Red Eye, a six-part British thriller series from Bad Wolf and Sony Pictures Television, became a ratings hit for ITV in 2024. Created by Peter A. Dowling and starring Jing Lusi (Crazy Rich Asians, Gangs of London), Richard Armitage, Jemma Moore and Lesley Sharp (Pillion), it followed London police officer Hana Li (Lusi) escorting Dr. Matthew Nolan (Armitage) back to Beijing, where he has been accused of a crime.
Now, Red Eye returns to ITV1 and STV at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Day, with the series also streaming on ITVX and STV Player.
Instead of an airplane, this time, the setting is an embassy. Joining Lusi, Moore and Sharp this season is guest star Martin Compston (Line of Duty, Vigil). The Scottish actor plays Clay Brody, the head of security at the U.S. Embassy in London. Brody and Li are forced to set aside past differences after a murder occurs inside the embassy.
THR talked to Compston and Lusi about working together on season 2 of Red Eye and what audiences can expect.
“For me as an actor, I felt like the first season was quite easy, because I was kind of trapped in one place,” Lusi shared. “I didn’t really have much choice but to be trapped in that place. It was: either I stand or I sit. Whereas for the second season, we were in this giant building the whole time. So there was a lot more movement. And it was very intentional why I was going to these places.”
Looking at Compston, she added: “And especially with him on my tail?” Both stars laughed. “His character would say: ‘No, you can’t go here. No, you can’t go there. Stop. Stop!” He was always getting in my way.” Which plays to the determination of Lusi’s character, Li. “I had to fight for my choices a bit more this season,” the actress tells THR. “I’d say, ‘I’m going to go here,’ and also have an argument with him every step of the way. So, you see Li in a more expansive place where she’s got to take more decisions.”
The no-nonsense, strict Brody, who clearly wants to regain control following the murder at the embassy, seems quite different from the personable Compston, including in his way of speaking, which early in season 2 is mostly short, concise and intense. “That dialogue is just the way it’s written. And the character and the situation he is in lends itself to speaking that way,” the actor tells THR. “You have to be kind of heightened, because you’re thinking in your head and just talking to [staff] through an earpiece or [a communication device] on your wrist. In reality, Brody is talking to 50, 60 agents. So, every order has to be clear and concise. So, it actually really forces you to play it that way, because you need to be understood by everybody in the building.”
How was joining the second season of a hit series? “It was a very welcoming set,” Compston shared. “Jing and Lesley and the team already had a winning formula. The show was already a massive success by the time I joined it. So it was really nice pressure coming into it. They’ve got an inbuilt viewership, so you’re just thinking, ‘Let’s try and take it to the next level.’ Everybody was really supportive from day one.”
Lusi and Compston met on Red Eye for the first time. “We didn’t know each other,” Lusi tells THR. “But I was such a fan of Martin’s work. Honestly! For season one, I watched two shows for research, figuring out the vibe of Red Eye, and so I watched Line of Duty [and Happy Valley].”
Compston is also friends with the show’s director, Kieron Hawkes. “He mentioned him in the first season because I was like, ‘I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I just watch this show called Line of Duty.’ And Kieron said: ‘Oh, he’s one of my friends.” So we talked about him. And the fact that Martin came to join season 2 was slightly surreal. I was overjoyed.”
So was Compston. “Kieron is one of my closest friends. So I was a fan of the first [season]. I watched it for Kieron and then got hooked in. And I said it was a lovely dynamic between Jing and Richard in the first [season]. So you just want to kind of tap into that and keep it going. I mean, the guy’s a movie star, so I had, literally, big shoes to fill.”
Lusi acknowledged that first days on set with a co-star you don’t know in person yet can be challenging. “I always find them really awkward,” she shared. “You don’t know the person very well, and you’ve got to play like you don’t like them. But maybe I really like you. If we could be friends first, I would feel more comfortable playing that. I guess it adds to it. But for me, it was like, ‘Oh, I wish we could do a nice scene first.”
The actor is looking forward to the special feeling of a primetime hit show. “It is exciting to think that everybody’s going to be watching,” he highlighted. “If you’ve got a good show like that, and you’ve got [episodes and segments] ending on a cliffhanger, you feel like you’ve got the nation in the palm of your hand. And there’s no better feeling as an actor.”
The dynamic between the two stars’ characters adds to the mystery of the show. Without spoiling things, Lusi tells THR that the duo worked on the backstory of their characters after getting the broad strokes from the show creators. “We needed to go a bit deeper, be a bit more specific, because it could be anything,” she shared. “And we wanted me and Martin to be on the same page, so that I’m not playing based on this crazy love story and he’s playing like we fell out over a parking ticket.”
Figuring out that back story freed up the stars. “After that, it was a lot easier for me,” Lusi emphasized. In season 1 of Red Eye, “we were discovering everything in the moment, because the two characters had no history. But with with Martin’s character, Brody, we have such a deep history with a massive gap in between. So, everything you say will be triggering something that I’m probably not even conscious of as a character, but as an actor, you do have to be conscious of it. So, that also made my work harder.”
Compston shared this about how Brody feels about Li: “He believes she’s out her depth. They are in competing worlds. He’s like: ‘This is my square mile.’ They both have their kind of zones.” He added: “They don’t fully trust each other, and they’re constantly trying to get rid of each other as well. That little spikiness is fun to play.”
So, audiences have mystery, banter, and a lot of twists to look forward to in season 2 of Red Eye. There’s one more thing you may be curious about: do the stars have any experience with or tips for red-eye flights?
“Don’t take a red eye,” Lusi told THR without hesitation. “You will not sleep.” Meanwhile, Compston offered: “I do like flying at night. I hear about all these cures, but I think none of them work. If you can avoid having a drink, I definitely think that’s work. But where’s the fun in that? Yeah, if you get off a plane, avoid having a drink and go for a run or something, that’s probably the best way to get through it.” Quipped Lusi: “God, you’re so healthy.” To which Compston replied: “But I don’t think I’ve ever done it. I did it once for a job like because I had an audition, and it worked great. But I’ve never done it since.”
Watch the trailer for season 2 of Red Eye below.
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter