Eliot Sumner’s New Netflix Role Creates A Sad Trend After Guy Ritchie’s $115 Million Action Comedy From 5 Years Ago

Spoilers are ahead for the ending of Netflix’s Ripley.

Musician and actor Eliot Sumner’s latest role in Netflix’s Ripley marks the second instance of a sad trend for the performer following their outing in The Gentlemen, Guy Richie’s 2019 action comedy. The child of Sting — the frontman, songwriter, and bassist for new wave band the Police — and actor Trudie Styler (The Night Of), Sumner started their entertainment career as a musician under the name I Blame Coco. Their debut album, The Constant, blends pop, punk, rock, and electronic music, and helped launch their successful solo career as a musical artist and songwriter.

Although Sumner had small parts in 2001’s Me Without You and 2007’s Stardust, their first role as an adult actor was in Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. Following the $115 million action-comedy flick, Eliot Sumner appeared in 2020’s James Bond film, No Time to Die, before landing roles in the Naomi Watts-starring adventure thriller Infinite Storm as well as Ripley, Netflix’s latest psychological thriller. While Sumner’s role in the black-and-white TV show is a recurring one, they have a substantial impact on Ripley, the latest project to adapt Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Eliot Sumner’s Characters In Ripley & The Gentlemen Both Have Tragic Deaths

The Actor’s Biggest Roles Have A Sad Twist In Common

Freddie, Eliot Sumner’s character in Ripley, comes into contact with the titular Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott). Hired by Greenleaf, Ripley is supposed to convince the wealthy man’s son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), to return home to New York. Instead, Dickie would rather live a leisurely life in Italy with Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning). The obsessive Tom soon enmeshes himself in Dickie’s life, kick-starting a tangled series of fraudulent and deceitful acts. Sumner’s Freddie Miles is a wealthy playwright who becomes increasingly suspicious of Tom’s motives. Soon enough, Tom bludgeons Ripley‘s Freddie to death with a paperweight.

In The Gentlemen, Eliot Sumner’s character, Laura Pressman, dies as the result of a drug overdose. Aside from No Time to Die, The Gentlemen and Ripley mark Sumner’s biggest on-screen roles so far — and both end so tragically. Some actors, like Game of Thrones‘ Sean Bean, have made a career of playing characters who just so happen to meet tragic ends. Sometimes, that’s just the way the cards fall. Since Sumner has mostly appeared in thrillers and action movies, murder is par for the course. Hopefully, their next cinematic role comes to a different ending than Ripley.

Eliot Sumner’s Real Life Connection To Italy Makes Their Ripley Role Even Better

Eliot Sumner Was Born In Italy & Felt At Ease On Set

Born in northern Italy, Eliot Sumner noted that they felt really at ease on the set of Ripley, which was largely filmed in Italy (via Netflix). The setting, a kind of infinite summer that’s far away from the “real world,” is incredibly important to the series. For Tom (and Dickie), Italy is something of a fantasy or an escape. Freddie is a more grounded character in that way, so casting an actor like Sumner, who’s familiar with the location, works well as a contrast. Plus, it’s great to see someone so at ease in the otherwise suspenseful (and stressful) Ripley.

Source: Netflix