“It genuinely took me by surprise how difficult it was to play mean to her”: David Oyelowo and Hayley Atwell on Treasure Island

It’s been almost 150 years since Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island was first published, and the swashbuckling adventure has been adapted countless times since. However, a new Paramount+ series is bringing a fresh perspective on the classic tale to introduce it to a new generation. Starring David Oyelowo as the infamous Long John Silver and Hayley Atwell as Jim Hawkins’s mother, Bess, the show turns the spotlight on aspects of the story previously left in the shadows, from the often-overlooked history of Black pirates to the women who rarely got much of a look-in.

We sat down with the pair to discuss how their 20-year friendship made playing adversaries surprisingly challenging, the fun of finding each other’s characters’ emotional weaknesses and why, for both Bess and Silver, the pursuit of treasure is about something far more significant than greed: freedom from a society that has marginalised them.

Sarah Bradbury

Treasure Island is released on Paramount+ on 12^th October 2026.

Watch the trailer for Treasure Island here: