Tom Hollander & Niamh Algar on The Iris Affair & AI

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Tom Hollander & Niamh Algar on The Iris Affair & AI Report by Mccallumj. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00Can everyone just calm down?

00:02Well, if she'd listened to him, there wouldn't be a story.

00:04It's about Fawlty Towers.

00:05Guys, love to see you.

00:08Before we start, let me just awkwardly lather you with praise a second,

00:11because people hate that, don't they?

00:13Calm With Horses, absolutely amazing.

00:15In The Loop, one of my favourite films of all time ever.

00:17Raised By Wolves, absolutely amazing.

00:19The Night Manager, absolutely amazing.

00:22But before we kick off, can we have a quick word about Rev for a second?

00:25Because I thought that was an absolute bloody gem of a show.

00:27And my old man is a vicar as well.

00:30So to see something, I've never seen anything like that.

00:33We all had Dibley in the 90s, but to see something that was quite nuanced

00:36and clever and very heartfelt and very, very funny at the same time

00:40was lovely, actually.

00:42So I just wondered, were we ever going to see that again?

00:45Or is that something you're particularly proud of?

00:47Yeah, I was very proud of it.

00:49It ran its time.

00:52And we felt like we were starting to,

00:54I felt we were slightly repeating ourselves by the time we got to the end of it.

00:56But we did all love it.

00:58And the fact that people hold it dear is a very special thing

01:01and endlessly rewarding.

01:03And an interesting segue is that Neil Cross is a big fan of Rev.

01:07And when we first started talking about Iris,

01:10he referenced Rev a lot.

01:14So then we got a little bit of Rev into Iris,

01:18which is a, I leave that there as a cookie to be discovered.

01:22A little Easter egg.

01:23What does it have in common with Rev?

01:26Yeah, nothing on the face of it.

01:29But if you watch the whole series, you can see what the connection is.

01:32That's very interesting you say that,

01:34because I don't want to like, you know,

01:35this is kind of my second half of the interview, really,

01:38to talk about your characters.

01:39But it doesn't feel like a show.

01:41On the outset, if you see a trailer, you think,

01:43OK, you've got a protagonist, you've got an antagonist,

01:45you've got two people with their own thing going on.

01:48You're going to like one more than the other.

01:50But in the show, despite the flaws between,

01:54you kind of root for everyone, which feels very strange.

01:57And in a Rev kind of way, it's sort of nuanced,

02:00and people feel real.

02:02And there's a niceness, is that the wrong word,

02:05behind each of you.

02:07Relatability is the word.

02:09Yeah.

02:09It's because we're in a multi-polar universe now.

02:12It's because we're in a multi...

02:13It's like the Cold War's over.

02:15It's no longer binary.

02:17Everyone is the villain,

02:19and everyone is the good person.

02:22I think something like that.

02:24Yeah, no, I think because, like,

02:26Iris seems like a kind of character who...

02:28You don't know whether she's, like, the reluctant hero,

02:30or whether she's kind of someone lacking some empathy there,

02:37but then is kind of fighting against the goodness inside her,

02:41which is evident there's loads of.

02:43And then Cameron seems like a guy who seems like

02:44he's a good guy who's just been pushed to the edge,

02:48and you don't completely agree with him,

02:49but at times you're like,

02:50why don't they just listen to him a little bit?

02:52I guess that must have been the interesting thing in the script

02:56that got you guys thinking,

02:57well, this is worth spending a few months on.

02:59Well, if she'd listened to him,

03:00there wouldn't be a story.

03:02I suppose, yeah.

03:03Turn it on.

03:04Okay, here's the password.

03:05And then it would just be we'd only have one episode.

03:08What episode, though?

03:09What an episode.

03:10Well, I think that's the whole point,

03:11is that you're always...

03:12It's like...

03:13I hate to bring it into the conversation,

03:15but the whole idea of AI,

03:16and, you know,

03:17you have people who are totally embracing it,

03:19and then you have other people who don't want to and fear it,

03:23and I think that's what makes us human,

03:26because we're looking at it from a...

03:28we question everything.

03:30It's also because it's a long-form TV show,

03:33so it's in the interest of the writer to keep it...

03:36You want to be able...

03:36It gives you...

03:37It forwards you the luxury of being able to go into the deeper...

03:41Mm-hmm.

03:41...to see different characters in different ways,

03:43whereas if it was a single film,

03:45I mean, if it was a 90-minute,

03:46you, you know, in a way,

03:47people have to stay in their box a bit more

03:49until you've got your antagonist, protagonist,

03:51but in eight episodes,

03:52to string it out,

03:53because in a way,

03:54it's a very simple story,

03:56so you need to be thrown...

03:57It's a long chase sequence, isn't it?

03:58So you have to...

03:59You need to be thrown from different episodes

04:01into different sympathies

04:04to keep your interest up.

04:05I do find myself,

04:06each episode,

04:07just feeling like,

04:08can't they just...

04:08Can't they just work it out?

04:09Because the chemistry between you guys,

04:10even on the phone,

04:11is sort of like...

04:13These guys...

04:13I'd rather just, like,

04:14listen to these guys,

04:15have a chat,

04:15have an argument,

04:16and then, like...

04:17I suppose not move on

04:18and be boring as hell,

04:18but, like,

04:19it's frustrating,

04:20which is a good thing, I think.

04:22It's about faulty towers.

04:24Yeah, there's an element of, like...

04:26Just...

04:26Can everyone just calm down?

04:28Can you just calm down?

04:29Be sensible.

04:30Speaking about...

04:31You just need a long...

04:32A bit of a sleep,

04:33and you need something to eat,

04:34and you need to lie down.

04:35You need to hang me.

04:37Speaking about Neil Cross, actually,

04:38I wondered,

04:39obviously,

04:40Luther,

04:40Mosquito Coast,

04:42two great episodes of Doctor Who, actually.

04:44How big an impact

04:44does that actually make

04:46to you guys

04:46at this stage of your career

04:47when a script comes in?

04:48Or do you try and, like,

04:49separate the kind of the brand

04:51and the history

04:52from the words

04:52you're reading on the page?

04:54Because

04:54not everyone's going to hit

04:55a home run every time.

04:56No.

04:59No.

04:59You just look at the script.

05:01I think it's...

05:01It's always down to the writing.

05:04With the writing solids,

05:06you're in...

05:06But also,

05:07it might make you go,

05:08well, the script's nearly brilliant,

05:10but on the other hand,

05:11they did do X, Y, and Z before,

05:13so chances are

05:14they know what they're doing.

05:14So you...

05:15Because there's always

05:15a bit of a benefit

05:16of the doubt going on

05:17when you say hello to a job.

05:19It's an act of faith.

05:20It's a bit of a jumping in.

05:22What other expressions,

05:23cliches are there?

05:24Jumping in.

05:24That's some good ones,

05:25jumping in.

05:25Yeah.

05:25You have to jump in both feet.

05:27And so it's...

05:30If they've done lots of things

05:31that you liked before,

05:32then it's going to incline you

05:34to have some confidence.

05:37But that might be

05:38completely inappropriate

05:41because they might be having

05:42a bad day, as you say.

05:44Well, I am four episodes in.

05:46So far, it seems like a good day.

05:47You never know how it's going to round up.

05:48Great.

05:49Kind of hope they switch it on

05:50at the end

05:51and then the whole world

05:51comes to an end.

05:52That'll be pretty fun.

05:53But if not,

05:54Series 2.

05:54We'll see you this time next year.

05:56Absolutely.

05:57If that doesn't sell it,

05:58I don't know, Will.

05:59Cheers, guys.

06:00Really enjoying it.

06:01Brilliant. Thank you.

06:01Lovely to meet you both.

06:03And I'll catch you down the road, I guess.

06:04Thank you so much.

06:05Thanks very much.

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