As introductions go, the first glimpse viewers get of Alex Hassell, who plays Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1988 ‘bonkbuster’ Rivals, is, well, impactful. 

It’s not Hassell’s face but his buttocks that fill the screen in the opening seconds of the eight-part series, which launches on the streaming platform on October 18th, as he enjoys a mile-high encounter on Concorde with tabloid journalist Beattie Johnson (Annabel Scholey).

The 44-year-old actor behind the thrusting bottom has enjoyed a diverse and distinguished career so far – with big Shakespeare roles in Henry V and The Tempest – but it’s likely a mahogany-hued lothario invented by Dame Jilly in the late 80s that will make him a household name in the coming weeks. 

Watch out world: Rupert Campbell-Black, the cad at the centre of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals is likely to see actor Alex Hassell’s profile rise to a new level 

Episode one of the eight-part series features Rupert playing tennis with the wife of a friend – in the buff… 

Facing off on screen against David Tennant, who plays Campbell-Black’s fiercest rival, regional TV station controller Lord Tony Baddingham, Hassell’s profile is likely to soar when his portrayal of the sex-obsessed ex Olympian turned Tory MP hits screens. 

Set mostly in an idyllic portion of English countryside, Disney+ has given Dame Jilly’s most risqué scenes in the ‘Rutshire Chronicles’ the full technicolour treatment – and even added some of its own sauce in to boot.

The streaming platform has promised to bring a ‘2020s lens’ to the 1980’s classic – a notoriously politically incorrect tale of sex and scandal in the English social elite.

Here, MailOnline looks at the actor’s pre-Rupert career so far… 

SON OF A PREACHER MAN: A CHILDHOOD IN ESSEX

The 44-year-old actor grew up in the small Essex town of Leigh-on-Sea – and fell in love with acting while at school, thanks to his drama teacher

Hassell, pronounced ‘hassle’, grew up in Leigh-on-Sea, just outside Southend in Essex, with his dad, a vicar, mum and three older siblings. 

His first brush with acting came when he went to see a production of The Rock Nativity at a nearby theatre. 

The Rivals star told The Guardian in 2015 that growing up as the youngest of four children had left needing ‘to show off’. 

Secondary school, Moulsham High in Chelmsford saw the actor introduced to the Bard for the first time by a drama teacher, Lesley Davis, with a love for Hamlet.

Hassell told a local newspaper when he was performing in Henry V at the Barbican that school had set him on the path to discovering Britain’s most prolific playwright: ‘They really got me into Shakespeare and taught me that I could speak those words and understand what they meant.’

Honing his acting skills at young drama school, the Junior Guildhall, Hassell went on to secure a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London. 

A DRAMA SCHOOL ROMANCE: MEETING WIFE EMMA KING 

Hassell met his wife when the pair where studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London

The couple’s careers have seen them starring alongside each other, including in space Western TV series Cowboy Bebop in 2021

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Steamiest moments from episode one of Disney+’s Rivals, including a mile-high romp and naked tennis

Alex shares his life with fellow British actor Emma King, who he met while at drama school; the pair live in North London and have seen both of their careers blossom since their studies.

Hull-born King has an impressive portfolio of Shakespearean roles under her belt alongside fillm and TV credits including The Vanishing (2018), Dagr (2024) and the space Western series Cowboy Bebop (2021), which Hassell also starred in. 

Hassell regularly shares snaps on his Instagram of his wife, alongside adoring notes of affection.

CONQUERING SHAKESPEARE AND A BLOSSOMING FILM CAREER  

Acting since 2001, Hassell has appeared in a string of impressive productions, spanning film, theatre and TV. 

After appearances in British acting staples such as The Bill and Silent Witness, he bagged a role as superhero Translucent in series one of the ongoing black comedy The Boys.

After starring in British staples The Bill (pictured) and Silent Witness, Alex bagged a role as superhero Translucent in series one of the ongoing black comedy The Boys

Two years later, he had his longest television series stint as Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, an American space Western series based on the anime of the same name

Better than Benedict: Hassell was praised for his portrayal of Henry V at the Barbican in 2015, with some critics praising his performance as better then ‘Benedict Cumberbatch’s’ 

Two years later, he had his longest television series stint as Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, an American space Western series based on the anime of the same name.

He donned an ice blonde wig again in 2022 for his role as Metatron in the final series of the BBC /HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

Alex’s first Hollywood role came in 2017 when he starred opposite Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac in black comedy crime film Suburbicon.

Hassell’s first Hollywood role came in 2017 when he starred opposite Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac in black comedy crime film Suburbicon

The star is also heavily involved in the theatre with some of his first roles being in plays such as Blood And Ice and Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman.

He has more recently starred as Hal in Henry IV Parts I and II, and Henry in Henry V, for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Alex is the co-founder of The Factory Theatre Company whose patrons include Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, and Bill Nighy.

BOTTOM’S UP: PLAYING RUPERT CAMPBELL-BLACK IN RIVALS 

Hassell’s career may already be varied but it’s unlikely he’s ever played anyone quite like Rupert Campbell-Black. 

It’s thought that the character in Jilly Cooper’s original 1988 bonkbuster was based on a myriad of upper class people, including Andrew Parker Bowles, former husband of Queen Camilla and David Somerset, the 11th Duke of Beaufort.

Mile highn club: The first scene of episode one of the Disney+ adaptation of Dame Jilly’s book sees Rupert Campbell-Black’s buttocks take centre stage before he coolly emerges from a toilet cubicle on Concorde to saunter back down the aisle to his seat

A full frontal featuring the lothario Olympian turned Tory MP hits viewers right between the eyes during the first episode

Disney+ have been faithful to Jilly Cooper’s portrayal of her exuberant characters – with critics suggesting the series producers have added even more raunch than they anticipated 

British actor Hassell, who’s sporting a glossy black dye in his hair and an impressive deep brown tan, has had to shed any inhibitions he may have had for the role – his buttocks are on display in the opening seconds of the first episode, and 22 minutes later, there’s a full-frontal. 

Just nine seconds into the Disney+ adaptation, Cooper’s sex-obsessed protagonist is seen getting up close and personal with Fleet Street journalist Beattie Johnson – who’s wearing a perfectly 80s candy pink skirt suit, sunglasses and red stilettoes – in the aircraft’s compact loo.  

Rupert’s buttocks introduce the show, thrusting over tabloid hack Beatrice, who has her heels nowhere near the floor and her matching red nails plunged into her lover’s skin. 

A champagne cork pops to mark Concorde’s ascent to a mile high, and moments later the cabin crew begin to wonder why the occupied sign is still on.  

Rivals’ executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins has said of the show’s raunchy content: ‘There’s a willy for every pair of t***’ – and that proves true 22 minutes in when Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack) and Rupert engage in a love match in the buff 

Shortly after a flustered-looking Beatrice emerges to take her seat, while Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love blasts out. 

Moments later, Mr Campbell-Black, smooth-talking the cabin crew and winking at a passenger, saunters back down the aisle. 

The same episode also serves up a full frontal. 

A famous scene in Dame Jilly’s original 1988 book sees Rupert playing one of his favourite sports – tennis – ‘sans clothes’, and it’s enough to make viewers go as red as the strawberries at Wimbledon. 

His opponent in the match, which takes place on a secluded court in the grounds of his country pile, is Tory WAG Sarah Stratton (Atack). 

The show will also focus on the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England (pictured L-R Alex, Danny Dyer, Jilly, David and Aidan)

She’s married to the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Paul Stratton (Rufus Jones) but that doesn’t seem to worry either her or Rupert too much – and she too has also been very much liberated from any kind of tennis attire.

Rivals’ executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins’s promise of full equality on the nudity front is certainly true here.

Treadwell has has said of the show’s raunchy content: ‘There’s a willy for every pair of t***’ – and this particular naked love match serves up both. 

As the pair argue about whether a ball is ‘ten inches over the line’, their game is interrupted by 18-year-old neighbour Taggie O (Bella McClean) – while Sarah flees into the undergrowth, Rupert is entirely unfazed by his nudity.