HIT and rum

Freddie Highmore and Keeley Hawes play a son and his contract-killer mum in an action-packed thriller

- IAN MACEWAN

NEW THRILLER

The Assassin

From Friday 25 July, Prime Video

Where do contract killers go to retire? In new Prime Video thriller series The Assassin, it’s a sun-kissed Greek island, where former gun-for-hire Julie (Miss Austen’s Keeley Hawes) is growing old disgracefully, as she spends her days drinking, sunbathing and arguing with the locals in a picturesque coastal village.

But when her grownup son Edward (The Good Doctor's Freddie Highmore) arrives looking for answers about his father, and Julie is approached to come out of retirement for one last job, the dysfunctional duo find themselves on the run as events take a deadly and terrifying turn.

Created by Jack and Harry Williams, the makers of The Missing and The Tourist, the six-parter follows the odd couple, plus islander Luka (Gerald Kyd) and wealthy siblings Kayla (Shalom Brune-Franklin) and Ezra (Devon Terrell), as they embark on a thrilling pan-European adventure.

We got Hawes, 49, and Highmore, 33, in the cross hairs for a chat about their action-packed, funny and touching drama...

Where do we find Julie and her son Edward at the start of the series?

Hawes Julie's happy living on her own. She is not completely estranged with Edward, as there have been a few texts over the years, but suddenly he comes back into her life.

Highmore Edward arrives attempting to reconnect with his mother and with some questions about his past, their relationship and who his father is. He’s harbouring a lot of secrets and feelings, so this is a big step for him.

What did you make of them as characters?