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With filming on season two of his new TV show ‘Home Before Dark’ halted, Jim Sturgess, who once played the lead in ‘One Day’, is currently living the same 24 hours over and over again in lockdown in a Vancouver apartment. But he’s making the best of it, catching up on cultural highlights and using the time to become a killer table-tennis player. ‘My wife and I have turned the dining room table into a ping-pong table,’ he says. ‘It’s been a godsend.’ The Londoner stashed his bat for a bit to share a few of the audio and visual favourites that are also helping him pass the time.
Streaming series I’m catching up on
‘I’ve never seen a single episode of “Game of Thrones” but I have so many reliable friends who tell me that if I start watching it, I’ll get hooked on it. I also have friends who were in it and I always feel really guilty that I’ve never seen it – I have no idea what it’s even about, other than there are dragons in it. Everyone assures me I’d love “Barry” on HBO, too.’
Show to stream immediately
‘I love “Succession”, especially Matthew Macfayden as Tom. I’ve seen Matthew in so many things and he’s always been such a brilliant actor, but he looks like he’s having the time of his life playing that character just being as repulsive and ridiculous as possible. He’s enjoying every moment of it.’
Uplifting album
‘We’ve been blasting Dr John’s album “Locked Down” in the house quite a bit. And Kali Uchis’s album “Isolation” – these titles are amazing! – which has a Latin-American hip-hop flavour to it. It’s really bright and uplifting.’
Uplifting movie soundtrack
‘I'm a huge fan of Peter Gabriel’s score to “Rabbit-Proof Fence”. It’s not full of obvious, lush string arrangements, it’s much more rhythmical, with chanting and grabbing the textures of the natural world and the ancestry of the aboriginal people. It’s a fucking amazing soundtrack. Peter Gabriel can do no wrong in my eyes.’
Dream box set
‘It would be of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s films. I’m working with a lot of kids in “Home Before Dark” and his films have some of the greatest child performances I’ve ever seen. He gets such natural performances out of them. “Nobody Knows” (pictured above) is one of my favourite films. It’s about a group of kids living unsupervised and under the radar in an apartment. It feels close to home right now.’
Favourite book about the movies
‘“The Kid Stays in the Picture” by [“Chinatown” producer] Robert Evans is a great book. It shows you how Hollywood can elevate you, turn you upside down and then spit you out the other side.’
Most missed thing about going to the cinema
‘We live right by the Rio Cinema in [the London area of] Dalston and I miss the walk there, queuing for your ticket, buying your popcorn, the last-minute panic wee. It’s all part of getting ready to be told a story. And I love the walk home too, talking about what you’ve just seen. I have a very romantic view of the cinema.’
Season one of ‘Home Before Dark’ is streaming on Apple TV+ now.
Looking for more lockdown inspiration? Check out Martin Freeman, Gemma Arterton and Kristin Scott Thomas’s streaming picks.
Or read our mega list of the best things to do at home.