“He’s the closest thing that he has to a father and, yet, he is the most untrustworthy individual he knows,” Brodie-Sangster told UPI.
1 of 3 | Season 2 of Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s “The Artful Dodger” premieres Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Hulu
Love Actually, Game of Thrones and The Queen’s Gambit icon Thomas Brodie-Sangster says his dashing character, Jack Dawkins, may have saved his girlfriend’s life and escaped the hangman’s noose himself in The Artful Dodger, but that doesn’t mean his life will be quiet and lawful in Season 2.
Set in 19th century Australia and based on the characters from Charles Dickens’ classic novel, Oliver Twist, the adventure dramedy kicks off its second season on Hulu Tuesday.
It follows Brodie-Sangster’s former juvenile pickpocket Jack “the Artful Dodger” Hawkins as he tries to save lives as a surgeon, while wooing the governor’s daughter, Lady Belle (Maia Mitchell), against the adamant wishes of her mother, Lady Jane (Susie Porter).
David Thewlis plays Fagin, Dodger’s criminal mentor, who appears years after abandoning Dodger and disrupts the respectable life he is trying to build.
Love makes you do dangerous things.
A new season of #TheArtfulDodger is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/kgjhC90eyB— Hulu (@hulu) February 10, 2026
Luke Bracey joins the show in Season 2 as Inspector Boxer, the copper whom Lady Jane wants to hitch her daughter to, getting rid of Dodger for good in the process.
“Dodger is constantly struggling with his relationship with Fagin. He’s the closest thing that he has to a father and, yet, he is the most untrustworthy individual he knows,” Brodie-Sangster, 35, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“But he’s still looking up towards him, kind of hoping that there is more to him and that he actually truly loves him,” the actor said.
“It’s actually very sad sometimes. So, he’s constantly being lifted up and then being disappointed and thrown back down and he wants to kind of push Fagin as far away as possible. But, then, he kind of can’t help but be pulled back in for kind of the fix of being a bit bad and, all these heists and criminal activity, I think, get Dodger going a bit.”
Dodger’s illegal extracurricular activities with Fagin jeopardize both his relationship with Belle and his career as a bold, gifted surgeon.
“Season 1 all is going quite well and he’s working his way up and he may go for head surgeon, eventually,” Brodie-Sangster said.
“In Season 2, it all kind of falls apart and there’s a murderer on the loose. He’s a prime suspect for the murder case that’s going on as it’s kind of almost a Jack the Ripper-style surgical removal of organs and nasty stuff is going on,” he added.
“So, it’s someone quite skilled and he’s also now a convict servant under Fagin, so he’s definitely gone down in society and he’s banned from seeing his true love. So, surgery is kind of all that he’s got. He’s down in the dumps, really.”
The actor said the show strives for authenticity in its portrayal of how gruesome medical procedures were performed in this particular time and place.
“They’re great fun,” Brodie-Sangster said of filming the operations.
“I know they’re very far-fetched, but they are all based on real accounts,” he said. “Every time we had a new script delivered, we would have a meeting and we’d have an actual surgeon come in and tell us that we’re all ridiculous to think that this would even be possible to do in the back of a carriage, but laughing and giggling and loving that we’re attempting It.”
The doctor also trained Brodie-Sangster and Mitchell on the proper terminology to use and collaborated with the props and special effects departments, as well as the director, so these scenes would appear to viewers as accurate as possible.
“It was a fun combination of story and technical ability and the prosthetic side, as well, and then, also, how much gore we can really get away with sharing, because you don’t really want to do too much shoving a knife into someone’s throat, removing cancer,” Brodie-Sangster said.
“It’s all a bit gross, but how to make that comical, too? So, those meetings were really quite fun. So, I always enjoyed the surgery scenes.”
Brodie-Sangster said he loves Thewlis’ idea to have Fagin unexpectedly help out at the hospital should the show get renewed for a third season.
“For some reason, I’m guiding him through surgery,” Brodie-Sangster added. “I think that’s quite good.”
