A British veteran and ex spy has revealed the gruelling two month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne on in order to prepare for his role in Day Of The Jackal.
The actor stars as an assassin targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, which is based on the Frederick Forsyth novel.
And ahead of filming for the mini series, Eddie, 42, had to undergo intense surveillance training to mould into his character.
Oxford-born Paul Biddiss, 56, who spent 25 years in the parachute regiment of the British Army, now works with A-list actors, teaching them insider tips on surveillance and spying.
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous ploy to use a phone as a weapon.
A British veteran and ex spy has revealed the gruelling two month training camp he sent Eddie Redmayne, 42, on in order to prepare for his role in Day Of The Jackal
Oxford-born Paul Biddiss, 56, who spent 25 years in the parachute regiment of the British Army, now works with A-list actors, teaching them insider tips on surveillance and spying
Ahead of filming for the mini series, Eddie had to undergo intense surveillance training with Paul to mould into his character
Paul spent two months teaching Eddie eight hours per day in threat assessment and situational awareness, self defence and evasion methods, lock picking, tracking, and different types of surveillance.
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a pretend undercover mission to track down a woman in central London – which was Paul’s wife.
Paul said: ‘Eddy wanted to know as much as possible. I went into all the details and he took it all in – he’s very meticulous, he did a fantastic job.
‘The best moment was sending him on a ‘mission’ in London. Eddie had to try and disguise himself and track a target – the subject was my wife Debbie.
‘She is the hardest person to find – especially when she goes into shop like Zara! She went into Superdrug and he had to go and memorize all the CCTV cameras, all the exits, try and keep eye on the target.’
In the original novel, the dissident parliamentary group planned to assassinate the President of France at the time – Charles de Gaulle, which is also a real plot that unfolded.
The group’s motive was to stop Algeria from becoming independent from French rule, which was something the President was planning a referendum on in 1961.
In the book, their initial attempts to assassinate him were based on real life, however, everything that follows is fictional.
The actor stars as an assassin targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch, in the series, which is based on the Frederick Forsyth novel
Paul spent two months teaching Eddie eight hours per day in threat assessment and situational awareness, self defence and evasion methods, lock picking, tracking, and different types of surveillance
The surveillance specialist revealed the spy tricks he taught Eddie, including an infamous ploy to use a phone as a weapon
Paul pictured with the director of Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
He also sent the Oscar-winning actor on a pretend undercover mission to track down a woman in central London – which was Paul’s wife
The series is being made by Carnival Films and was commissioned by Sky Studios, who will then air the anticipated series across the UK and much of Europe, as well as US streaming service Peacock.
The Mirror also reports that the huge wage Eddie earned was the ‘highest ever paid to a star’, but that is now becoming the ‘norm’ when big money companies such as Netflix, Apple and in this case Peacock, are involved.
A source said: ‘Many TV companies and broadcasters are struggling with budgets being squeezed but not with high-end drama for a global audience involving the streamers.
‘If you can do a deal with one of them, you can absolutely break the bank.’
The Day of the Jackal premiered on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on Thursday 7 November.
