Rufus Sewell consulted FBI and CIA experts for his portrayal of Prince Andrew in Scoop

Actor has declined to share his thoughts on the Prince’s guilt or innocence

Rufus Sewell has shared more details about the lengths he went to to for his portrayal of Prince Andrew in new Netflix drama Scoop.

The forthcoming film depicts the story behind the Duke of York’s infamous “car crash” interview with BBC broadcaster Emily Maitlis (played by The Crown actor Gillian Anderson).

Sewell, 56, previously admitted that he panicked when offered the role of Prince Andrew. The Diplomat star has since revealed that he consulted FBI and CIA experts in preparation for the part, and “obsessively” rewatched the infamous interview.

“[Experts] are all examining and anatomising every movement: what’s happening with his feet, his finger movements, his self-comforting movements, his deflections,” he told Radio Times.

According to the actor, experts agreed that the prince was telling the truth for much, though not all, of the interview. Sewell himself has so far declined to share his own thoughts on the royal’s guilt or innocence.

The Knight’s Tale actor said that he would spend a lot of time dressing up as the duke in order to imagine himself in the role.

“I would dress up,” he said. “I would put on clothes that felt [like Prince Andrew] and get my head so I could believe the idea of it myself. When people would catch me doing it, it was really embarrassing.”

As well as rewatching the interview, playing dress-up, and consulting intelligence experts, Sewell spent hours watching footage of the 64-year-old as a young man to understand why he had agreed to sit down with Maitlis.

Given the huge public interest in the accusations levelled against the prince, Sewell held concerns his performance would be interpreted as support for Andrew or its reverse.

“I thought about what people might say, they might accuse me of trying to make him look bad, trying to make him look good. That’s the danger of playing a real person,” he said.

The Holiday actor was conscious of “jumping on a bandwagon” by being involved in the movie.

Actor has gone to great lengths to understand his character (PETER MOUNTAIN/NETFLIX. All Rights Reserved)

“I think it’s always important to remember that whatever someone is going through, that however high up or low down they are, these are humans,” Sewell responded.

“My responsibility to the actual film and to any human that you’re playing is to show the light and dark and we all have both.”

Netflix’s Scoop is based on the book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews by former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, who is played in the film by Billie Piper.

It explores the story of how the BBC Two programme secured the interview and the drama that ensued behind the scenes.

Scoop will be released on Netflix on 5 April.