Lockdown watch list: Martin Freeman shares what he’ll be streaming while stuck indoors

There’s several lifetimes’ worth of movies, series and soundtracks available to stream, but where to start? We ask ‘Breeders’, ‘Sherlock’ and ‘The Hobbit’ star Martin Freeman for his quarantine playlist.

Streaming series I’m catching up on

‘“Succession”. Everyone talks about it, so I should watch it. One of my brothers texted to tell me to watch “Giri/Haji” too.’

Uplifting movie soundtrack

‘[Martin Scorsese’s 1978 concert film of The Band] “The Last Waltz” has some of my favourite music in it. The movie makes me feel uplifted and it’s got great guest appearances. Van Morrison stomps around the stage in a [brown suit] like an angry toddler.’

Dream box set

‘There are some fantastically brilliant European or Asian directors I need to catch up on, so it’d be Akira Kurosawa. Also Rob Reiner. He doesn’t get cited in the way other great directors do.’

One to keep the kids entertained

‘It used to be CBeebies – “In the Night Garden” was a fucking godsend – but now they’re 11 and 14, and we bond over scary films. Not gory things, more great Hammer features and films like “Dr Terror’s House of Horrors”. It’s set on a train and has Peter Cushing as Death doing his “general foreigner” accent.’

Show to stream immediately

‘“The Sopranos” has everything in it: family, humour, violence, great clothes, great music, and amazing writing and performances. It’s an extraordinary television programme, and the  blueprint for everything we watch now. “Fleabag” would be another.’

Favourite book about the movies

‘Peter Biskind’s [account of ’70s Hollywood] “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”. When I was growing up, my favourite films were by young, bearded Hollywood directors, like Scorsese and Spielberg. I also love David Mamet’s “Bambi vs Godzilla”. It’s about how much of a twat you can get away with being in Hollywood.’

What I miss most about going to the cinema

‘It’s the excitement you get when the lights go down and being enveloped by the sound. I’ll miss the experience of just bedding in for a couple of hours. It is an amazing thing and I can’t quite believe we’re not going to be able to do
it for a while.’ 

‘Breeders’ airs on Thursdays at 10pm on Sky One and streams on Now TV.

You might want to take a look at our guide to the 19 best Netflix shows to stream right now. 

Check out five ways to help your community during the coronavirus outbreak.