untung99.biz: Fourpart miniseries Tom Jones comes to Masterpiece

From left, Sophie Wilde as Sophia Western and Solly McLeod as Tom Jones in “Tom Jones.” (Courtesy of Mammoth Screen and Masterpiece)

Solly McLeod knows that the unexpected may bear something great. In this case, McLeod was asked to read for the Masterpiece series, “Tom Jones,” but had no idea what it was about. “I thought it was about the singer and was confused on how it would involve me. I don’t look anything like him,” he admits. Upon reading the first three scripts, McLeod found himself enthralled by the series. “There was a lightness to the role and it was refreshing for me.” From that point on, McLeod was ready to jump into the world of “Tom Jones.” The four-part series is an adaptation of Henry Fielding’s “Tom Jones,” which gives a new twist to the tale of a young man’s love for a wealthy heiress. McLeod stars as Tom, with Sophie Wilde as Sophia, the heroine, and Hannah Waddingham as the iconic temptress Lady Bellaston. Joining the cast are James Fleet, Shirley Henderson, Alun Armstrong, Pearl Mackie, and a torrent of other talent, bringing mid-18th-century England to life in all its passion and prejudice, luxury and loose morals. The series premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 30, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1 It will then air the next three episodes at 8 p.m. Sunday. McLeod says filming was done over the course of three months in Northern Ireland. The monthslong production schedule gave McLeod the time he needed to learn more about his character. “I learned about Tom and took a lot of my younger self to the character,” he says. “Tom has this love for innocence. Because I was able to tap into my younger self, it was really nice to open that part of myself again. It became this form of therapy for me.” Fielding wrote “Tom Jones” in the 1700s, so the character has had some time to reach different audiences. McLeod describes Tom Jones as someone who unapologetically loves life. “He’s very adventurous, very caring and emotionally intelligent,” McLeod says. “His actions aren’t meant to hurt people. He has to keep going and tries to make things right. It’s a curse for him.” McLeod is hoping that audience will resonate with the series because of the lightness of it. “I think it helps people think of themselves when they were younger,” he says. “Your first love and first relationship. We are able to see Tom grow throughout the series.”