and Ann Cusack.

Netflix’s official synopsis reads: “Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud, and murder.”

Anthony Minghella previously adapted Highsmith’s novel in 1999 for The Talented Mr. Ripley. The Oscar-nominated film starred Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood, and Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf.

Ripley is written, directed, and created by Academy Award-winner Steven Zaillian. Executive producers include Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Clayton Townsend, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, and Philipp Keel of Diogenes. Scott will serve as a producer on Ripley.

Originally conceived to air on Showtime, Ripley will stream on Netflix on April 4.