Jack Whitehall says he felt typecast playing comedic roles

Actor Jack Whitehall has said he felt typecast playing comedic roles and has enjoyed playing the villain in the new thriller Malice.

The 37-year-old, known for Bad Education and his sarcastic and self-deprecating stand-up comedy sets, now stars alongside The X-Files actor David Duchovny and Game Of Thrones star Carice van Houten in the series, which follows Adam (Whitehall), a tutor who charms his way into the life of the wealthy Tanner family in a plot to bring them down.

Speaking at the world premiere of the Prime Video series at the BFI Southbank on Monday, Whitehall said he is not turning his back on comedy, however, he is interested in trying out different roles as an actor.

Speaking about his vengeful character, Whitehall told the PA news agency: “It’s definitely a bit of a departure for me as an actor and great to get the opportunity to just do something different, because I think I had been a little bit typecast and had played a lot of comedic roles that were maybe not a massive stretch.

“It was really fun to get this opportunity to finally completely lose myself in a character and I had a lot of fun.

“It’s really fun playing a bad guy and playing a villain. I really enjoyed.

“I love comedy and I’m definitely not in any way like going, ‘Oh, that’s it now’, and I’m going to turn my back on doing comedy, because I still really enjoy turning up and playing with other comedic actors and improvising and all of those things.

“But it’s nice to be able to do different things and to be able to get out of your lane a little bit.”

When asked if he had any interest in playing James Bond, he added: “I think now, after this, I’d rather play the Bond villain honestly, like I’ve got a real taste for it and I definitely think playing the bad guy might be more fun than playing the hero.”

Whitehall is also known for Fresh Meat as well as starring alongside his father, Michael Whitehall, 84, in the Netflix show Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father, which sees the duo travel around the world together.

Malice will premiere globally on Prime Video on November 14.