#raphael acloque

Hugh Skinner and Raphael Acloque Little Birds (2020) Episode 01

NOAH SILVER & RAPHAEL ACLOQUE 2016 • TYRANT • S3·EP4

Nicholas Hoult as Emperor Peter and Raphael Acloque as Ottoman Ambassador Sunduk in The Great (2020 - 2023).

Lupita Nyong'o and Raphael Acloque in The 355, 2021. 

Lupita Nyong’o and Raphael Acloque in “The 355"

Eighteen months ago I started reading pilot scripts for the 2018 season. I was rejoining the television landscape after a nonnegotiable six month hiatus from sets (thank you to my amazing team at @CAA +#Untitled for respecting that choice & sticking to it with me) and curious about what story I wanted to tell next. • I read a pilot about a 50+ year old woman working in government service, as a writing sample for this guy David C. White. Would we want to develop something, perhaps? Seemed like a yes. And then I read what felt 100’s of other shows. But I kept thinking about THAT one. I didn’t like any of the pilots for women in my demo as much as THAT show. That show called #Surveillance. I called him up and said, “who is that woman before she’s made it to the top? When she’s on her way up, only has one kid, is often the lone skirt in a man’s world, has proven herself countless times but is constantly asked to again and again? Who is SHE, do you think?” And immediately we were collaborators. It only took about a day and half to also become best friends! • We set to redeveloping. We found our North Star in our fearless and incredibly brilliant, almost omniscient director/EP @patriciariggen. We pitched. We sold. We did more drafts. We cast. I spent months — as both a producer & an actor on this job — testing all of the actors who came in. I know from experience how shit those audition rooms can be, so I wanted mine to feel different. Personal. For days & weeks I acted across wonderful talents. We cried. Laughed. Screamed. Debated. We brought the heat. We landed with — and the list is so good it still has me SHOOKETH — @catalinasandino, @therealleech, @matthewmodine, @dennishaysbert, and #RaphaelAcloque. We prepped for months. Shot through November and December, edited January through March. We delivered the highest testing pilot at the network in nearly 10 years — SO PROUD OF US!! — but ultimately, though it’s magic, in the greater landscape of their slate and given the budget of making a big, bold, beautiful show that takes moon shots or nothing, it’s just not going to work. • I share all of this, the good and the sad, for the other artists out there

RAPHAEL ACLOQUE & NICHOLAS HOULT The Great (S2·EP4) · Imperial Russia · Comedy