Theo has turned out to be a nasty piece of work hasn’t he?
Yes, he has. I think we always knew he was a complicated man. But now, as we move further along, you start to see that actually he's not just a complicated man, he's potentially a very dangerous man. The flaws and the damage within him are now manifesting in a way that I'm not sure even he can control. And I think it's potentially putting people at risk.
Were you shocked when you heard the turn the storyline was going to take?
I wasn’t so much surprised but more excited to be involved in such an important storyline. There's certainly been twists and turns along the way that have even had me choking on my cornflakes as I’ve read the scripts.
There have been some really shocking incidents now, of physical abuse as well as verbal. Do you think even Theo himself is shocked by how far he goes afterwards or is it more calculated on his part?
I don’t think it's ever premeditated, he's not a psychopath, he's a narcissist I’d say. He does these things in that moment of rage and then the cycle of self hatred starts, where he loathes himself, he starts drinking, and then the cycle continues again. Very often he blames Todd for it. He’s made Todd the scapegoat for all the things that have gone wrong in his life since he met him. In the space of 10 months he’s been through more than a lot do in 10 years, he’s got divorced, lost his children, his business has failed and these are enormous life events. The person he’s decided he can hold responsible for all this is Todd as he left what appeared to be this wonderful life to be with Todd. So then when it’s all gone wrong, he’s turned around and decided this is your fault. When he loses his temper, he just erupts, and then he has to live with the consequence of what he's done which is where the self loathing then comes in.
Do you think he feels guilty afterwards? Do you think he genuinely loves Todd?
Oh, absolutely. In his mind he loves Todd too much, his love for Todd is verging on obsession, because also at this point, Todd's all he's got. His wife doesn't speak to him, his kids still won’t speak to him, work isn’t busy, so Todd is literally all he's got. So very often with possessive jealous partners, whether male or female, they seek to isolate you because they know that's all they've got. The idea of losing Todd is shattering, so he clings on like fire and that's where the coercive control starts. The where have you been, where are you going, who were you with?
We start to see more of that this week as Theo seeks to drive a wedge between Todd and Sarah. Is this part of a plan to try and isolate Todd and keep him where he wants him?
Definitely yes, but again I don't think it's premeditated. I think it's more a case of you’re spending a lot of time with Sarah, I need to get rid of her. There's definitely a plan to isolate Todd, but I don't think it's a complex mission, I think it just occurs to him in the moment, and then he tries to navigate it the way that best suits him as all narcissists do.
We also see Todd spending time with James this week which again doesn’t go down well.
It leads to a particularly explosive incident. Is this a further step into a violent relationship?
It's another escalation, and it’s both shocking and terrifying for Todd. Theo just blows up when he doesn’t seem to be able to talk about his feelings. He can't express himself so he loses his temper, and he becomes very volatile to be around.
How hard has it been filming these scenes?
They're never easy. I think there's a different mood on set when we're shooting these scenes. Everybody just gets on and there's a mood of looking after each other. It's a very serious vibe on set because one someone could get hurt, two we all realise it's pretty horrible and three while we’re doing it as actors we’re aware that this is some people's lives. Domestic violence is real for a lot of people, it often escalates around Christmas, so there’s a real level of respect on the set.
Do you feel a certain level of responsibility when you’re playing a story like this?
You've got to tread that line between drama, storytelling and authenticity. It will be very challenging to watch for anybody who's been through it, or is going through something similar, but we also have to be careful not to rush it or you run the risk of doing a disservice to people who've been through it. Domestic violence can be particularly tricky to tackle because very often, the victims don't know that’s what it is or they excuse certain behaviours.
Do you think there's any way back for them as a couple or do you think now Theo’s behaviour has reached these heights that Todd just needs to get out?
I'm a big believer in rehabilitation, in second chances, therapy and understanding, but I think that what we're seeing now is a pattern of behaviour from Theo which he seems incapable of learning from. I think he's so unaware of what he's doing and how bad it is that the relationship isn’t a healthy one to say the least. Personally I’d say Todd should have been out of it months ago but it’s been this gradual escalation where the pressure has just been upped and upped, like boiling the toad. Theo has just upped the temperature one degree at a time, and as that happens you start to normalise it, the goalposts keep widening. Also the further you get down a road with a relationship like this, you start to feel a bit embarrassed, and so you start to cover for them in ways that you would never have done previously. You start to make excuses for their behaviours and this is where Theo is sitting at the moment which is a very dangerous position for Todd.
