Endeavour returns to ITV with a brand new series on Sunday as Shaun Evans reprises his role of DS Endeavour Morse. However, in a recent interview discussing the upcoming series, the actor opened up on the problems he and DCI Fred Thursday star Roger Allam faced with “intimacy” on set.
Opening up on the difficulties they faced, Shaun said: “The first film includes scenes of Oxford Wanderers playing a football cup tie match and then a replay.
“Because of Covid, we couldn’t use lots of people for the crowd scenes. It’s difficult to fill a stadium as you might have done.
“We used two separate grounds for filming. St Albans doubled for the home of Oxford Wanderers with another place full of heart but down at heel for their opponents Cowley Town, which was fitting for them being the underdogs.
“It’s about the beautiful game before it was corrupted by too much money. I know that is something that Russ was very passionate about as well. My hope is that we captured that.”
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“In terms of the pandemic, it’s all difficult. There’s no two ways about it,” he continued.
“If you think about the nature of the stories, there’s an intimacy even in the smaller scenes. So, you have to be able to get close.
“But what I would say is that it was our intention not to make the best thing under Covid restrictions, but actually make the best thing full stop.
“To achieve this we had a slightly longer preparation period and everyone really came together in terms of the crew and when we were preparing it.”
“From a directorial point of view, you have to be very judicious about what you’re going to see and where which is no harm to me because I’m really into preparation anyway,” Shaun noted.
“Preparing it as much as possible. You have to be more imaginative about, for example, how you can sell the football crowd scenes in terms of your framing, how the camera is going to move and the supporting artists that you do have.
“That was an amazing lesson for me. The whole thing was actually not as difficult as you’d think.
“One of the wonderful things about it was, it just brought everyone together at the very beginning.”
“How are we going to make this work while keeping everyone safe? It was a tireless effort from the crew. I have to take my hat off to them,” he added.
“It was also an extraordinary learning curve. That is one of the great things about directing and producing as well. You are certainly part of a team.
“Because you want to make it the best it can be. Tell the stories and do justice to Russell’s work and everyone else’s work.
“That spurs me on. Yes, it’s tiring. But anything worth doing is tiring. You’ve just got to get on with it. I love work. So, it’s all good.”
Endeavour airs on ITV on Sunday at 8pm.