Rupert Penry-Jones (Adam Carter)
An enigmatic natural performer, Adam Carter is in his perfect job.
After years in MI6 he has confronted his demons and become a ruthless pragmatist. He has the power to push himself and his colleagues to the edge to get the job done – then pick up the pieces.
This combination of strength and compassion, alongside his absolute belief in the intelligence service, make Adam a formidable leader.
His MI6 wife, Fiona, is his greatest stimulus. They compete, partly on a professional level and partly because they know that their life is a constant battle to hold the other’s interest. Yet beneath it all, Adam dreams of sharing a stable home life with his wife and child, hence the move to MI5.
As the newest recruit to MI5, Rupert Penry-Jones was conscious of joining a well-established team both on-screen and off although he already knew some of the existing cast.
“I’d worked at the RSC with David (Oyelowo), knew Matthew and had worked at the National Theatre with Nicola (Walker).
“I don’t think Adam starts out thinking he’s going to be part of the gang, he doesn’t try to do that. Coming into the show I felt like an outsider; Adam’s the same. The cast were like a family, and so were the characters. I was the new boy, and it felt like that in the scripts, too.”
Although Rupert has played an on-screen spy before (Cambridge Spies), Spooks represented a completely different world.
“An officer could be walking along discussing a life and death situation and people are all around, going about their normal lives and oblivious to it.
“In the same way, when we’re filming and doing a long shot, I’m maybe walking over a bridge surrounded by hundreds of people, and they have no idea what I’m doing.
“There’s that feeling of separation, and reality becomes surreal. It’s as though our characters escape into the real world, you’re not really part of society.”
Rupert’s other BBC credits include The Student Prince, North Square and The Tribe. On film, he can be seen in Charlotte Gray, The Four Feathers and Cold Comfort Farm.
This combination of strength and compassion, alongside his absolute belief in the intelligence service, make Adam a formidable leader.
His MI6 wife, Fiona, is his greatest stimulus. They compete, partly on a professional level and partly because they know that their life is a constant battle to hold the other’s interest. Yet beneath it all, Adam dreams of sharing a stable home life with his wife and child, hence the move to MI5.
As the newest recruit to MI5, Rupert Penry-Jones was conscious of joining a well-established team both on-screen and off although he already knew some of the existing cast.
“I’d worked at the RSC with David (Oyelowo), knew Matthew and had worked at the National Theatre with Nicola (Walker).
“I don’t think Adam starts out thinking he’s going to be part of the gang, he doesn’t try to do that. Coming into the show I felt like an outsider; Adam’s the same. The cast were like a family, and so were the characters. I was the new boy, and it felt like that in the scripts, too.”
Although Rupert has played an on-screen spy before (Cambridge Spies), Spooks represented a completely different world.
“An officer could be walking along discussing a life and death situation and people are all around, going about their normal lives and oblivious to it.
“In the same way, when we’re filming and doing a long shot, I’m maybe walking over a bridge surrounded by hundreds of people, and they have no idea what I’m doing.
“There’s that feeling of separation, and reality becomes surreal. It’s as though our characters escape into the real world, you’re not really part of society.”
Rupert’s other BBC credits include The Student Prince, North Square and The Tribe. On film, he can be seen in Charlotte Gray, The Four Feathers and Cold Comfort Farm.
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