AUGUST 2025
WEARING DUNHILL
PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID REISS STYLING GRACE GILFEATHER
INTERVIEW DAVID GARGIULO
Amid the calm charm of a retirement community, a surprising story unfolds. A story of friendship, wit, unexpected adventure, and murder.
Directed by Chris Columbus and based on the bestselling novel by Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club blends comedy, heart, and mystery in a way that feels both entertaining and deeply meaningful. While the plot delivers plenty of surprises, what stands out most is how it explores themes like purpose, connection, and aging with honesty and warmth. Tom Ellis joins a stellar cast of legends—Pierce Brosnan, Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie—as Jason Ritchie, a man caught between generations, expectations, and a past that won’t quite let go. It’s a role worlds apart from his suave, immortal turn as Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil with a piano, a punchline, and an open tab. In our conversation, Tom Ellis reflects on the deeper relevance of the story, how The Thursday Murder Club gives center stage to a generation too often sidelined. “That entire generation has been through things we haven’t. They lived through wars, or were born just after, when the world was still piecing itself back together. There’s resilience there. Wisdom,” he says. In a world quick to dismiss the elderly, the film serves as a reminder of the value in lived experience and the danger in ignoring it. As Tom puts it, we’re all so focused on where we’re going, we forget who we’re traveling with. The Thursday Murder Club is about that: making time for joy, for others, and for stories still being written in the final chapters of life.
Total look DUNHILL.
David Gargiulo __ You play Jason Ritchie, Pierce Brosnan’s son in The Thursday Murder Club. Did you say yes for the bragging rights? [laughs]
Tom Ellis __ [laughs] I mean, it's a very nice thing to say. But no, it wasn’t just about Pierce. It was about everyone involved. Chris Columbus has written and directed some of the biggest movies from my childhood. Films I absolutely loved growing up. Then you’ve got Pierce, Helen, Ben, Celia. I mean, come on! Just an incredible group. So yes, I get to say I played Pierce Brosnan’s son, which is a pretty cool thing to drop into conversation. But more than that, it was just a dream lineup to be part of. And I have to say, Pierce is such a nice man. I couldn’t get over how astonishingly handsome he is. And I say that as a very comfortably straight man.
DG __ I mean, coming from you!
TE __ [laughs] Let’s just say he’s a few levels above me. No contest. But yeah, everyone was lovely. So warm and welcoming. Honestly, it was a dream job.
DG __ What’s the bigger challenge: tracking down suspects in Los Angeles nightclubs or keeping up with a group of retirees who solve murders between tea breaks?
Total look DUNHILL.
TE __ [laughs] Oh that’s what we are doing? I mean, it’s definitely two ends of the spectrum. You honestly couldn’t get more quintessentially British than The Thursday Murder Club. From the people in it to the locations we shot at. It was just brimming with charm. And we got gorgeous weather for most of the shoot, which helped! I actually watched the film a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to describe it to someone. I said, “It’s like a big, beautiful slice of cake.” [smiles] It’s full of all those little things people romanticize about the UK. The charm, the coziness, the wit. It really ticks every box that people outside the UK expect. In the best possible way.
DG __ What drew you to the world of The Thursday Murder Club? Beyond the incredible cast, was it the story? British humor? You haven’t really done anything quite like a British murder mystery/comedy before, have you?
TE __ No, I hadn’t worked in the UK for quite a few years, actually, so that was definitely part of the appeal. And I loved the books. They’re so popular. Once I read the first one, I completely understood why. They’re fun and absolutely full of heart. I found myself tearing up more than once reading them. There’s this beautiful storytelling, but it’s also grounded in something very real. These characters are constantly dealing with loss, with the fact that they might not be around for much longer. They’re losing people they’ve spent their whole lives with. And that gives the story this tint of sadness. But at the same time, it’s joyful. There’s this sense of purpose that the characters find in this later chapter of their lives, and it’s contagious. Honestly, it’s got everything. I love things that make you laugh. But even more, I love when something makes you laugh and cry. And that’s exactly what this story does.
DG __ I love the way you put it. In fact, the film walks a line between mystery, comedy, and heart. Where do you think it lands emotionally?
TE __ It is a murder mystery, but that’s almost secondary. That’s just the world we’re in. At its core, it’s about relationships and how we deal with mortality. The comedy and sweetness are what make those themes digestible. But the reality is that these characters are facing something deeply human, something we all face, whether we talk about it or not. Whether it’s your parents, a family member, or even yourself, we all eventually come to terms with that final chapter. What I love is that these characters could’ve just sat around waiting for life to pass them by. But instead, they find something that invigorates them. And that, to me, is the heart of the story. It’s funny, it’s warm, but it’s also a powerful reminder that life doesn’t stop being meaningful just because you're older. The idea that people can find that kind of joy and connection later in life is incredibly powerful. It stays with you.
DG __ Speaking of finding purpose and joy through community, from your point of view, how do you see that message connecting to our world today? Especially around issues like isolation and human connection, particularly for the elderly?
TE __ I think we can learn a lot from older people. And the truth is, I don’t think the world really focuses on them anymore. They’re often pushed aside which I find incredibly sad. I mean, look at how people talked about Joe Biden during the last election. So much of the criticism was about his age. To me that was completely unfair. Here’s someone who’s lived through so much, experienced so many things that we could actually learn from and yet people just wanted to dismiss him because he’s older. It’s like they want to put him in a box and move on. That entire generation has been through things we haven’t. They lived through wars, or were born just after, when the world was still piecing itself back together. There’s resilience there. Wisdom. And now, especially with the political climate, this rising isolationism, the swing toward the far right in so many countries, it feels like a really important time to tell a story about people who are older, and who find joy in each other. They’re not glued to screens. They’re present. They’re connected. And I think that kind of human connection is something we’re really losing. And it's heartbreaking. I look at my kids and I feel lucky that I wasn’t part of this always-online generation, but I feel sad that they are. So much of their world is filtered through a screen. It’s not their fault. It’s just the way things are now. But it makes you realize how valuable that simple, honest human connection really is.
Total look DUNHILL.
DG __ Just being present in the moment.
TE __ Exactly. Sure, older people have phones but they use them to keep in touch. They’re not sitting all day on apps, Snapchatting each other. [laughs] Their phones are tools, not lifelines. Unfortunately, for the modern generation, it’s become so much more than that. I think a story like The Thursday Murder Club really reminds us what we gain from real connection and how good that can feel.
DG __ I was raised to respect my elders, to learn from them because they’ve lived, they’ve experienced.
TE __ I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor, so I spent a lot of time as a kid around older people. And it was great. I had real friendships with people as old as my grandparents. I loved listening to their stories, their take on the world. And I was raised to respect that.
DG __ What’s one lesson you carried with you from those conversations?
TE __ The biggest one is this, we're all obsessed with where we're going in life. What’s our path? What’s our purpose? But what matters most is who we’re sharing that journey with. You have to actively make time for the people you love. If you don’t, life just rolls on without you noticing. At the end of the day, when people are on their deathbeds, they’re not saying, “I wish I got that job.” They’re saying, “I wish I’d spent more time with the people I loved.” That’s the big takeaway.
DG __ That really resonates. It also reminds me of another thing: we often believe what we're experiencing now is the worst it’s ever been. But that’s because we’re in it. Right now. We lack perspective. If we took time to learn from the past, we’d see the world has been through difficult times before. We’ll get through this too.
TE __ I agree. I do believe we’ll get through it. History is cyclical. And while we’re already living through a number of global conflicts and crises, I hope it doesn’t take something even more cataclysmic to truly wake us up. We still have the power to look back and say, “Humanity really messed up there. We can’t let it happen again.” But we can only do that if we’re willing to listen.
Total look DUNHILL.
DG __ Amen! Let's shift gears and talk about something a bit more lighthearted. Any fun behind-the-scenes stories from the set?
TE __ My first day on set, I was honestly just starstruck. I mean, it's Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, and Celia Imrie. Legends. I was there for a hair and makeup test, but I caught this brilliant moment that really set the tone. Helen and Pierce came out of their respective trailers, each hopping onto their own golf buggies. Helen looked over at Pierce and just went, “Look at us wankers.” And I thought, yep, I’m going to have a great time here! [laughs] It was immediately clear that this was a group of people who didn’t take themselves too seriously. That kind of atmosphere is always the best to work in. A reminder of that dry British sense of humor that runs deep on UK sets.
DG __ You’ve shown tremendous versatility from playing Lucifer Morningstar, to recently an inventor in the 1800s in Washington Black to now the comedy adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club. What is your process and how do you decide what challenges you want to take next?
TE __ Well, I started in theatre, and at drama school you're sort of led to believe you can play any role put in front of you. That training gave me the mindset of being, for lack of a better term, a character actor. That’s how I always thought of myself coming out of drama school. Of course, I quickly learned the industry sometimes sees you differently, more as a classic leading man, mostly based on appearance, height, things like that.
DG __ How tall are you?
TE __ I’m 6'3".
DG __ Definitively leading man [laughs]
TE __ Yeah, I’m unusually tall for an actor. I’ve always tried to take on roles that are very different from the last. Even if the industry wants to pigeonhole me, I’ve done my best not to pigeonhole myself. So when I'm considering a role, I usually ask, "How different is this from what I just did? What are the new challenges here?” That keeps it exciting for me.
DG __ Has any one role felt most like home to you?
TE __ I’d say Lucifer, just because of how long I played him. I made some bold choices in that role. Choices I probably wouldn’t have gotten away with in other projects. But because Lucifer was such a big character in a grounded world, it allowed me to go big with it, be over-the-top, do silly voices, just really play. Weirdly, that became a very comfortable pair of shoes after a while. And honestly, at heart, I still feel like a little boy. Even after four kids, I still feel like I’m a kid trapped in a grown man’s body. All of this is just happening around me! I think that’s part of why I love acting. It's also what I admire in some of the actors I look up to like Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance. They’re brilliant actors, but there’s this childlike quality in them. That’s something I see in myself, too.
DG __ Your four kids must love that you are still keeping that little boy alive.
TE __ They do! Although sometimes I think they wish I’d act a bit more like a grown-up. [laughs] But yeah, I love being silly and having fun with them.
DG __ How do your kids react to seeing you on screen?
TE __ They’re distinctly unimpressed. [laughs] They’ve grown up with me being an actor, so it’s always been part of their lives. But it’s still strange for them. Like with Lucifer, they really struggle to watch it, partly because I sound different and I’m playing this over-the-top character. For them, it’s kind of... cringe. But that’s the nature of it. They want to see me as their dad, not this character that looks like dad but acts totally different. That said, as they’ve gotten older, especially Flo, my 17-year-old, there’s more appreciation. He’s really into acting himself and very talented. He’s starting to understand how lucky I’ve been to make a career out of this. Both his mum and I are actors, and we've both made it work. I think now he sees how rare and fortunate that is, and he respects it a lot more. But at the end of the day, they just want their dad around.
Total look DUNHILL.
DG __ You play guitar. And you also sing. Are you planning to be in a musical next?
TE __ I do sing, yeah. I never formally trained as a singer, though. My mum was a music teacher, and my dad was in the church, so music was a big part of our life growing up. My parents decided early on that all of us kids would learn instruments. I started with the trumpet at age five, then switched to the French horn at nine. I played in orchestras all through my childhood. My elder sister was a cellist, and my twin sister played the violin. We were a very musical household. And of course, there was singing at church and in choirs. When I got into drama school, there was a point where I had to choose: did I want to be a serious dramatic actor or a musical theatre actor? And once you picked, that’s kind of it. So I went the drama route. That said, I’ve always loved music. And I’ve realized over time that some of the most powerful performances I’ve seen in musicals weren’t just about vocal perfection. They were about emotional connection. Actors who can sing, rather than singers who act. People like Imelda Staunton, she’s phenomenal in musicals, not just because she can sing, but because of the storytelling and emotion she brings to the music. So yeah, lately I’ve thought, maybe I could do a musical. I’d have to build up my vocal stamina, but I think I’d really love it. Singing makes me feel euphoric. So does dancing. It brings me a lot of joy. I’m not actively chasing a musical role, but I’d definitely say yes.
DG __ What’s one thing fans assume about you that is untrue?
TE __ A lot of people assume I can play the piano because of Lucifer. And I can’t. I’m very good at “air piano.” [laughs] I’m very good at miming while someone else plays.
— TOM ELLIS
Total look DUNHILL.
Photographer David Reiss, Stylist Grace Gilfeather, Interview David Gargiulo, Groomer Michele Baylis using Jones Road Beauty, Talent Tom Ellis (Personal PR)
STREAMING
ON NETFLIX AUGUST 28