The Missing’s Tchéky Karyo reveals he’s keen to star in a third series of the hit BBC thriller
And he assures TV Magazine that there is a definitive conclusion in Wednesday's finale
He’s the one actor that show creators Harry and Jack Williams carried over from series one of The Missing to series two – but being the stand-out star has meant a huge amount of work for Tchéky Karyo, who plays tireless detective Julien Baptiste.
“It was exhausting – but rewarding,” says the 63-year-old French actor, who looks far more youthful in real life than the shaven-headed, limping man in The Missing’s finale.
“I love to take up challenges. And I was so proud and grateful to the Williams brothers to give me such a mission as an actor. I’m really touched because they had a lot of confidence in me.
“I felt excited, there was no pressure at all.
It was very stimulating. They are so talented, and it’s always surprising the way they write their stories, with all the twists.”
Ah yes, the twists. The audience aren’t the only ones who have had to keep up with the drama’s revelations and jumps in time.
“It was a challenge,” smiles Tchéky. “The script supervisor and the brothers did a complete chronology of events from 1991 onwards, so we could always know where we were – and also play with the mystery and the secrets. Sometimes we did get lost.”
However, Tchéky knows it’s this scattergun way that The Missing’s plot unfolds that creates such an unusual experience for viewers.
“I realised from social media that the audience are becoming investigators themselves,” he says.
“There is a real interaction with it, it’s very witty. The writers don’t think the audience is stupid, they have a brain. That’s why I pay a lot of respect to them, they raise things up.”
Five million people a week have been riveted by Alice Webster’s abduction and her mysterious ‘return’ – and as the series reaches its climax, the race is on for Julien to find abductor Adam Gettrick (Derek Riddell).
No spoilers here, but TV Magazine is dying to know whether this run will reach a more definite conclusion than the first, where the plot was left hanging in the air.
“Yes, it does,” confirms Tchéky, before adding: “There is also a big question mark about how, eventually, a third season could happen.”
So Julien might come back for another case?
“Possibly,” Tchéky teases. “I would love to do a third series. I love the character and I love the complicity between the BBC and the writers. There’s something graceful about this show.”
Although he speaks fluent English, the actor and musician admits working in a language other than his native French can be tricky.
“I was lucky to have a great voice coach to ‘wear the gloves’ with me,” he explains.
“I always think an actor is like an athlete – so, like an athlete, you have a sparring partner who puts on the gloves with you and you knock it around. She can listen when I go crazy on the character and try all sorts of things.
“There is more work to do when it’s in English – but if the script was in French, I would still have a lot of work to do.”
Over more than 30 years, Tchéky has worked extensively in France and is quite famous there – “people know me, but I’m not a star” – but working on a major BBC1 series has seriously boosted his profile in Britain.
“In a short time, a lot of Twitter followers came,” he smiles. “Some nice tweets, some funny ones. There was a tweet saying: ‘If Julien Baptiste dies, there will be a riot!’”
And coming to London to publicise the show means one thing – dealing with cabbies’ quips.
Tchéky laughs: “Every time I get a taxi, they always ask me: ‘How’s the limp?’”
LAST EPISODE! The Missing Wednesday 9pm BBC1; the series so far is available on BBC iPlayer until Tuesday