Penry-Jones 'bored' of angsty copsPress Association – 2012-01-28
17 hours ago
Rupert Penry-Jones finds grumpy TV cops a bore
Rupert Penry-Jones says he's fed up with miserable cop dramas.
The Spooks actor, 41, returns as Detective Inspector Joseph Chandler in the third series of ITV1 crime series Whitechapel this month.
Despite plenty of cop shows and legal dramas on the telly, he says Whitechapel stands out.
"One of the things I'm finding slightly tiring with the cop genre is the tense, angst-ridden, serious cops," Rupert said.
"I'm a bit bored of that. I like stuff that's fresh, like Sherlock, because a lot of things that go on with the characters is very tongue in cheek."
The actor, who dons a wig as a barrister in BBC One drama Silk, said he loved Whitechapel's "heightened sense of reality", adding of the drama: "Yes, it's in London, but it's a magical little world."
He said of filming the role: "There's lots of banter, so it's a really fun way to earn a living. Doing some plays can be relentlessly depressing. I did a play once where my child got killed at the end of it - doing that night after night eight times a week starts to bring you down.
"But I live in a fluffy make-believe world most of the time. The news is the most depressing thing to watch on television really, so I think you need dramas like Whitechapel to lighten the load."
:: Whitechapel starts on ITV1 on Monday, January 30.
