00:00Have Mave and Conrad ever experienced a threat to their empire as dire as Cat McAllister and Frankie Cooper?
00:08And are they equipped to handle their attacks?
00:11We're about to shoot series three, so we'll see what happens there.
00:15We have no idea at the moment.
00:17But it was fabulous to have such a very serious threat to their empire, played by the great Janet McAteer.
00:28She does. She plays it with such a stiletto, cold, chisel-like presence.
00:36We do have these great actors, and we really have no idea where the story is going.
00:40It's, as we said in the wings here for the third season, we have no idea what will transpire.
00:50But I don't know if they've had a threat as these characters of Frankie.
00:58Before. I mean, when the curtain went up in season one, it was all brand new.
01:02It was brand new to Helen and I.
01:04And we didn't talk about the previous circumstances.
01:07We didn't talk about the motivation of the characters.
01:10We read the script, and everybody just came with a performance.
01:14Pierce, is there a part of Conrad that's a tiny bit proud that his children are as ruthless as he
01:20is when it comes to succession?
01:21I think there is, yes.
01:23I mean, I've always seen Conrad as this kind of a pig farmer.
01:29Don't ask me why, but a pig farmer.
01:32And he's from the cut of Ireland, which was very hard for him as a young man.
01:41So he grew up with violence.
01:43They come from violent families.
01:45So, yes, he has a pride in the vengeance of his boys.
01:52And, Helen, what is the most delicious thing about playing a character as devoted and duplicitous as Maeve?
01:59The writing.
02:01You know, it's all down to the writing.
02:02We have one of the great living playwrights, Jez Butterworth, writing our scripts.
02:08I mean, it's an unbelievable honour to have that.
02:13And when we get a new script and we see the scene that we've got to play and we see
02:20some of the dialogue that we've got to do,
02:21it's such a challenge and a delight.
02:25You know, it's always very exciting to get a new script.
02:28But I think the thing I love about playing Maeve is the sort of complete freedom of it.
02:34I can kind of do anything I want.
02:36That's true, yes.
02:37And it's kind of so fun to have that kind of freedom.
02:41Not be restricted by, you know, would she do this?
02:44If she's doing it, why would she do it?
02:45I don't think any of that stuff.
02:47I never think about motivation or anything.
02:49She just goes and does it, you know, without any consciousness whatsoever.
02:55It's the same for me.
02:56I just revel in the writing of Jez Butterworth and the storytelling.
03:01And then also Guy Ritchie, he gave us such freedom.
03:04Yes.
03:05Yes, absolutely.
03:06And he really is a legend, you know, on the set.
03:10He creates his own world and all the men and women that work around him have worked with him for
03:16many, many years.
03:17So you feel you're in a very strong, secure company.
03:21Pierce, you talk about the freedom of Maeve, but I feel Conrad has these scenes where he completely loses control.
03:28You know, what is the biggest challenge you face when filming those scenes?
03:32There's no real challenge.
03:33Guy Ritchie at the beginning on season one.
03:38We were talking, the first conversation I had with Guy Ritchie was by phone.
03:41I'd read a few episodes and I started talking about the accent and where he came from.
03:47And he said, listen, don't worry about it, we'll sort it out on the day, 15 minutes, put it out
03:51of your mind, which, of course, I didn't do.
03:54You know, five, six weeks later, I came to the set in South London, Irish, South London, North London.
04:01And he basically said to me with 15 minutes before filming, he said, go Irish, go mad.
04:08And he unleashed a beast and this beautiful, a bane, elegant man that we see before us.
04:16So elegant, self-controlled and just gracious.
04:21There's this beast in there and he exploded out like Mount Etna, exploding lava.
04:28Do you have a middle name, Pierce?
04:30Brendan.
04:30Brendan.
04:31We unleashed the Brendan in here.
04:33The Brendan came out.
04:34The Brendan came out.
04:36Well, I guess it's always been there.
04:38I've done some of this kind of work on the stage.
04:41But, you know, over the years, I created my own character for myself, my own kind of romantic notion of
04:48what an actor should be.
04:50But this part has really just been a joy to find Conrad at this point in life and to be
04:58working with Helen and Tom.
05:01In this company of actors, it's just a joy, it's liberating, it's a freedom, it's the closest I'll get to
05:07being on stage.
05:08I started on the stage.
05:10I started on the stage as an actor.
05:11I love doing stage work.
05:13But I don't wish to go back there.
05:16This is just enough for me.
05:18This is just enough for me.
Comments