Matthew Goode reveals he did not read the Department Q novels to prepare for his role in Netflix’s Dept. Q – Here’s why

Netflix’s Dept. Q has emerged as a hit among the audience, and the credit partly goes to Matthew Goode’s iconic performance as Carl Morck, a detective dealing with PTSD who is made in-charge of a cold case unit in Edinburgh.

The show is based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Danish novel series, Department Q. Considering Goode’s nuanced performance of the lead character, fans thought that he would have prepared for his role by extensively researching the novels.

However, the actor has made it clear that is not the case. In an interview with Deadline, Goode revealed that he did not read the Department Q novels, as showrunner Scott Frank did not want him to go by the books, since the narrative in the show had been shifted from Denmark to Scotland:

“Scott [Frank] said, ‘I just think you’ll find it more freeing not to be bound to something that sort of doesn’t make any more sense because we’ve now brought it to Edinburgh and made you English.’”

Matthew Goode reveals he did not read the novels to prepare for Dept. Q

During the interview, Matthew Goode added that though he did not read the novels, he did get to meet author Jussi Adler-Olsen. While he was scared that the author might not like his work, his reaction was quite the opposite:

“But I met Jussi the other day for the first time. He’s charming. Lovely. I was quite scared, obviously, because I’ve done something probably not hugely different. But anyway, he loves it. He’s thrilled with it. What a relief. Obviously Jussi gave Scott license to go ahead and change things in bits and bobs, which he really has, I suppose.”

Instead of reading the novels, Goode prepared to play Carl Morck in Dept. Q by talking to his friend who used to work as a murder investigator. Opening up about how it helped him in his performance, the actor said:

“Well, just the level of the detail that he would remember of a crime scene was what I always found fascinating. This is a guy who’s able to recall so much. So that’s part of it, the checklists that you go through as a detective. It’s a science it in its own way. But it’s the observation that needs to be done of any scene you come to."

He added:

“Then obviously, I then had to look into PTSD. I’ve had friends who’ve been in war zones. Some of them still. And f****** terrifying jobs, some of these people have. But we’ve crossed paths, and we’ve remained in touch, and I love them to death, but I wouldn’t want that job.”

Dept. Q revolves around Detective Carl Morck, the only English detective at a Scottish unit in Edinburgh, who does not get along with his colleagues. He is tasked with taking care of the cold case unit and operating from the office’s basement. However, his team proves to be a dark horse and solves some long-standing mysteries.

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Apart from Goode, Dept. Q stars Kelly Macdonald as Dr. Rachel Irving, Chloe Pirrie as Merritt Lingard, Mark Bonnar as Stephen Burns, Jamie Sives as James Hardy, Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim, Kate Dickie as Moira Jacobson, Leah Byrne as Rose Dickson, Alison Peebles as Ailsa Jennings, and Shirley Henderson as Claire Marsh.

All episodes of Dept. Q are streaming on Netflix.

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