In ITV’s latest action thriller, Red Eye, Hong Kong-born British actress Jemma Moore steps into the shoes of Jess Li, a feisty, astute, and perceptive aspiring journalist with a knack for a good story. The series, written by Peter A Dowling and Jingan Young and produced by Bad Wolf, unfolds with tension from the opening scenes as we’re taken to Heathrow airport and introduced to Dr. Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage), a respected English doctor about to be accused of murder. Dr. Nolan is ready to be sent back to Beijing, where he just landed from.
From there on, expect a story full of twists and turns, filled with car crashes, heart surgeries, heroic bullet-jumps, and a top-notch selection of dramatic clichés. Talking to Wonderland, Jemma Moore discusses her character, diving deep into her role preparation days, how she connected most with Jess Li, and her personal experience raising awareness around neurodiversity in the industry. Keep reading…
And watch the trailer for Red Eye…
Hi Jemma, thank you for chatting with us. Can you tell us a bit about your character and what audiences can expect from Jess?
Hey! Thank you so much for having me. So Jess Li is Hana Li’s half-sister and she’s been working hard to try and become a full time journalist. There is a lot of tension between them as Jess tried to use some private information that Hana shared and of course wasn’t comfortable going on record for. Jess feels betrayed by Hana who could have helped her with her career, where she knows she’s been struggling. But… things take an unexpected turn when Jess stumbles upon some interesting posts on social media and realises that Hana is caught up in something. And of course, Jess sees this as an opportunity to get her big break once again. As she starts digging deeper, she discovers that Hana may be in real danger and her search for the truth becomes more complicated. In fact, Jess ends up becoming a target for a deadly assassin and MI5! Jess is incredibly tenacious, sharp, sometimes a rule breaker and when she latches onto a story, she won’t let go until she’s uncovered every detail. She’s cheeky yet compassionate and I must admit, her drive can make her a bit oblivious to potential risks.
How do you personally connect with Jess Li the most?
From the moment I received the script, I felt a strong connection to Jess. It began with the small details – her name in the first character breakdown I received was actually “Gemma,” and she was from Hong Kong, my birthplace. Peter A Dowling had written her in such a fun way that I just knew I had to play her. Jess was the perfect embodiment of the kind of character I had been yearning to portray – lively and quick-witted. She is undeniably driven and there were many similarities that I drew between acting and journalism. Both involve reaching out to people, basically cold calling and pushing ourselves to get the desired outcome. Just like how journalists persistently chase leads, actors also have to put in the effort and remain hopeful that they will get the right auditions and be given the right parts. And what drew me to Jess the most was her sharp wit and unwavering determination – she wasn’t afraid to question authority or go against the norm. She was unapologetically herself.
What was your character preparation process like for portraying Jess Li?
Fortunately, all the plane scenes were filmed first, giving me a bit of a run up to prep before my first day on set. As this is my first series regular role, the whole process was completely new to me. Being a dyslexic, autistic, ADHDer, all my prep had to be colour-coded and organized into folder systems to stay focused. My favourite part of preparing for this role was the research. I had the opportunity to speak with journalist who was able to talk me through what it is like to be a journalist in the UK. I also studied the work of other journalists such as Alex Crawford, Marie Colvin, Ronan Farrow, and Megan Twohey. Watching their interviews and learning about their work ethic, as well as the rules and codes of conduct in journalism. It was incredibly rewarding and helped me build upon the amazing foundation that Peter A Dowling had already laid out in the script. Working with acting coach Miriam Lucia has also been a major part of my preparation. Her guidance allowed me to be playful and creative with Jess, diving deep to discover who she was for me. And when it came time to film, Kieron Hawkes was a dream director to work with. Together, we collaborated and shaped Jess into the character you see on your screen.
Could you share any memorable experiences from filming Red Eye, whether on set or off set?
The scene where Jess was supposed to wear a hi-vis vest was a funny one to film. We shot two takes – one with the vest on and one with it off – and this decision hilariously then seemed to carry on into the following scenes as we tried to figure out when to have her take it off. The whole process turned into a comical running joke, and on the final day of filming, I showed up to set in a full hi-vis suit to surprise director, Kieron, with. Another fond memory was being in the car with Lesley Sharp’s badass stunt driver, Lucy. We had an exhilarating driving scene in a concrete car park where Lucy skilfully screeched around tight corners, but just as we were performing a huge turn, someone accidentally hit the radio button and YMCA started blaring at full volume. We all burst out laughing and ended up doing the YMCA dance (except for Lucy, of course who was driving) as we sped out of the car park. The whole cast and crew were amazing, and I’ve made some incredible friends. I’m even going to be roommates with the awesome Charlie Swain, who was the Stby art director. It’s these friendships and working with such talented and dedicated people that make this experience so special to me.
Did you encounter any challenges in understanding and portraying this character? If so, how did you overcome them?
For me, the main challenges were making sure Jess was a multi-dimensional character which requires time and imagination. It was a fast-paced shoot, and being a series regular for the first time brought its own challenges of flexibility and preparedness. However, these challenges also made the experience so exciting and overcoming these things and trusting the process was really rewarding. I also had such amazing support from my agents Barnaby, Emma, Clare and Eoin. Bad Wolf, Sony and ITV have also all been incredibly supportive and when discussing anything to do with the Li family home and making sure we portrayed a mixed East Asian family authentically. I have never been so proud to be a part of such important conversations.
As a filmmaker yourself, did you have any opportunities to contribute creatively to the development of Jess Li’s character or the overall storyline of Red Eye?
To be honest, Peter A Dowling and Jingan Young (who wrote episode 4), Bad Wolf, Sony and ITV have created such an amazing series all I had to do was bring my version of Jess Li to the table and just be an actor, it was already laid out so perfectly.
