In the weeks since Oliver became ill how has Nick been feeling, does he feel a little pushed out by how close Steve and Leanne have become?
Yes I think he does, he also recognises that for Leanne and Steve it is their child, Oliver is not Nick’s child. I think he is upset as he stepped in when Steve couldn’t. He became that father figure but really when it comes down to these vital decisions in hospital he legally isn’t part of it and he's on the periphery, he is not going to be able to make those decisions. As it has gone on he thought he could handle it but actually it is getting harder for him. The fact is that suddenly now Steve is stepping up to the plate, Nick thinks ‘why is it always me that does all the leg work and then Steve or Peter swoop in when they feel like it’. It is an exceptional circumstance and of course Steve has stepped in but he is not there for the day to day stuff.
Nick tends to be very pragmatic and business like in the way he deals with things. Is he struggling with how to comfort Leanne?
For all of those reasons he is not really feeling part of it. He likes to have active decision making, where Nick gets comfort is making a decision and pushing through with it but he can't. He is in limbo trying to support her. He doesn’t feel like he is quite equipped to do that , what can he say, what can he do. He is feeling it isn't fitting into the normal mode, he feels out of control, he doesn’t deal with that very well at all
When he lashes out at Peter on Leanne’s behalf over Simon is that a way of him being able to channel his emotions?
He is still angry at Peter, he feels like the men in her life have never stepped up and have not been very good, and he wants to vent himself. He is using Peter to vent, it isn't about Peter it is about Nick’s frustrations. Peter and Steve have their own issues but they are trying, I think Nick is just angry, he can’t take it out on Leanne or the doctors so he takes it out on them, it is a default for Nick.
Is Nick finding it difficult to cope with Leanne’s, perhaps misguided, optimism. Is Nick more able to take a step back and see the bigger picture?
I also think that it is in some way to do with the fact that it isn't his child, it is perhaps easier for him to step back, he is close but if it was his child would he be more like Leanne? He and Tracy are more on the outside looking in. They love Oliver but they are more able to look at the bigger picture. It is a very double edged sword in that he is able to step back but he wants to support Leanne and he doesn’t want her thinking he doesn’t care. He has to tread the line very carefully.
Is he worried Leanne is getting her hopes up every time Oliver does something ‘normal’? For example on the trip to the petting zoo?
It is that thing of her piecing things together which actually don’t equal a recovery, a smile, a noise etc it is a piece of good news but it doesn’t mean a recovery, that is not what the doctors are saying. The doctors are preparing them for the worst but hoping for the best and he is trying to manage his and Leanne’s feelings and not let her fall but his place is just to support her. He feels he's not massively equipped to deal with the breakdown when the worst happens, is he emotionally prepared for that and will he be up to it?
How did you feel when you were told you would be involved in such a sad storyline?
It is a great story and as an actor you want to play those strong stories. I have children myself so it isn't easy but it is important to tell it. All of the big stories are hard to tell, you have to be prepared to tell them and understand that people have gone through them for real and that is what makes them such an important story to tell. Also it is the job of an actor to highlight the elements where the character is struggling and highlight what those struggles are, the emotional heartache, all these questions that come with any illness, especially children. It is being talked about and people can open a dialogue about something that isn’t easy to talk about. It is a hard thing to discuss but if you have a gateway with a soap opera storyline it gets the conversation started, it gives a point of reference. It does transcend entertainment.
As it is such an emotional storyline how has the new way of filming impacted on that, for example you said yourself there was a scene where you felt Nick would want to hug Leanne but you couldn’t.
For this story we can make it work. Some people from the outside looking in have asked whether it will be as good, it isn’t about being better or worse, it is about it being different. You have to make different choices, they are as good, you have to look for them a bit harder. The choice with those scenes, we tell the story that he is struggling and she is struggling so he goes over to comfort her or is he struggling so much that he can’t even do that.
What is it like filming the scenes without having the twins who play Oliver on set?
It doesn't really impact on the scenes because the deep conversations that you would have you wound;t have in front of the child necessarily anyway. So it is not restrictive you just have to look a bit harder.
Glenda Young
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor
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