Scoop’s Rufus Sewell Reveals Why He Needed A Prosthetic Bum To Play Prince Andrew

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Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew in Scoop
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Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew in Scoop

From the trailer alone, it’s clear that Rufus Sewell’s transformation into Prince Andrew for the new Netflix movie Scoop was no small feat.

And while Rufus’ facial prosthetics have already got plenty of viewers intrigued ahead of the film’s release later this week, it turns out there was one other unexpected prostheses he was required to wear for the film.

Yes, folks. The Olivier winner apparently sported a fake bum to play the Duke Of York.

Scoop centres around Prince Andrew’s now-infamous interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight back in 2019, and given that he was sat on his posterior for the duration of the broadcast, you might be left wondering exactly why a false one was required?

Well, it turns out one scene we already know we could have done without sees Prince Andrew getting out of a bath nude, requiring Rufus to don the prosthetic bum.

Rufus and co-star Gillian Anderson on the set of ScoopRufus and co-star Gillian Anderson on the set of Scoop

“It’s not that I’m ashamed of my own. I get it out whenever I get the chance,” he joked to Radio Times. “But this bum was specially shipped in.”

Rufus added that the “physicality” of playing the royal was one aspect of Scoop that first attracted him to the project.

“Ever since I left drama school and did my first few roles, I’ve always wanted to get back to roles that allowed me to transform,” he added.

Scoop also stars Gillian Anderson as former BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, while Keeley Hawes and Billie Piper play Prince Andrew’s former aide Amanda Thirsk and Newsnight producer Sam McAllister, respectively.

Scoop debuts on Netflix on Friday 5 April. Read Rufus Sewell’s full interview in the new issue of Radio Times.