Richard Armitage’s new thriller inspired by sinister graveyard conversation

Richard Armitage’s new audiobook thriller was inspired by a sinister graveyard conversation with a man who tormented his family.

The ‘Robin Hood’, ‘Spooks’ and ‘Red Eye’ actor, 53, who has become one of the world’s most popular audible book creators, has released the tale after the success of his first novel ‘Geneva’, which is set to be adapted for TV.

He told presenter Nick Grimshaw and chef Angela Hartnett on their ‘Dish from Waitrose’ podcast about the inspiration behind the release: “I was in a cemetery in my local village putting flowers on my mum's grave and a guy across the way was doing the same to his mother’s grave.

“And he came up to me and said, ‘I’m really sorry for what we did to you as kids, but you’ve done really well for yourself. Congratulations.’

“And I walked home with my dad and went, ‘I just don’t remember who that was,’ but my dad did and he sort of said his name and I still couldn’t remember and I just thought, ‘Oh, he’s carried around this thing with him and I’ve let it go.

“And I thought that’s a really interesting premise for, you know, what, what we do as kids and how we take it into life.’

“And, you know, ‘Can I weave a drama around that? So I did.”

A summary for Richard’s book says: “You can’t escape your past. The cut always reopens.”

It adds a character called Ben moves his family back to the village where he grew up before he is haunted by a murder from his past.

Richard also told how he had an embarrassing incident on the set of ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ when he thought he was talking to Natalie Portman – but it turned out to be her body double.

The actor, who had an uncredited role as a Naboo fighter pilot in the 1999 film, added: “I was sort of hanging out in the director’s chairs, you know, in the little circle, and then this actress that I thought was Natalie Portman.

“So I was like trying to be cool about it, but sort of thinking, ‘I’m gonna go and say hi.’

“So saying ‘hi’ and chatting her up a bit, not in a romantic way, just, just like being an actor going, ‘I think your work’s great.’

“Anyway, I’m doing that over a number of few days and she was being really nice, at the end of the shoot somebody said to me, ‘That’s not Natalie Portman.’

“It was Natalie Portman's body double – her stand in. But the funny part of it was Natalie Portman’s double on the set was Keira Knightley.”

‘Dish from Waitrose’ is available on all podcast providers.