‘Malice’: Jack Whitehall on Being Charming But Hinting at Inner Rage in New Thriller

Malice, the new psychological thriller coming to Prime Video this fall, is like nothing Jack Whitehall has done before — and that was what drew him to the role.

Whitehall is best known for comedies, including Bad Education, The Afterparty, and Fresh Meat, but with Malice, he’s taken on a very dark character, opposite David Duchovny. Whitehall’s Adam infiltrates the Tanner family with one goal: destroy them. Why? Well, for some reason, he despises Jamie (Duchovny), the reason for which will be revealed.

Below, Jack Whitehall talks about the appeal of such a drastically different character, teases Adam’s motives, and much more. Plus, check out an exclusive photo above.

What appealed to you about the show and the character?

Jack Whitehall: For me, the real appeal of it was getting to do something that was so drastically different to all of the stuff that I’d done before. I’ve worked a lot in the comedy space, but I’ve never had the opportunity to sort of flex those muscles as an actor and play a very different part in a very different type of show and new genre to me. I leapt at the opportunity to get to have this opportunity to try something so different.

Introduce Adam. He’s mysterious. How much is he telling the truth about himself? Who is he exactly? How does he go about infiltrating this family?

Adam presents as this sort of very affable, charming, very useful person that comes into this family’s life. But I think from relatively early on in the first episode, you get that there’s a kind of edge to him and he’s maybe not all as he seems. And it was really, as an actor, a great character to be able to play as those characters that are sort of being deceitful have lots of layers. And as the series progresses, you see that there is this kind of real darkness to him, but it was such a challenge to work on how to pitch it. Obviously, he has to slightly charm this family and finagle his way into their world, so, when we first established him, he’s really putting on all of his airs and graces and trying to present the best version, but he’s certainly not completely authentic.

Prime Video

We know that he apparently despises Jamie. We don’t know why. What can you say about their dynamic and how that informs the interactions?

He does. And he has a real kind of vendetta against Jamie but, again, can’t reveal his hand too early. So, it made all of the scenes really rich when David Duchovny’s Jamie is kind of [needling] away at me and trying to undermine me or assert his status and I had to sort of bite my tongue. And Adam’s just so desperate to sort of keep on his good side but is quietly seething in so many of these scenes. I really enjoyed that aspect of it and digging into that dynamic and trying to just hint at how much stuff that was going on underneath the surface whenever he was in Jamie’s presence. We actually had certain exercises that I discussed with the director where I’d hold quite violent and disturbing thoughts in my head in these scenes where seemingly it was all just kind of quite convivial and we were talking and the discourse was all very charming on the surface, but there was definitely an inner rage that I was trying to play. And so, I enjoyed trying to unlock all of those aspects of the character.

What can you say about why Adam hates Jamie and his motive? Because it’s not just about him, he wants to destroy this entire family, so it has to be something major to not just be focusing on Jamie.

Yeah, he definitely holds a lot of trauma and unresolved trauma, and I think that’s kind of at the heart of why he’s doing what he’s doing because he hasn’t been able to work through what’s happened to him in his past. I think he’s someone that’s doing something that he thinks is going to help him. Ultimately, that’s the arc of the whole story, is him trying to do something to fill this hole to make him feel more complete again, and it’s materialized in quite a dark and sordid plan.

How much has he thought about after he accomplishes his plan? Or is he just focused on destroying this family right now?

Yeah, I think he’s pretty smart and he’s pretty calculated. I think a lot of what he does is plan, but I think he’s also at times quite impulsive and definitely has almost like psychotic impulses, which he can’t control. But I think his master plan is pretty calculated and is pretty planned out.

When we meet him, he’s very composed and he holds all of the cards because none of them know the truth about him, and he’s able to quite successfully begin to action his plan. And I think the real joy of the latter part of the series is watching it begin to unravel a little bit and seeing this character that is very methodical and composed and confident under the cosh a little bit and watching things not go as planned. And that’s where the tension and the stakes really ramp up in the back end of the series.

How does he handle that, when things get out of control for him?

There’s an element of him being smart and being someone that’s able to think on his feet and come up with solutions and he’s a very accomplished liar. So, he’s very good at, to an extent, dealing with these curve balls. But then I also think there’s a thrill that he takes in it and that’s, again, a really fun thing to have explored with Adam, is seeing those moments where he slightly enjoys this rush of doing what he’s doing and seeing his plan and seeing the repercussions of the chaos that he’s causing.

But what does he think about the rest of the family? Are they just like a means to an end?

I do think there is an element of Adam having a conscience. He has a warped morality, but he definitely has a morality. So I think there’s definitely moments where he probably does feel flashes of guilt. I think he feels like some of the family are more deserving of his retribution than others. It’s fun because there’s so many different dynamics with each of the members of the family and as well dynamics that sort of shift. I think he’s capable of holding more than one thing in his mind at any moment and holding different positions as to how he feels about people and how he feels about situations. There’s definitely, for example, with Nat [Carice van Houten] a duality of his relationship with her and what he thinks of her. It’s definitely not black and white in terms of how he feels about each of the members of the family other than with Jamie, where I think it’s a little more simplistic.

But is that enough to weaken his resolve at all, even if he does have some affection for a couple of people from the family?

Yeah, I think so. And I think there’s definitely moments where he probably does question what he’s doing and question his plan. But I think ultimately his desire to enact his plan and complete it and see it through override any of those moments or flickers of empathy.

Related

What to Know About the David-Duchovny Led 'Malice'

He’s going to be causing some chaos. How far is he willing to go?

Pretty far. I mean, he goes pretty far, I would say, without giving away any spoilers, but it really ratchets up. I remember reading the scripts not knowing necessarily where it was going. I had a basic idea from the writer of where he wanted to take it. But yeah, I was shocked reading it, so, I imagine when people watch it, they’re going to be quite thrown by some of the twists in the plot.

How would Adam describe himself and how would Jamie describe him?

Adam would describe himself, I think, as someone wronged and someone that is kind of morally superior. Maybe he wouldn’t describe himself as that, but that is, I think, how — he has a moral superiority. But I think he genuinely believes that he is a necessary force and his plan is for the greater good and is righteous, so, I think he is definitely someone that is emboldened by a sense of righteousness.

And I think Jamie finds Adam interesting and he enjoys his company and he likes that Adam has a sort of wicked sense of humor and is not necessarily always a pushover. I think there’s definitely an element at the beginning. I think he ultimately begins to find him — he has more of an unease and finds him a little bit annoying. But I think in the initial stages, I do think I am able to sort of charm him, so, I do think he warms to me at the beginning.

Talk about filming in Greece.

Greece is amazing. We filmed in Greece last summer, and we were on this amazing island called Paros, which was fantastic. It was just an amazing location, and it looked so great on camera, and we had some fantastic locations, and their villa was just so perfectly chosen by our locations team and really felt like very on brand for Jamie. It had a bit of everything. I think obviously one of our great or James [Wood]’s great influences when writing it is the great Greek tragedies and it felt so fitting that we were filming it in Greece and it really lent itself to the story as well. So yeah, it was an amazing location and I remember at the time thinking, “I should make the most of this. I’m sure whatever the next job will be will not be shooting on a beautiful Greek island in the summer.” And lo and behold, the next job I did was in Newcastle in November during some of the worst and gloomiest and most depressing months of the year that England has to endure. And I remember pining for Paros when I was there every day on set in the drizzle.

What stands out is how gorgeous it looks in Greece, and a gorgeous location for a dark thriller is always a great contrast.

Yeah. It has the villa and some great Greek food and the meals and the boats and the beaches and all of that. It’s definitely got that kind of wish fulfillment element to it as well with the locations that they picked. And even when we come back to London as well, they’ve shot London very sexily, I would say. [Laughs] It’s very got that streamer lens on it.

Is there anything else that people should know about the series going in?

No, I want them to just come to it with a really fresh perspective and maybe try and forget everything that I’ve done prior to this and my entire canon of work so that you can just lose yourself in the story. Although I’ve told a couple of people that I’m playing a psychopath in the next thing that I’m doing and most of them seem pretty willing to suspend their disbelief that could be possible, which I don’t know how to take. [Laughs]

Malice, Series Premiere, Fall 2025, Prime Video