Inside Men
New four-part drama serial for BBC One
Interview with Ashley Walters
Can you tell us a bit about the sort of person Chris is?
Chris is a very reserved character, very timid and quite shy. He has spent most of his life taking care of his mum who is an alcoholic. He’s given up on his own life when it comes to relationships and women. He’s fully dedicated to his job as a security guard, and caring for his mum. His father is in prison so although he still sees him, he hasn’t been there when Chris has needed him the most.
What is his relationship like with Marcus at work?
Chris doesn’t have many friends and although he gets on with Marcus, he would still only see him as an acquaintance. Really Marcus is the closest thing to a friend Chris has, until he meets Dita.
What is Chris’s motivation for getting involved with the heist, and how does Dita influence that?
His motivation for wanting the money is to make a change in his life. His job and everything else he does on a daily basis is mundane. It’s the same thing every day and it’s just about having a change in himself.
But then he gets a new girlfriend, Dita, and the chance to start a new life. For the first time things are looking good for him and suddenly his motivation and outlook change. He realise that his reasons for wanting the money and for doing what they’re doing are not the right reasons. He has to make a very brave decision and decide what to do for the best.
How was it filming the heist scenes?
The scenes I had to shoot were very intense. There were a few times when I would be on set and forget that we were doing a scene from the present, which was actually a cut back in time. We had to film a lot of scenes twice, sometimes from when we cut back, and then when it was happening in real time, because James (director) wanted different motivations. That was quite difficult at times.
When it comes to the order of scenes you had to be really dedicated and concentrate on the whole process. Sometimes it was difficult for me, because I have spent a lot of time in my career doing character breakdown, and James let me do all that which was great for me.
I hadn’t worked with James before but it was a great experience. As a director he’s very concerned about actors and how they feel about the scene. He spent a lot of time talking to the actors and taking them through the process.
