Deceptions
27 May-28 May, 1985, NBC
Role: Bryan Foxworth

Screen captures (at JeremyBrett LiveJournal)

Jeremy plays a duplicitous art dealer and Stefanie Powers plays a dual role in this two-part prime-time soap opera.

Jeremy discussed the role in an article in the New York Times on May 26, 1985:

The part of the art dealer, named Bryan Foxworth, is not a large one, but as Mr. Brett sees it, "it's the most complex part. Bryan is enormously bright and alive and stylish and happy, and he's also homosexual, which made him harder to play, because the gay community has been so shattered by AIDS. So, I took in on with a much greater sense of responsibility. Before, I might have been tempted to camp it up, but instead, I decided to play him with enormous panache and an enormous zest for life. At the same time, the deceptive side of him is thrilling. He is a lethal murderer trafficking in drugs, a monster."

Mr. Brett said another reason he took the part was his fondness for Miss Powers, whom he met when he did a guest role on her former television series Hart to Hart.

"Stefanie's my angel," he said, "and the part also gave me the chance to appear in modern dress. It's very rare for me to be in something set in 1985. In fact, I rarely get past 1930."

Another reason, he took the part had to do with the pay day. Here's an excerpt from a July 14, 1985, article in the Bergen (NJ) Record:

"Deceptions and Florence Nightingale paid me more in 10 weeks [of filming] than 2 1/2 years of Sherlock Holmes," Brett said. He got $97,500 for Sherlock Holmes, and $101,400 for Deceptions and Florence Nightingale.

So if you ever wonder why quality English actors like Brett, skilled in Shakespeare and other rarefied roles, so often accept work in potboiler American mini-series and telemovies, now you know. Everybody has to pay the rent.

Jeremy comments further on Deceptions in a United Press International article:

The show is glitzy, it's glamorous, it's beautifully shot, it's deceptive. Amazing sorts of things happen. ... Then there was Gina Lollabrigida, who arrived looking about 35, skin like alabaster. She was a huge bonus for all of us.

Jeremy also noted in the UPI article that Deceptions struggled through a series of directors:

I think the small time that I was there, which was only four weeks out of 10 weeks of shooting, I had three -- maybe three and a half -- directors. Always in these cases, the actors come together and do what they can do. ... I was very worried for Stefanie because her neck was on the block. It's like my Sherlock Holmes. If it hadn't come off, I'd be dead. ... If Deceptions comes off, it's largely due to her immense spirit, incredible tenacity and her great joy.

IMDb page

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