Guy
Flanagan
Mitchell - The Vampire
What
was it that attracted you to this script and playing a vampire?
The script
jumped out at me, the idea itself sounded quite kooky. When I read it
I thought it was really well put together and the characters were well
developed. It's mainly about the relationships between the three characters
that just happen to have these conditions.
Who wouldn't
want to be a vampire? I get to be invincible and bite beautiful people,
what more could you want? It's a hard job, but someone has to do it!
It's always
nice to do something different from the norm and nothing like this has
been made, certainly not recently, so it's good to be a part of something
that stands out.
Who
is Mitchell and how does he fit into the drama?
Mitchell
is about 120 years old – so he's looking good for his age. He's
lived through wars, travelled the world, done everything, been everywhere
and met incredible people. Now he's just trying to settle down for a
bit.
He finds,
in George, a genuine guy and a friend. Vampires generally struggle to
find friends unless they're fellow vampires, so he's looking to have
closeness with someone.
If you
live forever, you have a different view of the world. At 120, he's overcome
the boredom. He's laid back and there's no point getting bored of it
all, but he's trying to tame his instincts to bite people.
How
did he become a vampire?
He was
bitten a long time ago – he's probably been other people in the
past and changed his name a fair few times. He's seen so many people
die so he's got an emotional coolness about him.
He's not
always out to get people like other vampires, he has respect for human
kind, so he doesn't get off on the challenge of biting. Initially, when
people are bitten, they get a buzz out of it, they're often on a different
plane – but that wears off after a while and he doesn't want to
commit people to the sort of life he's been subjected to.
At times,
I think he feels it's a curse as there are things he can't do. He can't
fall in love or experience the same love as normal people. Once you're
committed to this dark world, you just have to deal with it.
There
isn't too much emphasis on the vampire fangs – how will the audience
know that you're a vampire?
It's set
out very early on in the drama. We don't milk it though; his fangs only
come out at the crucial moments. We didn't want to overdo it; we wanted
maximum impact when the moments actually arrive. The characters are
very much living in the real world, so we wanted to make them normal,
but the vampire is always there.
There are
so many different forms of vampire with different limitations. To be
able to tell the story that we wanted to tell, he had to go out into
the light, but he's always wrapped up in a coat, scarf, gloves and sunglasses
and UV cream. He prefers not to be out in the sunlight – not so
much a problem in England!
Did
you do much research into vampires?
I did a
lot of research on the internet and I've seen a few vampire films in
the past but I didn't actively go out and research too much. I didn't
want to do too much before I actually got the part. Bram Stoker's Dracula
was a good place to start and that was a great book!
Do
you think that vampires exist in real life?
I found
a fair few people on the internet that think they do. I met some people
years ago who drank each other's blood for fun – they weren't
under the illusion that they were vampires though. Some people are into
things like that.
When I
was growing up, I was an indie kid, but I hung around with Goths who
got the thrill from drinking blood. It's not something I'm really into
though, I must admit.
In
the supernatural rules, where does vampire come on the chain of superiority?
Vampires
are at the top of the chain – they would certainly think of themselves
as the top anyway. The other vampires don't approve of Mitchell's friendship
with George – werewolves are pretty low on the supernatural chain;
they're not immortal and vampires just see them as dogs.
His other
friend, Annie, is a ghost, who is even lower on the chain – after
all, anyone can be a ghost!
Vampires
are immortal, they're strong and sexual beings – I don't know
who could oust them from that position.
Vampires
live forever, how would you feel about that?
I've got
a fair few decades left in me yet, but I wouldn't want to live forever.
I'm not religious, but I like to think that something kicks off when
you die. I think living forever could be a lonely existence. Although
it's a big world and there are a lot of things to see, if you had forever
to see it, you'd get it done and you'd want more.
Were
there any scenes that particularly stood out for you?
The scene where
Mitchell bites his current shag was the first sex scene I'd ever done,
so I expected it to take a couple of hours. However, it was the Rugby
World Cup Final and this scene was the last scene of the day and we
were running over. With 20 minutes to do the scene, I was thrown in
at the deep end and all the electricians were threatening to pull the
plugs if we didn't get it done because they didn't want to miss the
final! I usually like to take my time over these things, but there was
no chance of that!
Being
Human
What is Being Human?
Russell Tovey
interview - George the werewolf
Andrea Riseborough
- Annie the ghost
Adrian Lester - Herrick
Phoo Action
Phoo Action features
