Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is no superhero, but that is what actor Stephen Tompkinson likes about him.
“I think what makes Banks extraordinary is his ordinariness,” says Tompkinson, who plays the titular policeman in the British crime series DCI Banks.
“He’s not a super cop and he doesn’t have quirks like Morse with the classical music. He’s just a very dogged and determined character.”
Banks is based on the character created by author Peter Robinson and Tompkinson was keen to keep the essence of the lawman as close to the novel persona as possible.
Before filming started, he flew to Florida to meet Robinson – a Yorkshireman who lives in Canada and heads south for the winter.
“I’m five inches too tall for the Banks who’s described in the books and my eyes are the wrong colour. But apart from that, I wanted to try to assure Peter that I was going to get as close to the spirit of the character he’d created when it came to the TV version.
“I always feel very sorry for writers when things are transferred from a book to the screen and they sort of lose touch with what they created and say goodbye to the rights. It’s weird because in no other medium would that happen. He gave me a lot of insight into the man himself and what he did to research the characters.”
Tompkinson was also delighted to discover that Robinson had seen his work and approved of him taking on the part.
“When I first emailed Peter, he kindly said how pleased he was that I was going to play Banks. He generously listed the various parts that he had seen and enjoyed.
“I think it was a great relief to him, after many years of trying to get Banks to the screen, that it was finally happening and was to be portrayed by an actor he knew, admired and approved of, which was a tremendous and humbling honour and a fantastic relief, to be so acknowledged by the original creator.”
While Banks may not have the entertaining quirks of some of his television detective counterparts, he does have a philosophy on life and his job.
“He [Peter] does mention in one of the novels that Banks keeps a quote with him from the poet John Donne which is, ‘Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind’. He’s very much married to the job. He’s the sort of policeman you want on your side, not on your back.
“He’s always determined to get his man. He plays very much by the rules. He’s very much a modern policeman in that you have to be seen to be doing everything correctly, dot all the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s, because the last thing you’d ever want is for a lawyer to get a suspect off on a technicality because you haven’t be thorough enough in your investigation.
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“He also relies very much on his team. He doesn’t solve them all himself. They’re very procedural books and we hope that translates to the screen.”
Tompkinson says the appreciation of a good team is something he and his character have in common.
“We’re both very determined. We always commit wholeheartedly to our jobs. By doing this, we hope to lead from the front and hope to inspire others through example.
“We are both aware that we rely heavily on the support and talents of those who make up the teams around us and are aware in order to make things work for the good of the whole project, you can’t be too rigid in your own instincts but must be malleable enough to comply with the input of others.”
Tompkinson is known for roles on shows such as Ballykissangel and Wild At Heart, which he was filming in South Africa before starting DCI Banks. He went from playing a veterinary surgeon and filming with exotic animals to solving crimes.
“As an actor you crave as much variety as possible and to have these two extremely different shows and characters running alongside each other has been a real honour.
“It was very sad for all of us to say goodbye to Wild At Heart after eight years and I will miss all aspects of the show.”
In between seasons of DCI Banks, Tompkinson is starring in his first West End musical, playing King Arthur.
DCI Banks – Prime Sunday
-The TV Guide – new issue out on Thursday
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