![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEC_275906302-9120.jpg\")
\n\t\tSir David Suchet previously said he wanted to have \u2018no opinion\u2019 of Sir Kenneth Branagh\u2019s Hercule Poirot (Picture: REX)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tSir David Suchet previously said he wanted to have \u2018no opinion\u2019 of Sir Kenneth Branagh\u2019s Hercule Poirot (Picture: REX)<\/p>\n
Key Points<\/p>\n
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Sir David Suchet, known for playing Poirot, has not watched Kenneth Branagh\u2019s portrayal and doesn\u2019t plan to anytime soon<\/p>\n
The actor reflects on his unexpected success as the detective, sharing anecdotes from his career and his connection with the character<\/p>\n
He\u2019s now narrating a podcast series of Charles Dickens\u2019 ghost stories, showcasing his passion for timeless storytelling<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tCreated with AI assistance. Quality assured by Metro editors.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no denying that Hercule Poirot<\/a> is one of television\u2019s greatest fictional detectives, and it\u2019s likely a single actor springs to mind when you read his name.<\/p>\n Sir David Suchet embodied the Belgian crime<\/a> solver in\u00a0ITV<\/a>\u00a0series\u00a0Agatha Christie\u2019s Poirot<\/a>\u00a0from 1989 to June 2013<\/a>, when he announced he was bowing out.<\/p>\n But he was far from the first Poirot, taking over from Peter Ustinov, who played him six times, and before Sir Kenneth Branagh<\/a> stepped up to the plate eight years ago.<\/p>\n Sir David, 79, has since made no secret of his refusal to watch Sir Kenneth don the detective\u2019s bowler hat and quirky moustache, repeatedly declaring he wants to have \u2018no opinion<\/a>\u2019 on the more recent takes. <\/p>\n Now, in an exclusive interview with Metro, the legendary actor responds to the question: has he changed his mind?<\/p>\n He shakes his head, replying emphatically: \u2018Haven\u2019t watched it since.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018And I don\u2019t think I ever will,\u2019 he muses. \u2018Until, if God gives me life, many, many years. <\/p>\n \u2018Until the press don\u2019t want to know what I think. And then I\u2019ll watch.\u2019<\/p>\n Oscar winner Sir Kenneth, 64, portrayed Poirot across three films in a series that grossed over $600million (\u00a3455m) worldwide. It consisted of Murder on the Orient Express\u00a0(2017)<\/a>, Death on the Nile\u00a0(2022), and A Haunting in Venice\u00a0(2023)<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for Sir David, he lived and breathed the eccentric investigator<\/a> to complete the entire catalogue of whodunits, featuring 33 novels and dozens of short stories.<\/p>\n Despite this, when he first took over the iconic role, the theatre veteran never foresaw how memorable his Poirot would become.<\/p>\n \u2018Didn\u2019t have a clue,\u2019 he says when asked if he expected to have such a legacy.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t \u2018I was asked in 1988 to do 10 short stories, and at the end of the shoot, I got up and made a speech and thanked everyone. I said, \u201cWho knows whether there\u2019ll be any more,\u201d and I went home that night jobless.\u2019<\/p>\n The initial run of tales was to be released a few months later, before which he told reporters he had doubts about whether his performance would be \u2018acceptable\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018I was worried about it, because I said I don\u2019t think it will be as entertaining as Peter Ustinov or anybody. And that was what I felt, so [imagine] my surprise when literally within days of the first showing of the first episode, the ratings just zoomed, and every week it got more and more and more.\u2019<\/p>\n Sir David\u2019s final case as Poirot was watched by 5.2m people and received high praise. Throughout his run, it\u2019s estimated that an astronomical 700m viewers tuned in across more than 100 countries.<\/p>\n \u2018I still, to this day, look back and say, \u201cNever expected it at all\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n While Sir David, thankfully, hasn\u2019t had to rely on Poirot\u2019s crime-cracking skills in his own life, he has learned a great deal from embodying him.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I was always one of these people who, when you were talking to me, would be thinking of my reply. We\u2019re all like that. <\/p>\n \u2018Poirot isn\u2019t. Poirot taught me to be a better listener. He gave me that.\u2019<\/p>\n While Sir David\u2019s Poirot launched him to mainstream success, he is, first and foremost, a stage performer, having kick-started his showbiz career at the Gateway Theatre, Chester<\/a>, in 1969 before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s safe to say things got off on a rocky foot.<\/p>\n \u2018I was offered to play Scrooge at the Liverpool<\/a> Playhouse in 1971; it was only two years after I came out of drama school. <\/p>\n \u2018When I arrived at the theatre, it was a Sunday, and my train was delayed, so the stage doorman went home at 7pm. That\u2019s where I was supposed to be staying, and the door was locked up!<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I didn\u2019t have any money. I couldn\u2019t stay in a hotel, I couldn\u2019t stay in a bed and breakfast; there was nowhere, so my first night as a star, 24, 25 years of age, my first big starring role, I ended up sleeping in a police cell. <\/p>\n \u2018That was the only place that I could find that would look after me. So I slept in a prison cell and then went to rehearse Scrooge the next day.\u2019<\/p>\n Sir David\u2019s days of kipping in cells are long behind him, but one thing he\u2019s maintained a connection with is his love of Charles Dickens; hence, his latest project involves narrating some of the pioneering novelist\u2019s chilling tales.<\/p>\n Taking on the haunting new role, Sir David lends his unmistakable voice to a nine-part\u00a0Noiser<\/a> podcast series, which launches with\u00a0A Christmas Carol<\/a> and is followed by weekly releases of Dickens\u2019 most atmospheric tales, including\u00a0The Signal-Man,\u00a0The Trial for Murder,\u00a0A Madman\u2019s Manuscript,\u00a0and\u00a0The Ghost in the Bride\u2019s Chamber.<\/p>\n Continuing his passion for timeless storytelling, Sir David says of the series: \u2018I don\u2019t profess to be a Dickens aficionado, but I couldn\u2019t resist this.<\/p>\n \u2018There\u2019s a huge emotional depth to [these stories], and that\u2019s what makes great writers like Dickens so enduring. They all deal with wonderful characters who enter the world of our human condition of love, hate, jealousy, greed, poverty, hardship\u2026 our human existence.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018They all have morals within them,\u2019 he adds. \u2018You wouldn\u2019t think that Agatha Christie, whose genre is crime, was outsold only by the Bible\u00a0and Shakespeare. But it\u2019s not just crime. It\u2019s other things as well.\u2019<\/p>\n Indeed, Sir David credits the esteemed Miss Marple creator for shaping Poirot in a way that kept readers enthralled, insisting that he only wanted to do right by her when playing him.<\/p>\n \u2018There will be hundreds of Poirots in the generations to come, as there have been in the generations before, and I may be voted pretty high up at the moment, but, in 10 years\u2019 time, there\u2019ll be another, and so life goes on.<\/p>\n \u2018No actor should ever say or feel they own a role. Never. It\u2019s a great privilege to play them, and then we\u2019ve gotta learn, however hard it may be, to let them go.\u2019<\/p>\n Sir David Suchet lends his iconic voice as narrator of the new audio series, Charles Dickens\u2019 Ghost Stories<\/a>, by UK podcast<\/a> network Noiser. Released on December 1.<\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n Arrow![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906137-3853.jpg\")
\n\t\tSir David played the legendary detective from 1989 to 2013 (Picture: ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"No](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906087-9a9e.jpg\")
\n\t\tPictured here in Death on the Nile\u00a0(2022), Sir Kenneth played Poirot in three films (Picture: Studios\/Everett\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906072-4482.jpg\")
\n\t\tSir David doesn\u2019t know if he ever will watch later portrayals of Poirot (Picture: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906149-80f2.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe TV icon had no idea how popular his performance would become (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906094-6c04.jpg\")
\n\t\t\u2018You wouldn\u2019t think that Agatha Christie, whose genre is crime, was outsold only by the Bible\u00a0and Shakespeare. But it\u2019s not just crime\u2019 (Picture: ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_275906114-ffd5.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe theatre veteran is now trying his hand at audiobook narration (Picture: David Fisher\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
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