Patrick J Adams said starring in The Bombing of Pan Am 103 gave him a rare opportunity as an actor to be part of an “important” project featuring “stories that need to be told.”
The Suits actor plays FBI agent Dick Marquise in the new six-part BBC drama, which tells the story of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the complex, years-long investigation that followed.
“I was attracted to the story because I knew about Lockerbie, I was seven years old when it happened and I was living in the UK at the time,” he explained.
In a thinly-veiled dig at his previous roles, Adams added: “As an actor you don’t always get the opportunity to work on things that you know in your core are important stories that need to be told, and this is one of them.”
The show, produced by Line of Duty creators World Productions, focusses not only on the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people, but also the emotional toll on victims’ families and the efforts of investigators across Scotland, the US and Malta.
The Canadian actor admitted he was shocked by how few people, particularly younger generations, are familiar with the attack, which remains the worst terror incident on British soil.
“I think this is a really important story for everybody to be familiar with. Just in my short time working on this, I’ve asked a lot of people, especially younger people, if they know about it, and I’m shocked by the amount of people who don’t know what happened,” he said.
“It’s important for people, especially younger generations, to inform themselves about this event- what happened to these people, how they came together as a community.”
Adams said portraying Marquise, who led the American arm of the Lockerbie investigation, was a “phenomenal journey”.
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“Playing Dick Marquise has been a real honour… This is the first time I’ve played someone where I’ve had the opportunity to really interact with them and ask them questions, which I have done ceaselessly,” he said.
“He is someone who very early on understood that they were working at a disadvantage… His whole life has been about how it is fine if you have a lot of information and intelligence, but if we’re not willing to communicate it and to share it then what are we doing?”
Adams also reflected on the surprising intricacy of the investigation and its challenges.
“I’d have assumed that the FBI would be welcomed with open arms into any investigation, maybe that’s my Western, North American bias,” he said.
“Even though everyone wants the same thing… you have different people with different agendas, different ways of going about that. You have egos involved. It’s an imperfect thing trying to solve an unimaginable crime.”
Filming in Scotland brought its own emotional resonance, particularly a visit to Lockerbie itself.
“One of the most amazing things… was going to Lockerbie with Dick Marquise and Tom Thurman,” he recalled.
“Getting to walk around, to go to Sherwood Crescent and have Dick and Tom talk me through what they found… that was one of the most profound experiences and like a pilgrimage of sorts.”
