Renowned actor Joseph Fiennes has shared that stepping into the shoes of England manager Gareth Southgate was an honour rather than a daunting task.

The role of England manager has long been considered a 'poisoned chalice' by many within football and the media, given the immense expectations that come with it. However, for Fiennes, taking on the part of Southgate — first on stage and now on screen — turned out to be a deeply rewarding experience.

Fiennes first brought Gareth Southgate to life in James Graham’s stage production Dear England at The National Theatre in London in 2023. He now reprises that same role as the play is adapted into a four-part television series for the BBC.

In one of the drama’s early scenes, former England manager Sam Allardyce paints the job as an unenviable one. Yet, Fiennes says his portrayal of Southgate has been nothing but a joy. “Oh no, it’s a godsend and a gift,” he told FourFourTwo. “It's a blessing and I'm full of gratitude for it.”

Dear England charts the journey of Southgate’s tenure from his appointment in 2016, through the 2018 World Cup in Russia, to the Euro 2021 final, the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal in Qatar, and culminates with the Euro 2024 final in Berlin. While set against the backdrop of English football, it delves into broader themes such as national identity, racism, and toxic masculinity.

When Fiennes first received the call from his agent about a potential project with The National Theatre, he admits playing a football manager was not what he expected. “When my agent rang me and said The National wanted me for a project, I thought it would be Shakespeare or Chekhov or some classic epic,” he recalled. “I turned up and was handed a script about Gareth Southgate — I was surprised.”

He added, “But there’s that Shakespearean quality to it, a bit like Henry V — the older leader uniting his troops. You could say there are echoes of that here.”

Fiennes is well-versed in portraying real-life figures, having played William Shakespeare in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love and more recently Richard Ratcliffe in the 2025 BBC drama Prisoner 951, based on the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian detained in Iran on espionage charges between 2016 and 2022.

When asked about the pressures of playing real people, Fiennes admitted, “You want to do justice to individuals with vivid, often painful stories, so there’s a responsibility. Just as there’s a duty to Gareth and to a football-loving nation, those pressures make you want to get it right.”

He continued, “James’s play is a fictionalised interpretation of the FA and what might happen behind closed doors. While we portray recognisable players, we’re sharing our vision of how those moments may have unfolded. It’s based on solid research and insight, but as actors, we also find creative freedom to reach an emotional truth through imagination as much as through fact.”

Adapting a successful stage play into a television mini-series came with its own challenges, something Fiennes was well aware of. However, he believes the BBC is the perfect home for Dear England rather than a streaming platform.

“There was definitely some nervousness about adjusting it for a different medium,” Fiennes admitted. “Theatre can be broad and often humorous, though it tackled serious themes — all of which we’ve carried into the TV version. I was concerned about how the intimacy of the camera would translate and whether audiences at home would connect with this portrayal of Gareth.”

He went on, “But we wanted the series to go beyond just football and Gareth — to explore the pressures on elite athletes, issues of racism, toxic masculinity, national identity, and what the flag represents for second-generation players representing their country. We’ve also used a lot of archive footage, which really helped ground the story. I adapted my performance to suit the film and television format.”

He concluded, “When the project was commissioned, James Graham wisely took it to the BBC instead of selling it to Netflix — a decision we’re all happy about. It feels like the right home for Dear England.”

Joseph Fiennes and Jodie Whittaker star in James Graham’s ‘Dear England’, premiering on BBC One and iPlayer from Sunday, May 24.