Actor Alex Hassell recently opened up about the psychological impact of early career failures and his transformation into the lead of the Disney+ series Rivals. He detailed how guidance from the late author Jilly Cooper helped him overcome deep-seated insecurities to play the dominant Rupert Campbell-Black.
The Suburbicon fallout and the sting of a commercial bomb
For many actors, a project written by the Coen brothers and directed by George Clooney would be a guaranteed career launchpad. However, for Alex Hassell, his role in Suburbicon—which featured a high-profile cast including Matt Damon and Julianne Moore—became a source of profound professional distress. As reported by the Telegraph, the film failed both commercially and critically,leaving Hassell feeling that his trajectory had been shattered.
According to the report, Hassell described the experience of hitting the floor after such a high-profile springboard as "immensely" hurtful.. This failure led the 46-year-old actor to question his own inherent worth, wondering if there was a deficiency in his talent that prevented him from achieving the success he expected from such a prestigious project. This pattern of high expectations followed by public failure is a common but rarely discussed trauma in the entertainment industry, where a single "bomb" can lead to years of internalized inadequacy.
Jilly Cooper's demand to 'break her like a young horse'
The transition to playing Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ adaptation of Rivals required a psychological shift that Hassell initially resisted. The actor admitted he struggled to exude the "alpha macho lothario" qualities necessary for the role, fearing he lacked the natural dominance required for the character. This tension led to a direct intervention from the author of the 1988 novel, Jilly Cooper, before her death in October 2025.
During the filming of a dinner party dance scene with Bella Maclean, who portrays the character Taggie, Hassell attempted to play Rupert with a sense of tacit apology. Jilly Cooper explicitly corrected this approach, insisting that the character should not be likeable in that moent. As the report says, Cooper told Hassell that Rupert must grab Taggie and attempt to "break her like a young horse," rejecting any softness or gentleness in the interaction.
From a vicar's son to the alpha of Rutshire
The struggle to embody a ruthless aristocrat was rooted in Alex Hassell's own background. As the son of a nurse and a vicar who attended a comprehensive school, Hassell found himself at odds with the dominant, privileged persona of Rupert Campbell-Black. This class-based insecurity mirrored his earlier professional doubts, creating a barrier between the actor and the role's required confidence.
Surprisingly, embracing the perfection and ruthlessness of the character served as a form of therapy for Hassell. By being deemed capable of playing such a difficult and dominant part, he was able to reappraise his own self-worth and move past the belief that he was "unfit for the job." The validation from Jilly Cooper, who told him she was proud of his work, provided a sense of closure to the years of insecurity that followed his early career setbacks.
The November 11 return to Rutshire's scandals
The narrative of Rivals continues on November 11, when the final episodes of the second series return to the fictional setting of Rutshire. The upcoming finale is expected to resolve the volatile tension between Rupert and Taggie, exploring how the retired Olympian show jumper falls for the womanizing Rupert despite his flaws.
While the production has successfully translated the 1988 novel's energy to the screen, certain details remain unverified. It is unclear how the production team balanced Jilly Cooper's aggressive "break her like a young horse" direction with modern standards of on-screen intimacy and consent. Furthermore, while Hassell mentioned "failed blockbuster projects" in the plural, the report only specifies Suburbicon, leaving the identity of other failed ventures unknown.
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