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The EastEnders veteran has found a new audience through the raunchy Disney+ drama, and he’s moving fast to capitalize on it.
Danny Dyer has confirmed he is set to star in a one-man film project following his widely praised performance as Freddie Jones in Rivals, the Disney+ drama based on Dame Jilly Cooper‘s Rutshire Chronicles. Dyer described the project to The Sun as “a really mad concept” and compared it to Colin Farrell‘s single-location thriller Phone Booth. He didn’t offer many more details, noting that the project required him to undergo a medical examination due to the physical demands of essentially carrying the entire film alone.
“I’m the only one in this film,” Dyer said. “It’s only one character. Just me.” He added that two doctors were present during preparation. “I can’t talk too much about it,” he continued, “but it’s a bit like Phone Booth with Colin Farrell. It’s quite a clever idea.”
The timing makes sense. Rivals gave Dyer a platform most actors don’t get a second time. The series, set in the English TV industry of the late 1980s, debuted on October 1, 2024 and became an unexpected global hit, earning an International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series and a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Dyer’s performance as the blustering, larger-than-life Freddie Jones emerged as a particular standout, and the actor seems aware of exactly what the show has done for his reputation. He described himself, not entirely without irony, as “sort of Marlon Brando in the acting world because of Rivals.”
Season 2 is currently in production near Corsham, England, a small town about two hours west of London that serves as the fictional Cotchester. A Collider set visit confirmed the return of the main cast, including David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham and Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara, along with an expanded roster of new characters. The production is shooting at Neston Park, a country estate that stands in for Baddingham’s Falconry estate.
The show’s path from quiet premiere to phenomenon has been one of the more unlikely streaming success stories of the past year. It launched without much fanfare, built its audience through word of mouth, and ended up sweeping several international awards. A second season was confirmed shortly after.
Dyer has been acting since the late 1990s and spent a decade as one of EastEnders’ most recognizable faces. Rivals reintroduced him to a global audience that had little prior context for his career, which may explain why he’s now making choices he describes as a genuine test of his abilities.
