A typical day at Pall Mall Barbers will include a few dozen
stylish haircuts, a number of luxurious wet shaves, the offering of a number of
beautiful shaving products and vouchers and some general banter to pass the
time – all in our beautiful barbershop.
However Wednesday was in no way typical for one of our barbers. Adrian has been contacted by a big production
company, looking for an authentic barber to perform in a period show alongside
the American TV and film star Jeremy Piven in a new ITV drama about the life of
Mr Selfridge. They had tried using
actors but they just did not have the fluency of movement . As the director was looking for a slick
montage of Jeremy Piven getting groomed and ready in the morning it was
absolutely essential that the barber looked and acted the part with
expertise.
Stylish haircuts in a traditional setting. Great gifts for men
So it was with much excitement that Adrian headed off to
glamorous Neasden where the company had converted an old carpet warehouse into
a huge studio containing all the main sets.
As with any filming work there are long periods of waiting with very little
to do and Adrian found himself talking with Jeremy Piven who proved to be a very
nice and inquisitive man – asking about the barber shop and Adrian’s views on
facial hair. It was most certainly a day
never to be forgotten for Adrian and we all can’t wait to see him in action
when the show is broadcast next year.
Luxury haircuts and wet shaves
Here’s a little we’ve found out about the coming hit drama:
Award-winning actor JEREMY PIVEN (Entourage) will lead the
cast as American entrepreneur, Harry Gordon Selfridge, in new drama Mr
Selfridge (working title), about the life of the flamboyant and visionary
American entrepreneur, produced by ITV Studios for ITV1.
Created by multi-award winning writer Andrew Davies, Mr
Selfridge tells the story of ‘Mile a Minute Harry’, a man with a mission to
make shopping as thrilling as sex. Pioneering and reckless, with an almost
manic energy, he created a theatre of retail where any topic or trend that was
new, exciting, entertaining - or sometimes just eccentric - was showcased.
Jeremy Piven takes on the role as Mr Selfridge following a
successful eight-season run on hit drama Entourage, in which he won three Emmys
and a Golden Globe for his portrayal as Ari Gold. Born and raised in Chicago,
Piven has a successful career on stage and screen with credits including,
Runaway Jury, Old School, Black Hawk Down, Serendipity and Guy Ritchie’s
Rocknrolla. Piven also starred as Boddy Gould in Broadway hit Speed-the-Plow
and in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig. Most recently, he appeared in films Angels Crest,
starring alongside Elizabeth McGovern, Mira Sorvino, Kate Walsh and Lynn
Collins, and I Melt With You, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film
festival.
Joining Piven in Mr Selfridge is KATHERINE KELLY (Coronation
Street) as the confident and alluring socialite Lady Mae, whose connections
prove vital for Harry as he builds his empire.
Also starring is FRANCES O’CONNOR (Piccadilly Jim) who will
play Harry’s wife Rose, acclaimed French actor GRÉGORY FITOUSSI (Spiral) as
Henri Leclair, Harry’s flamboyant creative director, AISLING LOFTUS (The
Borrowers, Dive) as shop assistant Agnes, TRYSTAN GRAVELLE (Anonymous) as
ladies’ man Victor, the Assistant Manager at Selfridges in-store restaurant,
and ZOË TAPPER (Desperate Romantics) playing a celebrated stage entertainer,
Ellen Love, who becomes the new ‘face’ of Selfridges.
The drama is set in London in 1909, at a time when women
were revelling in a new sense of freedom and modernity. Harry wanted to
indulge, empower and celebrate these women and so opened the doors of his
lavish department store, on London’s famous Oxford Street.
Through the innovations and spectacular events Harry staged
within the store, the stories will shine a light on hidden moments of the
history of women, be it fashion, cosmetics, technology or domestic affairs.
Harry’s colourful life will play out against the rich
tapestry of London at the turn of the century. In his leisure hours he was a
gambler, and although happily married, he enjoyed the company of glamorous show
girls and film stars. His womanising was legendary and he very much lived life
in the fast lane.
Based upon the book Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge by
author Lindy Woodhead which is the account of the real life story of Harry
Gordon Selfridge and his store, the series will go into production in April in
London for transmission on ITV1 during 2013.
Andrew Davies and his writing team have cherry picked the
most intriguing aspects of Harry’s real life and used them as a spring-board to
create a big, glamorous city story. There is a rich cast of fictional
characters to fall in love with, whose fortunes are all interlinked with his
own extraordinary story. From the opulent life of London’s social elite, to the
bright lights, glamour and back-stage intrigue of London’s theatres, from board
rooms, private poker games and smoky music halls to the working men and women
trying to make their own success, this is period drama firmly set in the advent
of modernity.
The ten x 60 minute episodes of Mr Selfridge will be
produced by Chrissy Skinns (Marchlands, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and
executive produced by ITV Studios Drama’s Kate Lewis. Andrew Davies (Bleak
House, Pride and Prejudice) is the lead writer alongside Kate Brooke (Case
Sensitive, Murder in the Outback) and Kate O’Riordan (The Bad Mother’s
Handbook, The Kindness of Strangers). The first director will be Jon Jones
(Titanic, Northanger Abbey).
Said Peter: "The story of Harry Selfridge and how he
transformed the world of retail is fantastically rich territory. Andrew Davies
and the team have created a compelling and entertaining series that is part
family saga and part workplace drama."
Kate Lewis, Executive Producer for ITV Studios added:
"It’s impossible to read about the real Harry Selfridge and not be
enthralled. Here’s a man that had it all and lost it all in the most
spectacular fashion. His life and the extraordinary legacy he left behind are
dripping with drama."
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