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
thinking people quality
I'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff.
thinking people bonnets
People like bonnets. I don't think you can under-estimate that.
thinking episodes plans
Plan for each episode to be a satisfying experience, but still leave the audience thinking, 'Oh, my God! Now what?
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.
thinking mad height
I'm glad nobody has asked me to adapt 'Wuthering Heights' because I think I would make a mess of it. Everybody makes a mess of it. I think the Bronte Sisters are mad.
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.
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.
drama tvs needs
Novels often have leisurely openings; a TV drama needs an arresting opening.
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.
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.