The six-episode series The Tourist, streaming in the US on HBO Max, follows a British man who wakes up in the hospital and finds himself very confused and missing vital information, such as how he ended up in the Australian outback, why people are trying to kill him, and who he actually is. Knowing he needs to piece his past together, even though he may not like the answers he could uncover, The Man (Jamie Dornan) finds help and an uneasy friendship with a local beat cop named Helen (Danielle Macdonald), who knows she’s capable of more than everyone around her has given her the opportunity to prove.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Macdonald talked about why she fell in love with this project instantly, having the role adapted to her as the shoot continued, defying genre, her reaction to reading the last script, feeling very protective of her character, why Helen decides to help this mysterious figure, and her love of getting to do action and stunt work.
Collider: I very much enjoyed this, especially your character. She’s just such a fun character to go on this wild journey with. When this project came your way, how much were you actually told? Did you get to read all the scripts ahead of time? How much did you have to on?
DANIELLE MACDONALD: I didn’t get to read all the scripts, no. I signed on after reading the first four episodes. I fell in love with it instantly – very, very quickly – and I desperately wanted to know what happened in the final two, but I didn’t get to read them until after our first week of production. I’d already filmed for a week, before I got to read episodes five and six, which is crazy. I had some idea of where Helen went because when I met with Jack and Harry [Williams], the writers, they told me where she was gonna end up. So, I had an understanding of where my character would go, but I had no idea where the story would go. That was a complete surprise to me too.
Jack and Harry Williams really are excellent writers. I’ve seen a bunch of their work, and I’m always impressed with whatever story they’re telling. What is it about them and their writing that just keeps reeling viewers back in?
MACDONALD: It really does. I don’t know what it is. They’re just really, really attuned to people. As I was playing the character, they would see cuts from it and then they would rewrite scenes for the next episode, or for a different scene that was coming up, and they really knew how to make it work for exactly what I was bringing, which was really cool. They very much wrote it around what each actor was bringing, and I love that. They’re just really smart with that. They’re really attuned to people. But also, I like that they defy genre. They really like to write how life actually is, which is a whole mix of emotions and a whole slew of things happening versus just going with a formulaic comedy, or drama, or thriller. It’s really nice to see that. I think that they’re just really good at that. They’re not afraid to go a little bit wild, which is fun.
There are a lot of aspects of this story that just keep unfolding, along the way. Not only does this guy not know who he is or where he’s been, but your character has no idea what’s going on. As someone who really has no insight as to what’s happening throughout the journey, what was it like to learn all of that? As you were getting the other scripts that you hadn’t read, how did you react, especially to reading the last script?
MACDONALD: Oh my gosh, I remember reading the last script and we were shooting in Australia. I shot all of my house stuff the first week, with Greg [Larsen], who plays my fiancé in it, and then Jamie [Dornan] and Shalom [Brune-Franklin] were filming in the outback the next week. So, I flew to Sydney to see my family for that week. I was like, “Oh, wow, this is so cool. I get a whole week where I can spend with my family. They sent me the scripts while I was there, and I read them and the first thing I did was message Jamie and Shalom and I was like, “What is happening? Have you guys read this? I don’t even know what to think or feel. I need to talk to you guys about this. I’m with my family and I can’t tell them.” It was crazy. There were so many different things and we were so invested in the characters, at that point. That was our whole world. So, the first thing I tried to do was FaceTime them, and they were probably in the middle of filming a scene. I was like, “Just call me back.” My reaction was, “Wow, I don’t know what to think or feel.”
What did you love about Helen, from day one, and then did learning those things in those later scripts change your perception of her at all?
MACDONALD: No. I totally got that the scripts weren’t ready, but I did ask if there was anything I needed to know for my character, before we started shooting, that would inform something later on. They were very honest with me about where she went, so there weren’t any surprises from my character, personally. I feel very protective of Helen, especially when I was playing her. There were definitely moments where I was like, “Helen, what are you doing?” And then, there were also moments where I was like, “Go, Helen!” It was a full spectrum of emotions, for sure.
Helen seems like someone who has been a little nervous and scared in her life and she doesn’t necessarily have a ton of confidence about herself, and over the course of these episodes, we really get to see her come out of her shell a bit. What is it about this guy that makes her want to help him and that gives her blinders to the red flags that are there, throughout the season?
MACDONALD: I think it’s just who Helen is. She is someone that really wants to help. She sees everything as a glass half full. She sees when people are good. She really goes off of her gut instinct. She’s definitely someone that follows her gut. She’s someone that really tries to see the best. She’s with Ethan and he’s throwing out some major red flags, but she still tries to see the best in him. That’s just part of who she is. But also, part of it is that sometimes, you just connect with people and she wants to help when she connects with people. But then, she’s also following her dream. She wants to be a police officer and she has always been told, “Just stick to what you know. You don’t really need to solve cases.” She’s like, “But I think I can help, and I really want to.” She’s following her dream while also just being a really good person. I think it’s a combination of all that.
How hard is it for her to really learn the truth about who this guy was? Obviously, he’s not still the same guy, or at least he doesn’t feel that he is, but what is that like for her?
MACDONALD: It’s really interesting because you’re really posing the question to both Helen and the audience. I feel like Helen mirrors the audience, in a lot of ways. You’re sticking with this character on this entire journey. She’s sticking with him on this journey. You’re seeing all these things and you’re rooting for this person, and then you find out information and you’re like, “Where do we go from here? Is this something that’s forgivable?” It really challenges you, and I think she’s questioning herself. It’s very much like, can we judge people for past behavior, if they’ve completely changed? Should we? Should we condemn them? It’s asking the question. What’s gonna win out will be very different for different people. It’s a tough one. It’s a very tough one, and I don’t think that it’s ever made light of, as if it isn’t tough. I personally don’t know. I feel very conflicted on the subject, personally.
I love that you also get a lot of physical work and stunts in this. What was it like to do all of that and to get to be responsible for leading a car chase? Are you ready for action hero stardom now?
MACDONALD: Yeah, I’m so ready. I thought it was so fun. I love stunt work. I’m a very active person. I’m very physical. I’ve done sports my whole life. I love getting to do stunt work. I thought it was so fun. There’s a scene where Jamie collides with me and we go down, and that was so fun for me. They were like, “A loud sound is gonna go off and there’s gonna be rubber flying. You’re gonna be taken out and there will be a crash.” I was like, “Okay, I’m ready.” It was really exciting. We practiced and made sure that it was really safe for everyone. It was really cool to get into that world and do that side of it. I haven’t really gotten to do that much of that before, and I would love to do more of it, for sure. It was so fun for me. I love getting to learn new skills, so that was great. I wanna do more action.
The Tourist is available to stream at HBO Max.