Although it's been a few years since I last watched it, Anthony Minghella’s THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY still stands as one of my favourite movies of all-time; based upon the best-selling series of novels by Patrica Highsmigh, Tom Ripley is a dapper psychopath who uses his wit and charm to con his way into pretty much anything or anyone, and he isn't above murdering the odd person to achieve what he desires. The character will soon be headed to the small-screen as Showtime has given an eight-episode order for a Ripley series from Steven Zaillian (The Night Of), and it's now been announced that Andrew Scott will be playing the title role.
The actor, best known for his work on Sherlock and Fleabag, will play Tom Ripley, who, in the series, is "a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder." Zaillian, who will write and direct the entire first season, will be using all of the Ripley novels written by Patricia Highsmith, "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Ripley Under Ground," "Ripley's Game," "The Boy Who Followed Ripley," and "Ripley Underwater," as a "road map" to showcase Ripley's transformation from con artist to serial killer. "We are so thrilled to have the supremely talented filmmaker, Steve Zaillian, adapt the singular saga of Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith’s novels as an ongoing series for Showtime," said Gary Levine, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks. "With Andrew Scott, whose charisma knows no bounds, inhabiting the iconic lead role, we feel confident that this will be a special one." This is certainly some very fine casting in my opinion, and my anticipation for this series just shot up considerably.
Tom Ripley has been portrayed on the big-screen several times over the decades, with Alain Delon playing the role in PURPLE NOON back in 1960, Dennis Hopper in 1977's THE AMERICAN FRIEND, Matt Damon in 1999's THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, John Malkovich in 2002's RIPLEY'S GAME, and by Barry Pepper in 2005's RIPLEY UNDER GROUND.