Douglas Henshall: 'Shetland' interviews, 'Doors Open' premiere, and Burns interview

Douglas Henshall on Scotland's answer to The Killing

Douglas Henshall stands at the door of his trailer, cigarette in one hand and a coffee in the other.

Shetland stars Steven Robertson, Douglas Henshall and Alison O'Donnell. Photograph: Neil Davidson

At first glance we could almost be in a Hollywood lot, but rather it's the decidedly less glamorous setting of a car park in Irvine, across the road from the Magnum Leisure Centre.
Overlooking grey waters and a driftwood-strewn stretch of sandy beach, it's probably perfectly pretty when the sun is shining, but today is dull and overcast, lending the scene a grim and foreboding air.

Still as atmosphere setters go it's perfect. Henshall is filming scenes for Shetland, a BBC drama already dubbed the Scottish equivalent of The Killing. An adaptation of author Ann Cleeves's book Red Bones, part of her quartet of crime novels set on the islands, the actor plays the lead role of brooding police detective Jimmy Perez.

The two-part murder mystery unfolds after human remains are unearthed by an archaeological dig, the plot hinging on an unsettling question – are the remains from ancient times or, chillingly, a much more modern burial? Granted, it's not as gory as the Danish and Swedish crime noir to grace screens of late, but throw in a couple of murders, a simmering family feud stoked by greed and envy, and a stunningly beautiful backdrop, and we have ourselves a good old-fashioned meaty thriller. The screenplay was written by David Kane, whose credits include The Field of Blood, Taggart and Rebus, and if well received, the other three books could also be dramatised.
Read much more at Herald Scotland 

Shetland will be shown on BBC One at 9pm on March 10 and March 11

Another long interview with Douglas has also been published by the Daily Record 


Ovation to premiere "Doors Open" starring Stephen Fry and Douglas Henshall
An Ovation Original, the Art Crime Caper Film Debuts Saturday, April 13
Ovation, the only network devoted to artists and every kind of artistic expression, will premiere an Ovation original film, DOORS OPEN, on Saturday, April 13 at 8:00 pm ET. Based on the 2008 novel by crime writer Ian Rankin, DOORS OPEN stars Stephen Fry (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) and Douglas Henshall (Dorian Gray) in the story of a self-made millionaire, an art professor and a banker who come together to undertake an audacious art heist.
Set in Edinburgh, Scotland's world of corporate banking and fine art, DOORS OPEN stars Douglas Henshall as "Mike Mackenzie," a self-made businessman with too much time on his hands. Bored by the comfort of his millions and grieving for the woman who walked out on him five years previously, his adventurous side is about to get him into trouble. When the love of his life, "Laura Stanton" (played by Lenora Crichlow, Being Human), art consultant and auctioneer, returns to Edinburgh, his whole world is turned upside down and he'd risk anything to get her back.
Read more at Digital Journal
Also reported by Broadway World 


Douglas Henshall on Burns
Actor Douglas Henshall reveals why he's been touched by, and amazed at the scope of, the writing of his fellow countryman Robert Burns.

Source: TES