Hello! I’m just curious when did you get into Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and why did you get into it? I’m just curious!
For me I got into it because I was a fan of Penny Dreadful and I was also a HUGE Dracula fan and I particularly liked Samuel Barnett’s performance so that got me to watch the show!
Ooh an ask! Exciting! ^_^ Well...
I loved the books first. Being British, Douglas Adams is a household name and most people can quote Hitchhikers - but I always loved Dirk Gently more. He's such a funny and interesting character and I found the plotting more creative, personally. It was always one of my favourite books.
When Stephen Mangan's version came out on BBC - I loved that too, a solid adaptation and I like Stephen Mangan anyway so it was not a hard sell. They stuck relatively closely to the books but for me it's all about the characterisation of Dirk - and Stephen is likeable enough to pull it off -that tension of eccentricity between - he can be self-centred, but also really likeable and charming somehow. I met the Netflix version with some trepidation. An American version..?? Hmm - Americans don't always have the best track record of converting British things into 'American'. But it's quirky sci-fi that Netflix had a feeling I would enjoy, so I eventually gave it a go.
So I came at it from the opposite end - I was not especially familiar with Sam before DGHDA - although I recognised him from The History Boys and knew all of those actors were/are fantastic, I hadn't seen him in anything else since then and that was a while ago.
I loved Netflix Dirk. Eccentric but in a loveable puppy way? It combined my love of genuinely nice characters with British eccentricity. It didn't bother me that it was off-the-wall different from the books because we already have the BBC adaptation anyway, and it pulls it off. It channels Douglas Adams humour, sci-fi, creativity, and energy.
What I appreciated most was the way Sam played Dirk with nuance and depth, and humanity. I felt like there was a very high risk of an actor treating his character with less respect, as a caricature -an annoying, obnoxious 2D character who just comes in as that tired trope of guy treats others like crap because he thinks he's such hot shit. I credit Sam with making Dirk so much more than that - making him vulnerable, insecure, funny but not a joke, a real human being with past experiences that made him who he is and explain his motivations and behaviour.
He also has perfect comic timing, which made Dirk more funny than annoying and is underappreciated in my opinion.
Even then, it wasn't until I saw Desperate Romantics (in which Sam plays John Everett Millais) that I realised that Sam is such a brilliant actor, and the more I saw of him the more I appreciated his incredible range and skill. I love actors who are always trying new things and have such fascinatingly diverse ability.
Then I naturally wanted to see what else he was in because he's such a brilliant actor and all of his projects are so interesting and diverse (and I like trying new things)
I think that - so far - Feeling Afraid is kind of his 'magnum opus' ? It's incredible in terms of the range and depth and showcases his talent so well. But everything he does just continues to amaze me. Unfortunately for Sam, he also happens to be an incredibly kind, decent, lovely human being - which makes me all the more of a fan and supporter of his work. :) He works hard, is so kind to people, and deserves anything he wants.
I'm so sorry for the length of this answer, but in my defence you did ask me about Dirk/Sam, so tbf, you're lucky I ever actually stopped xD
