Set amongst America’s gilded upper class, Netflix’s new thriller The Perfect Couple is a compelling whodunnit with a star-studded cast. The story focuses on the Winbury dynasty, who have gathered in the glorious sunshine of Nantucket, Massachusetts to celebrate the marriage of golden boy Benji (Billy Howle) to Amelia (Eve Hewson).

But with Amelia coming from a less affluent family than her new husband, she falls under the suspicious glare of icy Winsbury matriarch Greer Garrison (Nicole Kidman), who has a decidedly rocky marriage with Tag (Liev Schreiber). When a dead body washes up the beach, several of the extended Winsbury clan find themselves under suspicion, including Benji’s brother Thomas, a smug Wall Street banker brilliantly played by Irish star Jack Reynor.

The superb ensemble also includes Dakota Fanning as Thomas’ pregnant wife Abby, while the talent is no less impressive behind the camera, with directing duties handled by Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, who previously helmed the BBC’s bravura John Le Carre adaptation The Night Manager.

Working with such a high calibre in such gorgeous locations, Reynor no doubt felt he hit the jackpot this time around.

“Honestly, it did feel that way,” he acknowledges, when Hot Press catches up with him in London. “I have to say, you don’t often get to work with that calibre of actor and director, at that kind of budget, in such a nice part of the world, with a licence to get away with as much I did! So, it was a really special one. Every morning I would wake up in this beautiful house I had been given, and I was just going, ‘Okay, it’s not like this all the time, man. You gotta enjoy this while you have it.’”

The Perfect Couple. (L to R) Eve Hewson as Amelia Sacks, Sam Nivola as Will Winbury, Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury, Billy Howle as Benji Winbury, Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury, Dakota Fanning as Abby Winbury, Jack Reynor as Thomas Winbury in episode 103 of The Perfect Couple. Cr. Seacia Pavao/Netflix © 2024

In terms of how he approached his character, Reynor saw Thomas as an opportunity to bring some comic relief to the story.

“I could see it straight away when I read the script,” he recalls. “I understood what the intention of the character was. When I spoke to Susanne, she was very clear that she wanted me to make the character my own, and to push the boundaries as much as I could. So, I was essentially commissioned to agitate every scene I was in. There was a lot of room for me to improvise and just throw lines across people’s dialogue.

“Initially, some people probably didn’t enjoy that as much as I did! But ultimately, that was the way I was asked to do it. I really enjoyed doing it that way and I think I was able to find a lot in the character through it. It was important to me to portray this guy in such a way that… you know when you meet someone and go, ‘Man, this guy is such a dick, but for some reason I can’t help but fuckin’ like him’?

“That was what I was really after with this. You can have a guy who’s super privileged and obnoxious, and dresses in fuckin’ salmon all the time. But if you get a sense that he’s being true to himself, then you can still be onboard with him as an audience and enjoy that. I’m having fun playing those kinds of roles these days.”

The Perfect Couple. (L to R) Ishaan Khattar as Shooter Dival, Sam Nivola as Will Winbury, Isabelle Adjani as Isabel Nallet, Jack Reynor as Thomas Winbury, Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury in episode 103 of The Perfect Couple. Cr. Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2024

EXTRA LAYER

Additionally, the whodunnit element gave the cast a nice extra layer to play with.

“Absolutely,” nods Reynor. “In some ways, the show is about the relationship between ambition and scrutiny. Particularly in the social media age, that’s a very prevalent theme. We have all of these people who are in relationships where there’s a power struggle going on, and within that dynamic, we can see their vulnerabilities and shortcomings. When you have brought so much scrutiny on yourself through your success, you have an awful lot you then have to conceal from the world.

“This whole business of the murder is obviously the most prevalent metaphor for that within the show, but we see it everywhere. We see it in the relationship between Nicole and Liev, how broken and fractured it is, and that’s what makes it really compelling. It exists between all the couples in the show, regardless of whether they’re married couples, or they’re the two detectives or whatever. That’s where the intrigue of the whole thing lies for me.”

In bringing a cutting edge to Thomas, Jack also found himself revisiting classic ’90s and noughties comedies.

“Thomas has quite a dry sense of humour,” he notes. “I love Chris Morris and the dryness of Brass Eye and The Day Today. Those are big influences on a lot of what I do, really. To be able to say something really sharp with a dead serious face on, in a really punchy way, is just a great skill. The kind of humour I like to portray in things is hopefully pretty dry. Not quite as dry as that, but if I’m doing something with a lot of humour in it, I tend to go back and watch those shows, and Jam as well – I love that. That’s always in my mind.”

As it happens, ex-Hot Press designer and Father Ted creator Arthur Mathews was among the writers on all of those shows.

“Of course!” says Jack. “Since we’re talking about great comedy shows and Arthur Mathews, Toast Of London man – oh my god! That’s like a documentary series, that’s not a comedy show! Literally, I’m about to start working on a TV show with Matt Berry tomorrow morning, and I’m so excited.”

Back with The Perfect Couple, when it came to working with such a lauded cast, Reynor says he really enjoyed the experience.

“It was amazing, man,” he enthuses. “And let’s not forget Isabelle Adjani as well. Unbelievable, I really loved them. We did have a lot of fun playing the relationships between Thomas, Abby and Isabelle as a kind of triangle. I haven’t seen episode six yet myself, but I believe there’s a nice element of that in the episode.

The Perfect Couple. (L to R) Billy Howle as Benji Winbury, Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury, Sam Nivola as Will Winbury, Jack Reynor as Thomas Winbury in episode 101 of The Perfect Couple. Cr. Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix © 2024

DRY SENSE OF HUMOUR

“But yeah, that was a lot of fun. I’d already worked with Eve before, we had just done a film the previous summer, so we were already good pals. But I got out there and started working with Dakota, and I absolutely loved her and had a blast. I really enjoyed spending time with her on and off set. With Nicole, it was one of the few times in my career that I’ve really been starstruck.

“When I was in the scene, I was going, ‘Holy shit, this is Nicole Kidman I’m doing this scene with right now’, and that was great. As it happens, she has a really dry sense of humour as well, I actually just had such a blast with her onset. We had great chats and I just found her to be so lovely and generous as an actor.”

I’m about to ask Jack how, as a guy from Dublin, got into himself into the mindset of an oily Wall Street banker, when he corrects me on a very important point.

“By the way, I’m from Valleymount, Co. Wicklow!” he protests. “I have to come back and say that again. Last time I went into O’Connors pub in the town, I got in trouble for not saying I was from Valleymount – I’m not getting in trouble at home anymore!”

That’s that sorted! Jack then returns to my original query.

“Well, I think there are obnoxious dickheads in every field,” he considers. “It doesn’t just have to be investment bankers. And yes, they may have a particular flavour, but you come across obnoxious people, and that energy is universal. So, this is just an obnoxious guy and that’s it – he’s overconfident, cocky and entitled. You’ll meet people like that in every walk of life – this guy just happens to wear a salmon jumper and drive a really fancy car.”

With The Perfect Couple starring both Reynor and Eve Hewson, the show is yet another example of the Irish takeover of Hollywood. What does the actor make of it all?

“It’s funny, man,” he says. “When I think about it, we’ve always done well – we’ve always been over represented in the industry as Irish people, even from the ’60s to the ’90s. But something happened in the last 10 or 15 years, where we just exploded and it’s really amazing. I’m very proud to be part of the culture of Irish actors and filmmakers.

“What’s lovely about working with other Irish people, whether it’s at home or internationally, is that we tend to feel lucky that we’re doing it. We tend to appreciate it in a way that isn’t always the case with people. We’re all maybe capitalising on the confidence we’re getting from seeing one another do well. There’s a goodwill out there.

“Cillian Murphy winning the Oscar last year, that was huge. You couldn’t find a nicer, more grounded person. It’s somebody who has successfully crafted a real life and has solid values. That’s just as important as the work aspect of it. It’s great to know you can be that person and also win an Oscar for Best Actor. It’s great to see Irish actors, directors and other creatives really blazing the trail, and I hope it’s going to continue.”

The Perfect Couple. Eve Hewson as Amelia Sacks in episode 101 of The Perfect Couple. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

To wrap up, I ask Jack about his experience working on Ari Aster’s 2019 folk-horror hit Midsommar, which has already become a cult classic.

“I could give you an hour on this one, to be fair,” he says. “It was an incredible experience – it was a very difficult film to make. Emotionally and intellectually, it was very demanding. Also, the conditions in which we shot it were hard. I end up talking about this film with people quite a lot as well. It’s definitely one of the proudest things I’ve been a part of in my career.

“I’m very flattered and grateful that so many people hold that film in such high regard. I do get a lot of people who come up and talk to me about it on the street, and they’re always very respectful. Other things you do that are sort of bubblegum jobs, people come over and they can be pretty demanding about getting pictures and things like that, or they can be a little invasive.

“But the kind of people who come up to talk about that film are people who love cinema, who are thoughtful about it and genuinely have admiration for the project. So as a piece of work to have on my resume, it’s definitely a legacy piece and I’m really proud of it.”

• The Perfect Couple is streaming on Netflix now.