Izuka Hoyle on Sky Show 'Prisoner' and Being Handcuffed to Tahar Rahim
Rahim as Tibor and Hoyle as Amber in 'Prisoner'
Courtesy of Sky
-
Share on Facebook
-
Share on X
-
Google Preferred
-
Share to Flipboard
-
Show additional share options
-
Share on LinkedIn
-
Share on Pinterest
-
Share on Reddit
-
Share on Tumblr
-
Share on Whats App
-
Send an Email
-
Print the Article
-
Post a Comment
Logo text
Izuka Hoyle admittedly relished being handcuffed to co-star Tahar Rahim on Sky Original series Prisoner.
“He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scene partners I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” the Scotswoman tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We instantly clicked and fell in love, so to speak.”
She’s gushing over her colleague ahead of the six-parter’s U.K. release on Thursday, but Prisoner creator Matt Charman is no doubt delighted with Hoyle’s portrayal of his impressively tenacious protagonist, Amber Todd. The series chronicles Amber’s return to work as a prison transport officer shortly after becoming a mother, but the first day on the job involves accompanying trained killer and high-value inmate Tibor Stone (Rahim) to court to testify against his elite crime syndicate.
Related Stories
TV
Disney+ Sets K-Drama Adaptation of 'Miracles of the Namiya General Store' Starring Ryu Seung-ryong
Movies
'Parasite' Producer Barunson Boards Indonesian Horror Feature 'Zona Merah: Dead City'
When the syndicate’s lackeys set out to kill Stone before he can make it to court, the characters find themselves dodging bullets, swimming in open water, and eliminating threats — while handcuffed.
“I think what got me most excited was the handcuff business,” continues Hoyle about what attracted her to Prisoner. “It’s the concept of these two very different people handcuffed together, put through their paces, given the same objective, and how the story changes from a cat-and-mouse format to a psychological drama about what that does to two people, specifically Amber.”
She loved the physicality of the role and would have liked to have done even more — health and safety concerns required the involvement of stunt professionals (watched on by a jealous Hoyle). But the juiciness of Amber Todd was also all about her maternal instincts, her morality, and not being capable of some of the sociopathic acts of violence that an unfazed Tibor commits.
It’s another arrow in Hoyle’s quiver, whose first big role came in the original production of Six: the Musical, before her film journey began in 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots. From there, she’s accrued credits in genres like fantasy (The Wheel of Time), British sitcom (Big Boys), and cosy crime (Ludwig). Hoyle also boasts a friendship with one-shot mastermind Philip Barantini after appearing in his pre-Adolescence hit Boiling Point.
Below, she unpacks the grit and gusto of Prisoner, also starring Finn Bennett, Eddie Marsan and Laurie Davidson. She talks about building that on-screen chemistry with Rahim, why Amber might be considered an atypical lead and what Izuka Hoyle is keen to do next: “Something camp and wonderful, something really loud. I’d quite like to show off.”
Is Prisoner the kind of television that you like to watch — a high-speed thriller over the course of a day?
Yeah, I do. I do like to watch it. It takes me back to being young and watching 24 in the house with my mum and dad. Remember that? Remember The Bodyguard? We consume stuff at mass capacity these days. We’re so greedy. As viewers, we have such a huge appetite. But I think Prisoner is very much made for that. It’s got that format. It feeds the beast, but it’s tasteful as well. And Matt’s made it in such a classy way that I think it satisfies the taste buds. It doesn’t overpower you.
What got you most excited about playing Amber?
I think what got me most excited was the handcuff business. It’s the concept of these two very different people handcuffed together, put through their paces, given the same objective, and how the story changes from a cat-and-mouse format to a psychological drama about what that does to two people, specifically Amber. What I loved is that you’ve got this high-octane, high-action thriller, but then you have this woman at the center of it [who] represents a lot of softness and tenderness and the human aspect [of being] in a really inhumane world. You have that beautiful scene at the beginning of the whole show of her family in this cocoon that she’s been living in for the last six months [with her baby]. They’re breathing and their heartbeats are synced up, and it’s so soft and slow and human, and then she’s just catapulted into this chaos.
With Matt, it was fun to figure out how to make it as realistic as possible, so that when the audience views this, by default, through Amber’s e