Hi, guys, how are you doing?
Hi, nice to see you.
Nice to see you as well as ever.
Very nice to see you both.
Congratulations on the show.
Thank you.
I have watched episode one.
I was intending to watch episode two, but I was so shook by episode
one that I had to step down, walk away, have a cup of tea
and just just, yeah, you know what happens?
You know what happened?
I'm just going to leave that there.
So, David, maybe start with you.
What was the lure of this?
Had you read the book or was it the scripts?
Or was it a combination of both the kind of lead you into this one?
Oh, what lured me into this
one is on the screen - it's Gugu,
both in terms of the opportunity to work with her.
But the fact that she's the one who sent me the scripts
and was
was interested in me joining her on this journey with her.
And I read them cover to cover.
I only had the first two episodes initially,
and it was just beyond frustrated at the fact
that I didn't know where this was going because I was so drawn in by them.
But it also afforded me a character, the likes of which I haven't
been offered before,
and that's always attractive to an to an actor.
I had seen Lisa Brühlmann's film actually a while ago,
a film of hers that she directed called Blue My Mind, which I really enjoyed.
And when I found out it was her directing that was compelling as well
and an opportunity to to shoot something in the UK,
you know, I now live in the states and, you know, any, any time, that's
a possibility.
I always love to come back. So.
So yeah, there were so many things So then, for Gugu
For you Gugu, excuse me.
What was the lure of the whole thing?
Obviously, you're behind it as a producer, you obviously wanted David and
and everything else.
So what did you see in this that that was maybe different to anything
that you'd read before or been a part of before,
but never done a psychological thriller before?
And in reading these scripts, I was really drawn
into the fact that I felt like they worked on many levels.
You know that the characters all have these deeply disturbing,
you know, events that have happened to them or, you know, in their psychology.
And, you know, as an actor, I love that that meaty, you know,
psychological stuff to get your teeth into acting wise, but on one level.
But there was also a style to to the show, you know, the thriller elements, the
the questionnaire, you know, and and the sort of luxury world
of of the house that I felt like there was the depth
of the emotional elements and also this elevated, stylish world
which you don't often see on British television at the same time.
So so for me, that was really intriguing.
And then to be offered the opportunity to inhabit my first producer role
as associate producer, you know, with 42 productions and BBC
and HBO Max was just a great challenge for growth.
And I think, you know, I've spoken to David,
who's produced many of his own projects with his own production company Yoruba Saxon
And you know, and along the way as actors, you know how
how we grow and how we are able to,
you know, choose the stories
and influence the culture that we're in by what stories we choose to be a part of.
And so.
So for me, that was the added challenge of sort of having a seat at the table
or a seat at the Zoom room, as it was mostly
with the producers and the writer, JP Delaney,
just to be able to really be a part of the casting process
and make sure that the characters were as nuanced as they possibly could be.
And really just to learn, know I looked at it is like, you know, being
a producer schooled for a few months, you know, in lockdown, in pre-production.
So yeah, that was there were so many, so many great reasons.
And of course, Lisa Brühlmann who I'm a huge fan of and you know,
her vision for the show was so, so singular.
So, so yeah, it was it was really, you know, a no brainer.
Yeah, I have to say, David, I've never heard a double
macchiato ordered in quite that way before the show.
I'll be honest,
that was quite...
I've never heard.
I've never I mean, I know
people will get upset and Starbucks if to wait for their coffee,
but you're delivery was so, so good. So
that was that was that part of, as you say, that,
you know, I spoke to you before and in your field obviously
you played certain characters before, but this one is very different for you.
So did you?
Was that always something
that you wanted to do to maybe stretch yourself in a different way
that was unlike something you've done before?
And did that present you
with any different challenges that you've that you faced in your career thus far?
It's what you look for in every
opportunity is, you know, how is this going to challenge me?
How is it going to scare me?
How is it going to show me and the audience a different side of myself?
But of course you can desire that.
It doesn't mean it comes along every day or any day.
And that
was... it's so rare for me personally when
something comes along that is like a total no brainer, you know,
and it's just like, OK, when is it shooting?
How do I clear the schedule? Let's go.
And this was this was one of those rare
ones, really.
And and then you factor in the fact that, you know, as Gugu
said, we were shooting this in the middle of a pandemic.
We were shooting this at a time where,
gosh, how how do you even shoot stuff?
So there was that added complexity, which you know,
what I love about actors and storytellers is, you know, Gugu and I come
from a theatrical tradition as well is just this thing of finding a way,
you know, no matter what.
And that was an added component in terms of The Girl Before like, OK,
we are going to find a way to shoot this
when we are in lockdown and masks.
And one of the weirdest things about this this show was that
I saw more of Lisa Brühlmann's face
before we shot than when we shot the film
or the show
because she was constantly all I ever saw with her eyes.
And she's Swiss, and,
you know, English isn't necessarily her first language.
And so you're you're sort of,
you know, from your director, you're trying to absorb everything they want.
And all I had was this and instead of a muffled Swiss accent,
you know, so it was really challenging to get this thing done
with all the nuance involved.
But you know, I'm just so proud of the end result. Yes.
And Gugu, Jane's story is is is very moving,
very touching, but also quite sad in its way not to give anything away.
So what what was it?
What was the lure to her as a as a character?
Because again, not to give anything away, there's certain things that we discover
and some things that we don't discover straight away.
So was that part of the
thinking for you to get involved in this.
As an actor as well as a producer, the role of Jane was something that that
appealed to you.
Yeah, I think it's always the
journey for me in a character like, what's the arc?
You know, I think, like you say, she starts off in quite
a disempowered position she's in in a state of grief
and have has had this, this life changing loss.
And and I feel like for me, you know,
the wonderful thing we get to do in storytelling is to be able to show
a way through, you know, these kind of intense situations.
And I think what I loved about the story for Jane is, is that she really, you know,
she goes on a journey and she and it's a journey towards
healing, you know, and it's a journey towards getting her power back.
And and and I hope that that would be inspiring for people to watch, you know?
And yes, it is. It's sad circumstances.
But you know, we all lived through sad, sad circumstances.
And I think that there's there's an opportunity, I think, you know,
even though it's a glossy psychological thriller
that there is an opportunity for catharsis as well, you know, in in these
these kind of stories.
And and I was really delighted that that the character has
and the story has those layers as well.
So. So for me, I'm always looking for
something that's going to sort of move you and entertain
you and hopefully leave you in a different place to where you started.
Absolutely. Guys, as always, love to talk to you.
Thank you so much as ever for you all, for your time.
I really look forward to seeing the rest of the show.
I hope it goes fantastic for you both.
Thank you.
Nice to see you again. Nice to see you. Take care.