Olivia Colman and David Thewlis Star in a Twisted New True-Crime Love Story

Landscapers is a true-crime drama with a difference. Directed by Will Sharpe and written by Ed Sinclair, it tells the story of Susan and Christopher Edwards, a British couple who were sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for killing Susan’s parents and burying them in their own back garden in 1998. For 15 years, the pair worked their way through more than £250,000 of their victims’ savings, buying so much Hollywood memorabilia that they were eventually plunged into debt. After fleeing to France and running out of options, Christopher confessed to his stepmother who contacted the police. The bodies were finally discovered and the couple turned themselves in. When interrogated, they maintained that Susan’s mother had killed her father—a man who Susan claims sexually abused her as a child—and that Susan had then shot her mother. However, prosecutors argued that their motives were financial.

Instead of recounting this bizarre tale of murder and extortion as a straight-forward thriller might, this new four-part series takes a more fantastical approach. The Oscar-winning Olivia Colman (who also happens to be Sinclair’s wife) plays Susan, and David Thewlis, the Emmy-nominated star of Fargo and the Harry Potter franchise, is Christopher—two romantics who live in an alternate reality. We watch Susan swooning over old Westerns and the pair recalling their early days of courtship in luminous black and white. Then, as they present their stories to the police, we see surreal reenactments of what they say happened, doused in neon and punctuated with direct addresses to the camera. It makes for a beguiling semi-fictionalized fable where tragedy and black comedy collide. We are convinced of Susan and Christopher’s guilt and yet we can’t help but sympathize with them. 

As Landscapers airs on HBO Max, Colman and Thewlis tell us about reading correspondence from the real Susan and Christopher Edwards, the nuanced discussions they hope the show inspires, and the blockbusters you’ll see them in next.

Vogue: Do you remember when you first heard about the real case involving Susan and Christopher Edwards?

Olivia Colman: I heard about it because Ed’s been working on it for about five years! I think there was a long read in The Guardian. He heard about the case and contacted Susan’s solicitor Darrell Ennis-Gayle [named Douglas in the show]. He put Ed in touch with the barrister who said, “It’s funny that you’ve got in touch. Her hearing is next week. Do you want to come?” Then, he got slightly obsessed with the story. The sexual abuse was not really permitted in the case, which is ridiculous. Things can happen that don’t necessarily make you angry at the time, because you’re a child, but they stay with you and come out in various ways. He thought it was sad that this horrendous thing had happened to her. He started writing to Susan and Christopher in prison. They’re very eloquent and gentle.

David Thewlis: They’re beautiful letters. I didn’t know about the case at all until I read the script. It was sent to me and I read it in one go and just thought it was the most wonderful thing. I couldn’t quite believe it was a real story—the Hollywood memorabilia, the Gérard Depardieu angle [The couple had a decade-long correspondence with the French actor, but it was later revealed that Susan had fabricated the letters]. It was fascinating and the details were beyond belief.

What did you both take away from these letters?

OC: They were very honest. You’re not allowed to ask about the crimes, so Ed asked Susan about her love of memorabilia. Susan said that she wanted a male hero. All of the men that she had posters of and autographs from were heroic men. It gave us some insight into why she had this fantasy life. And then, this man walked into her life and showed her love. It’s all explained rather sorrowfully in these letters. They wish that what happened had never happened. Recently, Darrell showed Chris the trailer [for Landscapers]. Chris said, “I’m very pleased that you were kind to the prosecution. You didn’t make them out to be baddies. A bad thing did happen. I’m pleased that you showed that they were just doing their job.”

Do you think that they’ll get to see the show?

DT: I have no idea. I suppose, in another world, I might have wanted to go and meet them. You’re not allowed to talk about the case, but I wonder if you could just go as a visitor?

OC: I think if you and I turned up, they might smell a rat [laughs].

As Ed was working on the story, did you always know you’d play Susan, Olivia?

OC: He was looking to write something for me to be in which is really nice. Can you imagine if he’d cast someone else? [Laughs.] I loved what he’d written and the way that Susan and Chris leave reality and go into the myth, as Ed calls it, where they give their version of events. As an actor, you never get to flick between two things like that. It’s a challenge I couldn’t turn down. Of course, there are real people involved, so it’s done very sensitively.

Was there ever a hesitation when it came to making the show darkly comic, considering it’s a true story?

OC: This isn’t really the true story. There’s a big dollop of artistic license. If it was a more recent crime, it would be harder and irresponsible to make it really funny. Also, I think humans just use humor to cope with tragedy.

DT: No doubt, there will be some people who say, “I’m not quite sure this is the right tone for telling such a story,” or that it’s too soon. But, I think it’s perfectly appropriate. The story itself is so extraordinary that it requires a different kind of storytelling. There are times when you’re watching and thinking, “Is this a comedy? Is it not?” I don’t think we have to define it.

Also hard to define is the dynamic between Susan and Chris. Is one more dominant than the other?

DT: It shifts because she seems very placid for a long time until you suddenly see the fire in her, and it’s the same with him. They’re not predictable characters and they’re in a codependent relationship where they’re both enabling each other to cope with the life they’ve chosen.

OC: They’re also two people who genuinely love each other. In any relationship, you take turns to step up to the plate and look after each other. They have to do this in extreme circumstances. On the face of it, two people are killed and buried in a garden. So, they’re baddies. But then, you find out everything that’s happened historically. He is her knight in shining armor, the one good man in her life. They always protected each other.

How did the two of you establish that kind of closeness?

OC: We’d never met before. When I knew it was going to be David, I was so excited. I phoned Jessie Buckley [who’s worked with Colman on The Lost Daughter and Thewlis on I’m Thinking of Ending Things]. She was like, “Oh my god, I love him,” and I thought, “Great!” It’s easy to look into each other’s eyes the whole time because you get on so well.

DT: And we’re both in relationships that are deeply loving—you and Ed, and me and my wife. We understand what it is to adore someone.

Now that the show’s coming out, what sort of conversations do you hope it starts, particularly around the topic of childhood abuse?

OC: I’ve read various case studies about women—and it happens to men too—who suffered for years at the hands of an abuser and, at some point, they snapped. That can’t be inadmissible. That’s an important thing to talk about. How much can you take before you snap? Most of us are never tested, thankfully.

DT: We’re not asking the audience, “Do you think these people were guilty?” We know from the beginning that they were found guilty. The question is, “What do you think?” We’re obviously not saying that anyone who is abused has the right to go and kill their abuser, but it’s an exploration of how extraordinarily difficult that must be for people to go through.

What’s next for both of you? Olivia, we’ll see you in The Lost Daughter, Mothering Sunday and Wonka, and David, you have the Enola Holmes and Avatar sequels?

OC: Yes! And I haven’t done Wonka yet. I’m so excited.

DT: I’m still shooting Enola Holmes 2, and I’m in Sandman and Avatar 3. I’m going to be in the fourth and fifth films, too, apparently but it’s all very complicated. I’m blue. I’ve got a tail.

And on The Crown, Olivia, how does it feel to finally be passing the baton? Have you spoken to Imelda Staunton, who’ll be playing the Queen in Seasons 5 and 6?

OC: I don’t think she needs many tips [laughs]. I’m just so excited to watch it now and be a fan again. It’s a bit weird watching yourself. I can’t wait. The people in it, it’s astonishing!

Landscapers is now airing on HBO Max.

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