‘Harlan Coben’s Lazarus’ Star Sam Claflin on His “Draining” Role and Working With Bill Nighy

Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games, Peaky Blinders,Daisy Jones & the Six) stars opposite Bill Nighy in Harlan Coben’s Lazarus, the new original series from the master of twists and turns that released on Amazon’s Prime Video Wednesday.

Based on an original script by best-selling author Cobenand BAFTA winnerDanny Brocklehurst, the six-episode Harlan Coben’s Lazaruspromises another wild ride for the onscreen characters and audiences alike.

“Joel Lazarus (Claflin) returns home after his father Dr. Jonathan Lazarus (Nighy) dies by suicide and begins to have disturbing experiences that can’t be explained,” read the synopsis for the series. “He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death and his sister’s murder 25 years ago.”

The cast for Lazarus also features Alexandra Roach, David Fynn, Karla Crome, and Kate Ashfield.

The drama was produced by Quay Street Productions and Amazon MGM Studios in association with Final Twist Productions. The executive producers are Coben, Brocklehurst, Nicola Shindler, Richard Fee, Claflin, and Wayne Che Yip, who also serves as a director on the show.

“Initially, it was Harlan Coben’s name being attached to the project,” British star Claflin tells The Hollywood Reporter about how he ended up joining the Coben-verse.

Then, his experience was similar to many a Coben fan’s.

“I was reading episode one and when I got to the end, I needed to read episode two,” he explains. “But there wasn’t an episode two. There was a brief overview of what episode two would include, but I insisted and begged and desperately pleaded. They eventually forwarded me an early draft, and I got to the end of that and was like, ‘I need episode three.’”

Concluded the star: “That was a good sign there was something worth exploring here.”

His excitement continued when he sat down with director Wayne Che Yip to discuss the first two episodes. “He’s created such an incredibly rich world and had a very clear vision and imagery of characters and the silhouettes of the characters,” Claflin tells THR. Quay Street’s involvement was another huge plus. “They make such great television,” notes the star. “It didn’t take me long until I had to do it.”

Working with Nighy was another Lazarus benefit. “Joy,” Claflin says when asked about the experience of sharing scenes with him. “He really is just the most incredible man and actor. He made every day fun but difficult, and difficult in the sense of really challenging. I think it was the subject matter of the scenes that we were doing.”

Without revealing any spoilers, the star describes the scenes with Nighy as “mental gymnastics,” emphasizing: “He pushes you to be a better actor, but equally offers you so much of himself with every take, with his entirety, every day. I mean it was just a dream come true. I never really had that much screen time with him, so this just felt like a gift.”

How did Claflin approach the twists and turns that Coben’s stories are known for? “I don’t think you can think about it too much, really,” he offers. “We were only getting episodes sort of drip-fed to us. The six episodes didn’t all come [together]. So I just had to play each moment honestly and truthfully. What Joel says, he believes, what Joel says, he is seeing, what Joel says, he is experiencing.”

Becoming Lazarus particularly allowed Claflin to explore maleness. “I think we can all relate —most men, especially of our generation — to the fact that we spend the majority of our lives suppressing our emotions and hiding from who we really are,” he tells THR. “So it was difficult. You don’t know how reliable Laz is as a narrator, as a storyteller, but I just had to kind of trust him in many ways. It was really difficult. Emotionally, physically, mentally, it was very draining. It’s a very demanding role, but one I relished. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity.”

Taking on a multi-episode role was different from film work. “It was fun doing a TV show where it was spread over a period of time really being able to get my teeth stuck into a rich and complex character,” the star explains.

Cars were a maybe more surprising element of the work on Lazarus. “There were so many scenes where I had to park, and they got really impressed with my driving skills,” Claflin recalls. “I had to park it in the same mark every time? There was a lot of driving, and they really trusted me in the car, which was surprising. I feel, as an actor, you are sometimes treated like a child, having a car on the back of a truck.”

Claflin was not so much a connoisseur of Coben’s novels but couldn’t stop watching another one of his shows. “I’d seen Fool Me Once before we started filming and was so addicted to that show,” he recalls. “Since then, I’ve now seen so many of his pieces. I mean, he’s just the best at what he does. There’s no doubt about it: the reason why his books are so successful, the reason why his book adaptations are so successful is because he writes cliffhangers and twists and turns and characters better than anyone else.”

Have Coben and his new series’ star discussed further collaborations in the future? “We haven’t yet,” Claflin tells THR. “The hope is there. The desire is there.”

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All six episodes of Harlan Coben’s Lazarus are now streaming on Prime Video.