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In the five years since he last played Hercule Poirot, David Suchet has performed a wide variety of highly acclaimed roles. On stage, his compelling portrayals of George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the professor in David Mamet's Oleanna, and Salieri in Peter Hall's Amadeus won him numerous awards and outstanding critical praise. He has also appeared in the feature films A Perfect Murder, Deadly Voyage, Executive Decision, and HBO's RKO 281. It has been five years since he last assumed Poirot's characteristic walk, generous girth, and unique moustache, but David Suchet was "absolutely thrilled and delighted" to be playing one of his favorite characters again. "Poirot is still shown all over the world, so it's never really gone away," he says. "My fan letters range from a 9-year-old to a 90-year-old, and people have never stopped asking me if there will be more. In my heart of hearts I always felt sure that Poirot would be back. "It is one of my dearest wishes to bring all the Poirot novels and short stories to the screen, ending with Curtain, in which the great little man finally dies. There are 25 more titles left before we complete the canon, but I would jump at the chance to do them all." David's research and meticulous attention to detail in bringing Poirot to the screen has been well documented. 

He still carries with him the 93 character notes he drew from Christie's work when he first took on the role and refers to them constantly while filming. These are in addition to the extensive notes he has specifically on Poirot's appearance. "When I first heard that Poirot was returning, I underestimated how much revision I would have to do. I had forgotten how hard he was to find in the first place his walk, his mannerisms, how he thinks and so on. In the six or seven years that I played him before, he had become like a comfortable glove I could slip on and off. After a five-year break, the glove had got a bit stiff in the cupboard and it didn't fit quite so easily. I had to watch all the old Poirots again because I don't want the audience to detect any differences." The slightly built actor with a naturally deep and resonant voice admits that he undergoes a "remarkable transformation" to play Poirot. When he arrives on set, he first puts on the padding which creates the detective's distinctive rotund shape. "By the time the costume goes on, I am dressing as Poirot because I am already in character," he explains. "The voice comes as soon as the moustache goes on. It restricts the movement of my top lip, so once it's on I have no choice, I can only speak as Poirot. If I have to re-record any dialogue in studio after filming is finished, I stick a piece of black tape on my lip to help me find Poirot's voice again." The final touch in bringing the little Belgian detective to life is a generous splash of lavender water, Poirot's favorite eau de toilette. "The process of filming is incredibly slow and arduous, so when I'm tired and losing concentration, a whiff of lavender water brings me right back into character," David says.

David admits that he was initially puzzled by the universal popularity of Agatha Christie's eccentric creation. "Despite the fact that there is much to irritate or even dislike about him, Poirot was one of the most popular fictional characters of all time, and the only one whose 'death' was reported in all the English newspapers and on the front page of the New York Times," he says. "When I started reading the books, I realized that he was not the one-dimensional character I had imagined; he's a deeply complex man. Some regard him as a buffoon, and Agatha Christie herself once described him as a music hall character, but he has immense charm. He is vain, prissy, and idiosyncratic, but he so eccentric, it makes people smile. He is a great "twinkler." Christie often describes his eyes twinkling, and he is always kind and charming to the lower classes and servants, so people warm to him despite his pernickety ways." Five years later, David now recognizes that he is more like his on-screen character than he previously cared to admit. "I am fastidious just like Poirot. I share his love of order and symmetry, although I wouldn't go as far as to insist that two fried eggs for breakfast are absolutely identical, which Poirot does," he says. "Like Poirot, I do have a tendency to be obsessive and, yes, you could say that one of my obsessions is the man himself. "I used to pride myself on being able to leave behind the characters I'm playing, until my wife once said that she was thinking of writing a book called The Men I Have Lived With. "In 1991, I was in Trevor Nunn's production of Timon of Athens, which was like a psychological and emotional crucifixion every night. A psychiatrist friend of mine saw the play and warned me that my health was at risk unless I learned to 'debrief' myself. He gave me a series of exercises which involved looking in the mirror every night and reminding myself of who I really am. I did it religiously and it worked. I don't need to do it anymore, but I certainly would if I felt a particular character was getting too much of a hold on me." Otherwise, David's feet are kept firmly on ground by his wife Sheila and his two children, Robert, 18, and Katherine, 16. "I know I have a tendency to take myself too seriously," he says. "Fortunately, my family never let me." Currently, David Suchet is starring as Salieri in the Broadway revival of Amadeus. 

Suchet's additional credits include the films A Perfect Murder, Sunday, Deadly Voyage, Executive Decision, Song For Europe (Best Actor Award, RTS), The Last Innocent Man (Best Actor, Cable Ace Award), A World Apart, and RKO 281. In television, Suchet has also appeared in Blott on the Landscape (Best Actor BAFTA) and The Life of Freud. Suchet has also appeared in these plays: Amadeus (London, Los Angeles, NYC), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Best Actor, Critic's Circle Award), Oleanna (Best Actor, Royal Variety Club), and Timon of Athens (Best Actor, Evening Standard Award).

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