The Jackal is an elusive assassin who makes a living by executing hit-and-run hits for the highest fee. He soon meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who follows him on a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe. Check out our list of renewals and cancellations to see if your favorite show has made it… Forsyth worked as a freelance journalist covering the war in Biafra. When it was over, he returned to the UK, unemployed and unsure of what to do next. He said: “I came back for Christmas ’۶۹, fully clothed. No chance of a job, no flat, no car and no savings. That’s when I got this crazy, crazy idea to write a novel. 'Everyone said he had to be joking or mad because the odds of it getting published were hundreds to one, even thousands.' A few weeks after its release, the film rights were snapped up. Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars competed to play the Jackal in the 1973 film, but the role went to the then-unknown Edward Fox because director Fred Zinnemann believed he could blend in with the crowd. (airmail). Mentioned on The Graham Norton Show: Denzel Washington/Paul Mescal/Saoirse Ronan/Eddie Redmayne/Blossoms (2024). I have to agree with many other reviewers, this is a great production with a good atmosphere and Eddie Redmayne does a great job as the Jackal, but the female lead ruins everything. It’s a complete mistake to use an actor who can’t show any facial emotion in any situation and who is almost on the verge of overacting, probably in an attempt to compensate for a lack of understanding or appreciation for the character. The character was clearly supposed to be confident and experienced, but his portrayal is brazenly “I know best”. a woman who, for example, doesn’t appreciate the evidence walking through the main office with a suitcase. It’s so irritating and unbelievable.