Dr Arthur Calgary
A scientist. Clean-shaved and pale, he carries a nervous disposition. Dr Calgary enters Sunny Point in the summer of 1956 claiming to have returned from an Arctic expedition. He sets off a chain of events that threatens to blow the Argyll family apart.
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Luke Treadaway on Arthur
How does Arthur first appear in Ordeal By Innocence?
From the point he learns Jack has died in prison Arthur feels completely lost and helpless
We first see Arthur walking along a country road with his suitcase arriving at Sunny Point to tell them that he’s Jack’s alibi; that he was the person who gave Jack a lift to the pub the night that Rachel was murdered. He then learns that Jack already died in prison, so he’s too late. This one good true act, which he wants to give Jack’s family as some sort of atonement for his personal guilt and shame, he is denied.
What was your first impression on reading the script?
I thought it was really rich and complicated. It felt like every character had a lot going on and everyone had his or her own desires and needs. Sarah has written an amazing script. It feels like she’s written a three-part thriller and not a murder mystery, which is perhaps what you may think you’re going to read when you know it’s Agatha Christie.
Arthur is a very mysterious man with a lot of secrets. What is it about the character that feels a little lost and why does he need atonement?
Arthur just has a really strong desire to help this family and to provide Jack with the alibi that he needs. From the point he learns Jack has died in prison Arthur feels completely lost and helpless. He really has nothing left. He’s struggling with his own demons and his own guilt and shame about things that have happened in his past and he sees his one chance of redemption. So when that is taken away he’s completely at a loss.
What’s Arthur’s relationship with Mickey and the other children?
After he’s been told to leave the house, we see that he’s not trusted by Mickey, or in fact the whole family to begin with. He has all these obstacles to get over to try and achieve his ambition, which is now to clear Jack’s name. That all feels impossible because it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to hear him. It seems like they’ve all shut the case down in their minds.
