Colin Firth was visibly emotional as he discussed the real people that inspired the new Sky Drama Lockerbie: A Search For Truth.
The forthcoming five-part series delves into the events that unfolded after a terrorist bomb downed Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, claiming the lives of 270 individuals, including 43 Britons and 190 Americans, marking it the deadliest terror attack on British soil.
At age 64, Colin takes on the role of Dr Jim Swire, a man who faced the agony of losing his daughter Flora. She perished in the attack while en route to celebrate Christmas with friends in the States.
During his appearance on Lorraine Kelly’s ITV morning programme on Monday (January 6), alongside co-star Catherine McCormick who plays Jane Swire, Jim’s wife, the conversation soon took a heartfelt tone when Colin talked about embodying Dr Jim Swire and the unimaginable grief he endured.
Host Lorraine had commented on the resilience of Jim Swire, saying, “He’s an amazing man Jim Swire, isn’t he? He’s extraordinary and he just never gave up,” reports the Mirror.
Colin replied: “The admiration I had for his tenacity and sympathy as well because he wouldn’t have chosen this, he wouldn’t have chosen to go on campaigns, he wouldn’t have chosen to take the risk to go and meet Gaddafi, he wouldn’t have chosen to have to keep questioning what he was told and I feel this is something that goes very deep and it’s trying to fathom the unfathomable.”
He shared: “I found that quite emotionally challenging to engage with really but I think one of things that propelled him as well wasn’t just tenacity it wasn’t just ‘I’ve got an answer that’s not enough I want more’ – the answers didn’t feel right to him.”
Catherine confessed that embodying the role was a substantial commitment, saying: “The scripts were brilliant and we really wanted to be a part of it but when you are playing someone, what the Swires had been through and portraying a real person who is still alive today and very much going through whatever that process of grief was and is for the family.”
She continued: “That I found quite daunting and there’s a huge responsibility there so you can only hope that once you have said yes to it that you did some kind of justice.”
Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV and ITVX