What initially drew Jack Davenport to Ten Percent?
Well, the answer’s quite simple it’s John Morton.
I’ve admired his work for a long time.
When I got sent the script, I think maybe with the first two episodes … That’s very difficult to do.
Also, he has this quality whereby he has this tenderness towards human frailty.
It’s like, “Just don’t drive off the corners and it’ll take you.”
As soon as I read it … As you said, striking the balance between humor and compassion is not easily accessible.
It’s really not.
And in some ways, you have to have two abilities.
So that was definitely my main attraction.
In what ways could you relate to your character’s development throughout the show?
First of all, I hadn’t anticipated the journey that my character gets to go on.
It’s quite a ride.
Okay, we’ve all got dads.
I’ve had an agent since I was 14 years old, so that was familiar.
All of us have got wonderful parts, and everyone gets foregrounded.
It’s a true ensemble.
Everyone gets to shine.
Better that he’s flawed.
What was it like for the Ten Percent cast to have a British versus American dynamic?
Just like my son.
That culture clash was so fascinating.
It really throws your character’s office for a loop.
I’d love to know what that on-set dynamic was like.
But the interchange between Hollywood and British show business is a well-trodden path.
It’s over a century old, and it’s all to do with language.
So that allows us to widen our scope in a way, which has a lot of mileage.
And I was like, “Maybe.
I don’t know.”
They’re much more corporate.
The office dynamics are very different.
We have a lot of fun with layering over that.
What’s that old line about two cultures divided by a common language?
I’ve seen quite a bit.
All right, so you’ve got to the Americans arriving?
Hopefully, if we ever get to do it again, we can go deeper into that.
It’s one of the things that I found most exciting and fun.
And also, I’m a British actor who’s lived in America for 20 years.
So I’m familiar with this stuff, and yeah, it’s good stuff.
What are you hoping viewers will take away from the show and from your witty role in it?
I only want the audience to enjoy it as a whole.
If anything, it’s actually quite brutally clear-eyed in a lot of ways.
There’s that part of it.
Show business is a public-facing business, but there’s a whole lot of backstage.
There’s more backstage than front-stage.
All of our writers and as a group we’ve done a pretty good job.
But honestly, I’ve rarely been prouder to be in something.
This is a really, really good show, and it hits emotional nerves that are very surprising.
At the same time, there’s a million good gags.
Who wouldn’t want those two things of an evening, right?
I mean, Helena Bonham Carter playing herself is
Helena Bonham Carter, for God’s sake.
There’s a lot to enjoy there.
But this is very good.
I never say that, because it’s slightly embarrassing to say it.
So what would I say, other than I genuinely believe we’re worth your time.
Give us a shot.
I think you’ll enjoy it.
“Ten Percent” will debut weekly on the BBC starting May 1.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
