Jason Isaacs hailed as 'sensational' and 'brilliantly convincing' in Cary Grant biopic Archie

What did you miss?

Jason Isaacs has been hailed by viewers for his "sensational" and "brilliantly convincing" performance as Cary Grant in the ITVX drama Archie.

The four-part series explores the personal life and rise to fame of the iconic actor, who was one of the great stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood but who was a deeply complex and flawed man when he was away from the cameras.

Isaacs portrays Grant, whose real name was Archibald Alec Leach, as an adult — largely during the period in which the actor was pursuing a romance with Dyan Cannon, his fourth wife who divorced him in 1968 and with whom he shared his only child Jennifer.

What, how, and why?

Archie was released as a bingeable watch on ITV's streaming platform ITVX on Thursday, 23 November and viewers who had the chance to catch the series in full were delighted by Isaacs' portrayal of Grant.

Sharing their thoughts on X, formerly known as Twitter, one user said: "Jason Isaacs is sensational as Cary Grant"

Another fan of the show wrote: "Jason Isaacs is brilliantly convincing as Cary Grant in #Archie"

One person commended Isaacs and his co-stars Calam Lynch, Oaklee Pendergast, and Dainton Anderson, who each portrayed Grant at different stages of his life.

They wrote: Wow…just binge watched #Archie with Jason Isaacs as #CaryGrant Just superb… as are the supporting cast including the actors playing young Cary. Watch it if you get chance!"

Another viewer said of Isaacs' performance: "Jason, I salute and applaud your portrayal of Archibald Alexander Leach. #Archie"

As well as praising Isaacs, there were viewers who also hailed Laura Aikman, who plays Dyan Cannon in the series.

One viewer wrote: "This is so good. #Archie Isaacs and Laura Aikman are fantastic as the leads."

And another fan of the show wrote: "Went into watching #Archie with @jasonsfolly with an open mind because I thought no one other than 'Cary Grant' could play #CaryGrant. A beautiful production with costar @LauraAikman as Dyan Cannon. Catch it on ITVX"

What else happened on Archie?

Archie explores the actor's troubled childhood, which saw his father take his mother to a mental institution and tell him that she had died before remarrying and starting a new family — leaving the actor to be raised by his grandmother.

This is an event in Grant's life that had a significant impact on him and his treatment of women, which is show in the series through his controlling nature during his relationship with Cannon.

While viewers were delighted by the performances in the series, there were some who struggled with issues around the sound as dialogue seemed to quieter than other aspects of the series.

One person wrote: "Jason Isaacs is excellent. @LauraAikman is outstanding. Sound and music choices are appalling. Really spoiling it."

Another viewer told ITVX directly: "the sound in #Archie is awful, speaking parts very hard to hear for the viewer, my tv volume was heading to its Max!

"Any music however then deafened everyone within a 10 mile radius as did the advert breaks! I can’t watch anymore episodes, hard work!"

Archie is available to stream on ITVX now.

Read more:

• Archie: The real life of Cary Grant (5-min read)

• Everything you need to know about Archie (3-min read)