British actor David Suchet (79) will forever be associated with the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. In an interview, he revealed that he hesitated for a long time about accepting the role of his life. Today, years after the last flap, he looks completely different and without the iconic mustache you might not even recognize him on the street.
When Suchet was offered the role, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to switch to a role after classical theater, which he only saw as a comic joker. “I was offered the role of Hercule Poirot on television when I was 42, and I only knew him from what I saw on the screen. He seemed a bit frivolous to me... I was a classical theater actor from the age of 23 and I didn’t know if accepting this role was the right move,” he admitted.
Although his brother discouraged him from the iconic role, curiosity won out in the end. “So I called my brother and journalist John Suchetwho is very bright for me to ask his opinion. He told me: ‘If you want my advice, don’t even touch it!’ But I started reading Agatha Christie’s novels and I was amazed because the little man I met in her books was not the same person I saw on the screen,” he remembered.
Creating the perfect illusion of a detective required more than just a glued-on mustache. “I wanted to show the character that she wrote about in precise detail. I had to find his voice – the way he would dress and act. I wrote down 93 of his characteristics. One of the things we have in common is a sense of symmetry. I always use it to straighten the pictures on the walls. After playing Poirot for 25 years, he’s become a part of me, so I miss him terribly.” he confessed.
Today he is enjoying a well-deserved rest at his side beloved wife of Sheila. Their golden wedding awaits them in June, which they plan to celebrate in style. Looking back on half a century of life together, the actor returns with a smile to the moment when she crossed his path.
“We met in the 1970s when we played together in ‘Dracula’ at the Belgrade Theater in Coventry. For me it was love at first sight. We talked for five minutes and I thought, ‘This girl is phenomenal!’ When she left, I already missed her” he went back to when he met the love of his life in England.
He then announced to his colleague that he had just met “the right one”. “My wife is responsible for my entire careerwhich depends on her love and support. In the early 1980s, my career began to grow. I was getting so much work that I was hardly at home. She sacrificed her career for the children and for me.” he added. You can find his current photos in the gallery.
