Tim McMullan and Daniel Mays Join Cast of Magpie Murders
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Pippa Haywood, Michael Maloney and Conleth Hill Also to Star in Anthony Horowitz Adaptation
Veteran British stage and screen actor Tim McMullan joins the Magpie Murders cast in the role of Atticus Pünd after Timothy Spall OBE steps away due to a scheduling clash. McMullan is joined by the award nominated actor Daniel Mays in the screen adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling novel. The series is directed by Peter Cattaneo and produced by Eleventh Hour Films for MASTERPIECE and BritBox UK.
Tim McMullan has performed in some of the most renowned London theaters and on screen with many distinguished directors. He performed in Simon Godwin’s Anthony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night and Man vs Superman all at The Royal National Theatre. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) trained actor’s other notable stage credits include Father and Sons at The Donmar, and Theatre de Complicite’s The Master and Margarita.
McMullan’s many screen credits include The Crown as Robin Woods, Bernard Jenkins in Brexit, Sonny in Patrick Melrose, and Valentine in Foyle’s War, and most recently in Rupert Goold’s King Charles III as James Reiss. He is now stepping into the role of the clever and complex detective Atticus Pünd. The plot of Magpie Murders revolves around the character Susan Ryeland, played by Lesley Manville, an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript by best-selling mystery writer Alan Conway, featuring Conway’s detective Atticus Pünd – and has little idea it will change her life.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and British Independent Film Award nominated Daniel Mays is one of the UK’s most popular screen actors, with credits including Line Of Duty (2016), Des (2020), White Lines (2020) and films including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Sam Mendes’s 1917 (2019).
“I’m absolutely loving doing Magpie Murders. Anthony has written such a brilliant and beguiling script, full of wit, suspense and murder, McMullan said. It’s an immense privilege to be asked to bring to life the wonderful and enigmatic Atticus Pünd. He’s such a great character to play, I feel very fortunate indeed. To be working with such a talented cast is a total joy, and to be also working with Peter Cattaneo, of whom I’m a long-time fan, is the cherry on the cake… What a great job!”
“I’m beyond thrilled to be joining the hugely talented cast of Magpie Murders, not least to finally share the screen with the incredible Lesley Manville,” Mays said. “Anthony Horowitz’s scripts are ingenious. Murder, intrigue with plenty of laughs and tears along the way. I couldn’t put them down. With two timeframes to play in and the actors portraying not one but two roles it presented a wonderful opportunity to create a special piece of television.”
Other cast members joining the series include Rose d’Or Award winning actress Pippa Haywood (Bodyguard, Green Wing, Bridgerton); Michael Maloney (The Crown, The Trial Of Christine Keeler); and double Olivier Award winning actor Conleth Hill (Varys in Game Of Thrones) appears as Alan Conway, author of the fictitious Atticus Pünd novels.
The series is currently in production.
