When we were driving, we were actually in a car on the highway and it was hot as hell. These old cars, the air conditioning is useless unless you’re driving it, and we were being pulled. It was strangely so private because I couldn’t see Mark [who was in the front seat]. It was weirdly like being alone—because of where I was sitting in the seat, I couldn’t even see the side of his face. It was so beautiful, but it’s also so bold to do that in the midst of what’s happening in the story—to just stop everything and spend half an episode in a car with these two, just talking. Really beautiful.
What was it like shooting that fight scene with Sam Keeley in episode six?
It was a long day. Sam is a big dude and he’s intense, and he was amped up. We were probably fighting each other for six hours straight—it was hot as shit. What’s great about Sam is he’s comfortable in his body, and I am as well. He’s got good control of himself, and I think I can control myself decently, so everybody’s going to be safe. I’m not one of those actors who wants it to look real at any cost. My first concern is always to do this safely, because we’re going to have to do this for a long time. I remember both of us at the end of that day, when the sun was going down, walking back toward the vans to go home, and we were both limping and moving very slowly.
There’s a lot of close-ups of your face during the fight, which makes it feel very emotional.
When you break it down, for Robbie in particular, the literal source of all of the pain is this fucking guy—he’s literally responsible for every bad thing that Robbie’s dealing with and going through. This fight should feel desperate, really desperate and emotional.
What did you think about his final moments when he is in Tom’s arms in the car?
When I read it, I was very moved. Playing it on the day was really technical because whatever the experience of the audience is at this point in the story, that’s not Robbie’s experience. And for me, the actor, it was just literally trying to slow everything down enough to believe that if they put a camera in my face that we could think that it’s slipping away and eventually gone, which is a weirdly challenging thing to do.
