
Therefore they’re going to be worried for him. “What is great about doing this area of Poirot’s life and psychology is that the audience know him so well. Psychology is an enormous part of Poirot's investigations what would you like the viewing audiances to take out of Orient Express? And so the journey of the Orient Express is really the journey of Poirot on the Orient Express.”ĭavid hopes the audience will find delving into Poirot’s mind as fascinating as he did. He is made to dig deep and finally do the right thing against his better judgement. The decision he is forced to make at the end forces him to drop his whole raison d’être, which is ridding the world of crime. It’s really a psychological journey for Poirot, one that absolutely breaks him. You can’t make Poirot the same as he’s always been with those three things happening in his life. And so we’re dealing with a very different Poirot. Having turned Rachett’s offer down, the man is later found dead. Poirot turns him down because he takes an instant dislike to him. Then he boards the Orient Express and is later approached by this horrible man, Samuel Ratchett, who asks him for protection. We see him, in both instances, full of his own self justification and almost self righteousness in saying ‘well, that’s the world - it’s nothing to do with me’. First, a man commits suicide as a result of his evidence, and then he witnesses a stoning in Istanbul. “Tragic occurrences happen before Poirot even steps on the train which affect him very much. This is more of a psychological drama: we are, right from the beginning, faced with Poirot in a different frame of mind to how we’ve ever seen him before.

If you have a different script then you have a different adaptation. “I think our adaptation differs primarily from its script. And an exciting one because we’re not doing it as a remake of the film, Stewart has approached it from a very interesting and tantalising point of view.

“Albert Finney got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal as Poirot so to be making it again is a real challenge. “To be making the most famous and iconic Poirot story Agatha Christie ever wrote is possibly the most daunting task I’ve had in over 20 years of filming Poirot. Interview: David Suchet as Hercule Poirot: David Suchet is keen to point out that Murder on the Orient Express is not a remake of the award-winning 1970’s film, but is writer, Stewart Harcourt’s, unique take on the original novel.

Next interview: Hugh Bonneville as Edward Masterman >
