At an Emmys FYC event in Hollywood, Eddie Redmayne and members of the creative team for Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal discuss the collaborative process used to create the series.
Peacock recently hosted a 2025 Emmys FYC event for its critically acclaimed thriller The Day of the Jackal, starring Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). The Day of the Jackal updates Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel and the classic 1973 Fred Zinnemann film. The series follows a British assassin (“the Jackal,” played by Redmayne) and the intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch, The Woman King) hunting him down. The drama series received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series (Drama) and for Redmayne’s acclaimed performance. It also received two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award nominations for Redmayne and Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Hosted by film critic Elvis Mitchell, the Emmys FYC event provided Redmayne, several executive producers, the costume designer, and the cinematographer the opportunity to share the creative process involved in creating the series. Redmayne detailed the choices he made to bring the Jackal to life, including his physical transformation, creative inspirations, and on-set creative collaborations.
The Contending proudly shares two clips from the event, hosted at The Lot on Formosa in Hollywood. The first clip features Redmayne talking about his collaboration with movement choreographer Alexandra Reynolds. He shared the path they followed to create different physicalities for the Jackal characters. That includes the surprising influence David Bowie had on the process.
The second clip features Redmayne describing the on-set collaborations levied to bring the drama series to Peacock. He also talks about the intensity of playing the Jackal, frequently needing to walk away from the character and reset.
The Day of the Jackal streams exclusively on Peacock.
