Inside PBS Blog

It's September and Inspector Robbie Lewis and his Shakespeare-quoting partner Detective Sergeant Hathaway have returned to Masterpiece Mystery! for another series of murder and intrigue. To celebrate their return, we invited actors Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox, who play Lewis and Hathaway, respectively, to answer some of your questions.

Masterpiece Mystery’s Tina Vaz gathered your questions and caught up with the actors during filming for the next season of Inspector Lewis. You can read an excerpt from the interview below and read the full interview later this month online at Masterpiece Mystery!

Tina Vaz: Kevin Whately, twenty-two years after you began Inspector Morse, you’re now in the role of the elder. What’s it like to come full circle?

Kevin Whately: For starters, I have a lot more lines, just as John did when we were working together. [Laughs.] Quite apart from the acting, though, I find that there’s also a great responsibility around the set when you’re the eponymous “hero” of the series. People tend to bring you their problems—work-related and domestic—even if they know you can’t solve them. They come and have a moment with you, and you try to help them sort it out. I enjoy all of that. It’s something I do quite well, I think.

TV: Kevin Whately, you’ve been filming in Oxford for more than 20 years. What’s it like filming on location, and what does Oxford bring to the series?

KW: For me, Oxford is what it’s all about. There are so many detective series, probably a good dozen in Britain alone, and the thing that makes us a bit different is the Oxford setting. The brains are so huge in Oxford and Cambridge that you can almost believe that these guys could spend weeks concocting some of the more complicated plots. [Laughs.] The background and the light on the Cotswolds in Oxford is just fantastic. That’s one of the main reasons I keep coming back for more. I love it up here.

TV: Kevin Whately, what did you learn from your Inspector Morse co-star, John Thaw?

KW: I had worked a fair bit in television when I began on Morse, but I learned pretty much everything I know about filmmaking from John. He was brilliant—one of the best British screen actors there’s ever been. I’ve always tried to imitate what he did. Unfortunately, I don’t have as good a voice as John had. His voice was fantastic. He could change gear in the middle of a scene in a way that I can’t.

TV: Laurence Fox, a few of this season’s storylines do, however, reveal a more personal side of Hathaway. How did you feel about pulling back the curtain on him?

Laurence Fox: In some ways I would have preferred not to, because I think it’s better when characters are more mysterious. I would have been happy to reveal only tiny snippets about him as we went along. That said, the stories offered quite a lot of fun acting to do.

TV: Laurence Fox, what have you learned from working with your co-star, Kevin Whately?

LF: I’ve definitely learned what faces not to pull when acting! [Laughs.] Kevin’s been working for so long and he’s very adept at dealing with his energy. He’s got a really good screen presence. When not to do anything in a scene is one thing that I’ve learned from him. Mainly he’s just a really good, fun, lovely man to hang out with. I enjoy being around him.