Andrew Scott took Fleabag role to stop being typecast as a villain

Scott was best known for playing Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Sherlock’

Actor Andrew Scott has revealed that his desire to play the Hot Priest in Fleabag was partly influenced by wanting to shake off his bad guy image.

Prior to his Golden Globe-nominated turn in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s series, Scott was best known for playing Jim Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock.

Having also played a villain in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, the Irish actor admitted that the role came along at a time when he was already looking to branch out into something different.

“One of the reasons Fleabag came about was that I was searching for something that wasn’t villainous,” he told GQ.

“After Sherlock, there were a lot of ‘sub-Moriarty’ roles that were offered to me. I played a villain in one of the Bond films – I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to be in the Bond film!’ – and that was a really good experience. But I think after a while you have to go, ‘No, I don’t want to do that any more.’”

Scott continued: “I think ‘romantic comedy’ is very underrated; I was always looking for something that explored romantic love in a really intelligent and human way and I felt, when I first started talking to Phoebe about it, that this was ideal.’

The Hot Priest was the unexpected heartthrob of Fleabag’s second series, with Scott previously saying that he would be working with Waller-Bridge on another project in the future.