The actor has been in the BBC One show ‘Strike’ since 2017.
Tom Burke said he asked the BBC for media training to help him handle questions about J.K. Rowling’s strong opinions on transgender rights.
Burke is currently promoting the movie Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, but he recently finished filming Season 6 of the BBC iPlayer’s show Strike, which Rowling writes under the name Robert Galbraith.
He told The Independent that he asked for media training before their interview so he could stay neutral when talking about the trans issue. He says that,
“I’ll preface all this by saying, what I want for that situation is for it to mend. I want those disparate groups to find resolution. I don’t want to say anything in the wrong context, or at the wrong time, which is going to make the situation worse, because it’s not nice, right? There’s so much antipathy going on.”
He further added,
“I hate this term ‘culture war.’ Maybe it’s naive of me to say that, but I don’t want to be part of it. I want to bring people together.”
Despite the backlash against J.K. Rowling’s views, including from Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Burke said he feels okay starring in Strike. View more newsworthy content on our website today to stay updated and informed.
Burke mentioned he doesn’t want to take sides in the debate, but he feels bad for anyone who has faced anger for expressing their views.
“I know some people might think I’m on the fence, but this feels right to me right now. I’m not saying I’ll never speak out; it’s not that I don’t feel involved. I just want to say something that helps solve the problem.”
Burke stars in Strike as Cormoran Strike, a war veteran who becomes a private detective. Season 6 will adapt The Ink Black Heart, a story that mirrors some of Rowling’s own experiences with online hate. The plot revolves around the murder of a popular YouTube animator, Edie Ledwell, who faces relentless online bullying and is accused of being transphobic.
Although Rowling says the character is not based on her, she admits she faced similar online hate while writing the book, which was published in August 2022.
Season 5, called Strike: Troubled Blood, premiered in December 2022 with 8 million viewers on BBC1. It averaged 6.9 million viewers over its four episodes.
Source: Deadline