“Impossible to put down”: How one plane ride sold Jamie Dornan on Apple TV heist thriller 12 12 12

According to the manual, a successful heist takes 12 months to plan and 12 hours to execute. If the criminals aren’t caught within 12 days, the chances are they never will be.

And so, 12 12 12 was born. The new series follows Jack Strickland, a disgraced FBI agent, played by Anthony Mackie, and Paul Galvin, an American career criminal, played by Jamie Dornan, as they engage in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse across Europe.

The eight-part series, which centres around the story of a €1 billion bank-vault robbery in Zurich, unfolds across three timelines of a heist: the 12 months of planning, the 12 hours of the heist and the 12 days following it.

Spanning Zurich, Marseille, the Alps, New Jersey and Hungary, betrayals surface and loyalties fracture as Jack and Paul find themselves on converging paths, each pursuing the truth from opposite sides of the law.

With time running out, the true origins of the heist come into focus, forcing every player to confront impossible choices in a high-stakes game where trust is fleeting, survival is uncertain, and there can only be one winner.

Dornan, 44, who also serves as an executive producer on the series, says after reading the script on the plane he was on board.

“I read the script on a plane, and it completely swept me up. It was tense, fast-moving, and impossible to put down. I remember leaving the airport and calling Anthony straight away to say, ‘I’m in!” says the Northern Irish actor.

In the series Dornan’s character Paul has spent his life trying to outrun a fractured upbringing and the chaos left behind by his older brother, Bobby, played by Jack Kesy.

After fleeing to Marseille following an armoured car robbery in Newark, Paul builds the life he had always wanted with his girlfriend, Severine, played by Agathe Rousselle.

But when he is drawn back to the criminal world, Paul risks everything he has fought for. As the consequences of his choices become increasingly devastating, he must confront the true cost of his criminal life.

“He has done bad things and is trying to make good, but he’s drawn into a dangerous situation that’s far bigger than anything he’s faced before,” explains Dornan. “It’s a brutal path.”

Dornan, who is known for his roles in the Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise and the Belfast crime series The Fall, says he found a vulnerability in his character.

“I believe every character carries something of the actor playing them,” he says. “Jim and Dudi were always open to discussing Paul, and I found a vulnerability in him. Bringing that emotional depth to the character made him feel even more human.”

Filming was quite a gruelling process which saw Dornan spend several weeks in a tunnel with the heist crew.

“Strange as it sounds, the hardest environments often create the strongest bonds, and that’s exactly what happened with our little gang of misfits in the heist crew,” shares Dornan.

“They’re a wonderful motley bunch. Everyone was fully invested, completely game. We had a lot of fun shooting the heist sequences, even though they were definitely the toughest days on set.”

For Mackie, 48, he was attracted to his character Jack’s need for redemption.

“I really enjoyed the script,” he says. “Jack is such a stoic figure. He is a broken man looking for redemption. When I was growing up, some of my favourite characters were broken men. What drew me most to Jack was his emotional depth and complexity.”

Mackie, who is best known for playing Captain America in the Marvel franchise, says he was keen to work with Dornan again after the pair starred together in the science fiction horror film Synchronic.

“We work so well together and we have a shorthand on set. Ironically, we only appear in the same scene three or four times during the entire show,” he says.

Mackie sees the show as a thrilling, morally complex ride. “Everyone’s innocent, everyone’s guilty and every character lives in the grey,” he says.

“The audience will be able to root for everyone, but someone must lose. The storytelling flips back and forth, letting the viewers see how we got here and where we’re going. It’s smart, chaotic, and heartfelt. It’s a thrill ride told in a completely different way.”

Reflecting on his character he says: “When you look at Jack, he’s an all-around go-getter.

“He’s an overachiever. He is a very intellectual human being, an understander of manipulation. At the heart of it, he’s looking for redemption. I’ve always been drawn to characters like that.”

He adds: “The series is told from a unique perspective that we have never seen before. It’s both jarring and elegant at the same time.”

For showrunners Appleton and Keeble, the enduring appeal of heist stories lies in the universal desire for transformation.

“Heists are about aspiration,” says Appleton. “They are about changing your life. It is the moment that your whole life is transformed.”

That ambition creates a tension audiences can feel throughout. Unlike most crime stories, a great heist invites viewers to emotionally invest in both sides of the chase.

“When you watch a heist, you are both tribes,” adds Keeble. “You want the criminal to get away with the money, and you want the cop to catch him. You want both things to be true. And they can’t be.”

l 12 12 12 premieres on Apple TV on Friday.