Poirot’s David Suchet reveals that filming the death of Agatha Christie’s iconic detective was the ‘saddest day’ in his entire career as an actor
He played the character of Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot for 25 years.
And David Suchet, 74, has revealed that filming the iconic character’s death for his final episode in 2013 was one of the most emotional days of his life.
Speaking to Radio Times on Monday he said: ‘My saddest day as an actor was filming Poirot’s death. I miss him in my life because… I’ve lost my best friend.’
Devastated: David Suchet revealed on Monday that filming the iconic character Poirot’s death was one of the most emotional days of his life (pictured on set as Poirot)
The actor revealed that the final farewell to his longterm character was so painful that he specifically requested the detective’s death was not the last scene he shot.
David explained: ‘As a human being, losing your real family is always painful, but my saddest day as an actor was filming Poirot’s death.
‘I miss him in my life because he was my life for 25 years and I’ve lost my best friend.’
And the thespian knows he’s not the only person who found companionship in Poirot as many people have turned to the show for comfort during lockdown.
Hard goodbye: The actor revealed that the final farewell to his longterm character was so painful that he specifically requested the detective’s death was not the last scene he shot
David said of the resurgence in popularity: ‘My fan mail has increased three-fold with people who have watched the whole box set twice!
‘I’m humbled that it has increased worldwide,’ he added.
Although he himself isn’t one of the Poirot devotees using the pandemic as a chance to re-watch every episode, David revealed his wife is still a fan.
He explained that, as well as refusing to watch himself on screen, he also declines to watch Kenneth Branagh’s portrayal of the iconic character for fear of his own opinion.
‘I’m humbled’: The thespian knows he’s not the only person who found companionship in Poirot as many people have turned to the show for comfort during lockdown
Out now: The full interview is available in this week’s Radio Times
David was approached to play Poirot in the late Eighties, by the trustees of Agatha Christie’s estate – her daughter Rosalind and son-in-law Anthony Hicks.
They had watched him as Sigmund Freud in a TV mini-series, as the blackmailing gardener Blott in a Tom Sharpe comedy, and in the Poirot movie Thirteen At Dinner – playing Inspector Japp, opposite Peter Ustinov’s Poirot.
David stepped into the character’s shoes in 1989 and played the sleuth in 70 episodes of the long-running TV series.
And, according to the actor, when he took over the role of the moustached detective he was always a hit with women.
‘I would say that over half, well over half of my fan base in terms of letters and tweets and people waiting at the stage door, they do tend to be women,’ he told the Telegraph.
The actor revealed: ‘Poirot seems to appeal to the ladies. I never understood why!’
‘There seems to be a great appreciation of the way he treats women and makes them feel feminine.’
The full interview is available in this week’s Radio Times.
Headhunted: David was approached to play Poirot in the late Eighties, by the trustees of Agatha Christie’s estate – her daughter Rosalind and son-in-law Anthony Hicks
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