Rivals star confesses to doing 'nude cartwheel to break the ice on-set' despite 'shyness'

Alex's wife says he has 'resting evil face' (Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

Actor Alex Hassell is so far best known for roles in sci-fi and fantasy shows such as His Dark Materials, Cowboy Bebop and The Boys.

But the 44-year-old is belatedly set to become the next major small-screen heart-throb after being cast as the “notorious rake” Rupert Campbell-Black in Disney Plus’ surprisingly racy adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1980s bonkbuster Rivals.

Rivals features quite a bit of nudity, and so Alex, who describes himself as “actually quite shy,” reveals he decided to break the ice on set by stripping off and doing a cartwheel in front of the entire cast and crew.

He explains to the Mail on Sunday that he knew that playing the villainous former show jumper would involve a good deal of nudity: “It was made clear to me that sexuality and sex was a big part of his life and world, and what I would have to be engaging in."

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Alex threw himself into the much-anticipated naked tennis scene (Image: Hulu/Youtube)

Part of that sexually-charged lifestyle involves his character playing a naked game of tennis with Sarah Stratton, played by Inbetweeners star Emily Atack. Hence Alex’s ice-breaking nude cartwheel.

Alex says he wasn’t familiar with the Jilly Cooper ‘Rutshire’ novels on which the show has been based, and admits to being a little “nervous’ when he first read the script.

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Many of Rupert Campbell-Black’s actions would be considered thoroughly shocking to modern eyes.

“But it’s a period piece,” he says, pointing out the story’s 1980s setting, “And it’s about the mores of that time.”

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Rivals is 'very much a period piece," Alex says (Image: Robert Viglasky) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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One example of those very different times comes from another one of Rupert Campbell-Black’s love interests in the show.

Taggie, played by Sex Education’s Bella Maclean, is described as being just 18 in Dame Jilly’s original 1988 novel, while Rupert is in his late 30s.

“I find it difficult that, in every film you see, there’s a 40-something man with a young woman,” he says. “I don’t think that should be an industry standard unless it’s something to do with the story”

In the script of the 2024 TV adaptation, that somewhat inappropriate age gap gas been narrowed although, in reality, Alex and Bella’s age gap is actually bigger – she’s just 23.

The nude tennis scene is sure to be one of the show's most talked about moments (Image: Hulu/Youtube) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241015.min.js"

Alex says he wasn’t familiar with the Jilly Cooper ‘Rutshire’ novels before accepting the part (Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

Luckily, despite Alex’s initial misgivings, he and Bella hit it off when they met:”We immediately got on very well. We really had a laugh.”

Despite a long career on stage and infant of the camera, Alex says he’s not really all that outgoing: “I am actually quite shy, but I’m much more comfortable if I know what my role is supposed to be in a social situation.”

And, even as part of a career that has embraced several outings as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Alex is very happy with his current role: "A great role is a great role," he replies, “and [Rupert] is a big, complex, layered part.”

He adds that he has been somewhat typecast as a villain in the past: “My wife says I have resting evil face,” he jokes.