Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies
Andrew Wynford Daviesis a Welsh writer of screenplays and novels, best known for House of Cards and A Very Peculiar Practice, and his adaptations of Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch and War & Peace. He was made a BAFTA Fellow in 2002...
ProfessionScreenwriter
Date of Birth20 September 1936
drama tvs needs
Novels often have leisurely openings; a TV drama needs an arresting opening.
drama thinking people
I'm not one of these people who say how much better American drama is than English. I find it mostly too American, except for The Sopranos, which I think is the best thing.
drama character stories
I'd love to adapt more contemporary novels. But there isn't really enough story and character to make a really satisfying serial, so they tend to be single dramas.
drama writing people
The joy of writing drama is putting yourself into different people's heads.
drama moving thinking
From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don't think it's sentimentality or nostalgia, it's often that they are simply the best stories.
drama optimistic periods
I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing.
clothes necks excuse
One of the things I've always thought is a drag in so many period adaptations is that they are always buttoned up to the neck in so many clothes all the time. I'm always looking for excuses to get them out of their clothes.
wife likes documentaries
My wife likes history and documentaries, but I'm not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there's one of those on.
character lines looks
Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.
thinking people quality
I'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff.
jobs doe ifs
I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting 'The Great Gatsby,' but nobody ever does.
beautiful dark blue
I used to have this Mercedes, a dark blue 450SLC, which was the most beautiful car. I'd like to have another unusual, beautiful car.
taste teach university
I suppose I have the tastes of someone who teaches at a university in the provinces.
frustration classic adaptation
I adore doing classic adaptations, but I also feel their frustrations and their limitations.