Last week, Archie—the British miniseries about the life of legendary Hollywood star Cary Grant—became available to stream in the U.S. via Britbox.
Archie is partially based on Dear Cary: My Life With Cary Grant, the 2011 memoir from the actor’s fourth ex-wife, Dyan Cannon, who last week addressed those long-standing rumors about her late husband’s sexuality.
“If he did have relationships with men, it was before I knew him—but I never saw any indication of that,” Cannon shared.
Jason Isaacs, who plays Grant in the series, added: “As far as I am aware, he had many relationships, but the label ‘gay’ doesn’t really define what he was… he certainly had relationships with men. One very long relationship. But then he was in love with women. He was in love with Dyan.”
But what—or who, rather—they’re both talking around here is Grant’s former co-star Randolph Scott, whom he reportedly had a very close relationship with. The pair even shared a Malibu home together (dubbed “Bachelor Hall”), where both photographer Jerome Zerbe and actor Richard Blackwell claim to have slept with them. In the latter’s autobiography, he wrote Grant and Scott “were deeply, madly in love, their devotion was complete.”
In other words, if you’re tuning in to Archie in hopes that it might shed a light on this facet of Grant’s life, you’ll be sorely disappointed, we’re sorry to say. Scott only shows up in a minor role in the second episode, and their connection is portrayed as strictly platonic, nothing more.
However, if you’re watching Archie (in part) to learn about some handsome new actors to drool over, then you’re in luck! Both “Archie” and “Randy” appear in fine form, particularly in a nostalgic, poolside montage where they’re flexing and fooling around in their (tiny, tiny) swim trunks.
Again, the (very handsome) Jason Isaacs—perhaps best recognized as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise and Captain Hook in 2003’s Peter Pan—plays Grant as and adult through most of the series.
But playing the young Grant, just as his career is beginning to take off, is a British actor by the name of Calam Lynch. The 29-year-old star’s first major role was is Disney’s 2020 remake of Black Beauty, but he’s also appeared in the excellent Siegfried Sassoon biopic Benediction, Amazon’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, and Netflix‘s Bridgerton.
Lynch, we might add, is in fantastic shape, and made headlines last year when he joked he’d been lobbying Bridgerton producers for more shirtless scenes. While the regency drama didn’t quite deliver on that front, at least the actor’s Instagram page is keeping us fed. See for yourself:
And playing Scott is a rising talent by the name of Dan Patridge. Though his professional screen credits include just a handful of TV appearances this past year, he is a seasoned stage performer who has toured the world with musicals like Cats and Hairspray and most recently starred in Grease The Musical on the West End as Danny Zuko.
Whether decked out in a furr-tastic Rum Tum Tugger outfit, a leather greaser jacket, or Randolph Scott’s skimpy swimsuit, Partridge is quite the looker, and is well worth a follow, too!
Catch Lynch and Partridge in Archie now streaming in the U.S. via Britbox.
Jim
I was under the impression they avoided Cary’s attraction to men
dbmcvey
Jason Isaacs is a good actor but, with all due respect, he has no idea how Cary Grant really felt and Dyan Cannon herself says she didn’t really know him.