What’s the view from your sofa?
We’ve moved recently and the lounge is open plan and there isn’t a TV. My wife Clara does a lot of cooking and she loves , so when she cooks she likes to have the TV in the kitchen on. So the actual view is that we’re sitting on kitchen chairs while watching the TV.
Who controls the remote?
Clara! It’s because she cooks. I’m not allowed to because I’m too bland, and I agree with that.
What have you been watching?
We’ve watched the whole of around the table at dinner time and we’re now on . They’re brilliantly written – the structure, the acting, every department doing the best of what American television can do.
is back for series two – what’s it like acting opposite Robson Green when he’s in psychopath mode?
He’s such a nice guy! We’re always trying to push each other, working out how to play a scene to maximise the tension. He’s incredibly detailed in how he works. I’m much more organic – some scenes I’ll only learn on the day.
How do you approach playing a detective?
I did a lot of research when I was younger. For Line of Duty, I visited a senior investigating officer and got to know the procedure. But then you think: what is a detective? There are similarities: a strong eye for detail, emotional intelligence. But otherwise, people are very different. With , I use a bit more of myself than I would have done starting out.
You have played a lot of real-life people. Do you feel a sense of responsibility with that?
There was one project where I knew someone who’d worked with the person I was playing and it turned out the portrayal in the script wasn’t very flattering. When it came out, I got an email from that person, and I had to write back to say I was sorry. You’ve got to be careful, because there’s a view of a real person built into a piece, even though the writing isn’t my responsibility. It’s more an emotional duty of care.
You have dyslexia, does that affect how you learn scripts?
Early on, it was incredibly difficult! I dreaded table reads because I’d stumble over every line, and then you’re dealing with self-esteem issues and imposter syndrome. The upside is that people with dyslexia can learn scripts backwards and inside out. The one thing I still don’t do is live radio drama – that would find me out!
In 2023, you made a moving ITV documentary about losing your two-year-old daughter Maude to sepsis in 2011. How have you found being so open with something so personal?
We’re open about it because we understand that losing a child is the worst position to be in. If people can take comfort from others who’ve been through the same thing and see that they’re still surviving, that’s enough to make it worth being open.
How has that experience of loss influenced your work?
I’m in the strange situation of still playing characters who’ve lost children. I played a character in [2023 Channel 5 drama] who’d lost his son. You might think, “What a perverse thing to do.” It was difficult, but I knew I could be as emotionally truthful as possible, drawing on my own loss. It’s a tricky game, because sometimes it does catch you and you spend the afternoon crying. I hope people understand it’s not a trivial thing to choose to do, and that it’s part of that process of sharing.