Actors Hugh Bonneville, Ellie White, Duayne Boachie & Lead/Executive Producer Noel Fielding talk to the Inside Reel about characterization, jokes, tone and energy in regards to their new comedy series: “The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin” on Apple TV+.
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00:00 (dramaticprofit.com)
00:05 (exciting
00:20 - I'm gonna be famous.
00:22 - Dick Turpin!
00:25 - Dick Turpin!
00:25 - Dick Turpin.
00:26 - Dick Turpin.
00:27 - Dick Turpin.
00:29 - I want this dick in my hands as soon as possible.
00:32 (laughs)
00:33 - That sounds weird.
00:33 - Yeah, that did sound a bit weird, sorry.
00:35 (dramaticprofit.com)
00:39 - Turpin as this series is so playful.
00:42 There's such a play to it.
00:44 And sometimes it's hard to capture that tone on set
00:46 unless you can sort of move within
00:48 sort of the story and the lines.
00:50 Can you guys both talk about that?
00:52 Because obviously, Noel with your background,
00:54 but Hugh with your background,
00:55 how do you sort of make that work
00:57 and the energy of the piece?
00:59 - Well, I think you have to have a good script
01:01 to begin with, but then you have to have freedom
01:02 to improvise.
01:03 There need to be little pockets
01:06 where you can sort of jazz it up, you know,
01:09 and try and bring some fresh business to it.
01:11 And when you've got a bunch of comedians
01:13 like Diane Morgan and Asim Chowdhury and Mark Wharton
01:16 and all these great comedians there,
01:18 Joe Wilkinson, you're gonna get some improv for sure.
01:21 So it was very playful on set, actually,
01:25 and it was really good fun.
01:26 And then also when you throw Hugh Bonneville
01:30 into the mix as the thief taker,
01:32 you've got yourself a show right there.
01:35 We're very excited to have Hugh.
01:37 We didn't think he'd say yes and he did.
01:40 So we were like, "Really?
01:41 He didn't say yes, did he?
01:43 He's gonna do it."
01:44 So once Hugh agreed to do it, yeah,
01:46 we had a lot of fun with his character
01:48 and writing his character.
01:50 - I know what you're thinking.
01:55 Who is this guy with the incredible cheekbones?
01:58 Where does he get his hair done?
02:00 One day, I'll be the most famous highwayman
02:02 in all of England.
02:04 - You are literally about to be hanged, you idiot.
02:08 - Quick note to my gang,
02:09 if you are planning a rescue now would be a good time.
02:12 - Making a show like this, it's all about the timing,
02:14 but knowing through and through who the character is,
02:17 even if they don't at that specific moment.
02:20 Could you guys talk about looking at both Honesty
02:23 and Neil in that way and how you had to start,
02:26 but then as you got into it,
02:28 what you discovered about each of them?
02:30 - Yeah, I feel like you definitely grow into your character
02:34 as a filming, always, as a filming process goes on,
02:37 finding different things and finding weird little quirks.
02:42 And actually the cool thing about this process
02:45 is that it felt like we could actually collaborate
02:49 with the writers and director a bit to be like,
02:51 "Actually, could my character do this?
02:52 Or could I do that possibly?"
02:54 So it felt like we were creating these characters
02:58 along the way, which was really fun.
03:02 - Yeah, honestly.
03:03 And even it felt, it's weird,
03:05 'cause as much as you kind of get to know your character
03:07 a lot more, you kind of start to get to know
03:10 the other characters as well.
03:11 - So you know how you'd react to that.
03:13 - Do you know what I mean?
03:14 - Suddenly be like, "Okay, yeah, no, I definitely."
03:16 Like I've heard too much crap
03:19 coming out of this guy's mouth now.
03:20 Like you suddenly feel like you are that person.
03:23 - Yeah, and there was a, to be fair, Honesty and Nell,
03:26 I think as the show grew,
03:29 I felt like Honesty's character with Nell,
03:32 from my perspective anyway,
03:34 their relationship kind of grew as well.
03:36 And it kind of gave a sibling type of vibe towards the end.
03:41 It was really those moments I remember,
03:43 I was talking about, I don't know if we could talk about,
03:45 you've had seen Dick and I was like, "What are you doing?"
03:47 And he was like, "Stop it."
03:48 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:49 - They just started developing these little characters
03:51 and this little chemistry.
03:52 - It was a bickering moment.
03:52 - Yeah, it was nice.
03:54 - I think Dick should be leader.
03:55 I'm not totally sure,
03:56 but I think he's the best man in the world.
03:58 - Me too, he's gonna make me a dress.
04:00 - Do you think he has a best friend?
04:01 - Hang on, what about me?
04:03 Right, I'm the best highwayman, I should be in charge.
04:06 - Nell, we love you.
04:07 You're great with a gun and you ride a mean horse,
04:10 but you do tend to buckle under pressure.
04:12 - I don't buckle.
04:14 I never buckle, I'm unbuckleable.
04:16 - Okay then, you can be leader.
04:17 - Yeah, where are we going now?
04:18 - Head back or get lunch.
04:20 - But getting tone right, it's an elusive thing
04:22 which you can't write tone in a script.
04:26 You can aim for it, but it's really only on the floor
04:29 and that's in the hands of the director and your cast.
04:31 And we were blessed with a wonderful director,
04:34 Ben Palmer, who is not only very good visually
04:37 and in terms of action and momentum,
04:39 but also good at just the tone of a gag
04:42 or of a pitching a performance.
04:44 He's very good at, if you were to imagine a mixing desk,
04:47 he's very good at playing with the faders
04:48 and then we went, which ones to bring up and down.
04:51 And that's a rare skillset to have all,
04:53 to a director to have an eye on
04:55 so many different departments,
04:57 but we were really blessed with him, I'd say.
04:59 - He's forensic, he will not let anything go.
05:01 Unless you've nailed that line or that joke,
05:03 he won't move on, you know?
05:05 So he's literally, he has all the jokes written down
05:08 and he's crossing them off one by one.
05:10 And if you haven't got it, he's not crossing
05:12 and you're not leaving that scene.
05:14 (laughing)
05:16 - But he also understands improvisation
05:19 and likes for you to play a little bit as well.
05:21 And sometimes you get good things when you're improvising.
05:24 Not always, but it's nice to have that in the edit.
05:27 - Okay, um, aren't you gonna have that?
05:31 Both fantastic options.
05:32 Oh God, uh.
05:34 God, I can't take this stress!
05:38 Fine, whatever, I don't care.
05:40 - That's Chelsea.
05:41 - It's our new leader!
05:43 - Well, it seems like, you know, they're siblings,
05:45 you know, and with siblings, you love them,
05:47 but then you take the piss out of them, you know?
05:49 'Cause you sort of talk about finding those strengths,
05:51 but looking at each of the other characters,
05:54 as well as Mark's character, Moose,
05:56 and understanding why they are the way they are.
05:58 - Yeah. - Yes, for sure.
05:59 - Definitely. - For sure.
06:01 - No, I think we have a,
06:02 I think all three of us have like a sibling relationship
06:05 on and off screen.
06:06 (laughing)
06:07 - Yes.
06:09 - But then looking, you have to look at Neil,
06:10 'cause Neil's probably setting a certain pace too
06:13 in terms of how the comedy needs to run.
06:15 Can you sort of talk about that?
06:17 You said that you were able to bring your own thing,
06:19 but it's all about sort of the timing
06:20 between all four of you running at a certain pace.
06:24 - She's quite straight, and she's quite,
06:26 she knows what she wants, she's like very capable,
06:31 and she's essentially surrounded by idiots.
06:33 So that's always really fun.
06:35 - She's like the perfect Hiawea woman.
06:36 - You know, so you have like,
06:38 you have to be quite on it in terms of like deadpan,
06:42 like sarcasm, all that kind of stuff.
06:45 But actually what was quite fun is that,
06:47 I think as the series progresses,
06:48 she gets a bit like sillier,
06:50 and like there are moments in which I can have,
06:52 like I get a crush on someone, for example, in one episode.
06:56 And that was really fun to be able to see this person
06:58 who takes herself like incredibly seriously,
07:00 suddenly just like be a school girl again.
07:03 And that was really fun.
07:05 So there's like always like surprising moments,
07:07 I think to every character actually.
07:08 It's like, okay, they are these three words on paper,
07:12 but actually in this episode,
07:13 they completely veer off this way,
07:15 but it still feels like they are that character still.
07:17 - And I think it's interesting where it's the introduction
07:21 of Dick Turpin that kind of allows these characters
07:24 that have maybe this kind of wall up at the beginning
07:26 to slowly start breaking down into kind of who they are
07:30 as actual people.
07:31 And that's when you kind of start feeling for them
07:33 and you feel the warmth of their personalities
07:35 and you see their little traits.
07:36 Yeah, and their little quirks,
07:38 which is kind of interesting and really nice.
07:40 - Jonathan Wilde's here.
07:42 - Who's he?
07:43 - The thief taker general.
07:44 - Yeah, I'm not gonna lie.
07:45 He sounds exactly like the sort of person
07:46 we should be avoiding.
07:47 - No, Dick, he's a crook.
07:49 He had a deal with Tom King.
07:50 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's dangerous.
07:52 - Yeah.
07:53 - Listen, if you wanna walk away from all this,
07:55 I wouldn't blame you.
07:56 - I'm fine.
07:57 - We'll be right here, Dick.
07:58 I'll die for you, Dick.
08:01 - That's good to know.
08:02 All right, guys, stand behind me.
08:04 Try and look menacing.
08:05 Now, let me do the talking.
08:08 (Dick exhales)
08:10 - Ah, Mr. Wilde.
08:14 I have to say, you're slightly smaller than I'd imagined.
08:16 - I am Jonathan Wilde.
08:19 - Yeah, that makes more sense.
08:20 - This is my son, Christopher.
08:22 - Hello, Christopher.
08:23 - Currently, my wife and I don't have any childcare.
08:25 Absolute ballache.
08:27 Christopher, go and sit over there.
08:29 So, to business.
08:32 - Well, I mean, you said a word
08:34 that I thought was interesting, Noel,
08:35 was forensic.
08:37 And comedy is about the details.
08:39 It's about how people are seen,
08:41 how they wanna be seen, but also the language.
08:44 I mean, the language here, that's why that works,
08:46 is because it moves between modern
08:48 and, you know, obviously, using some elements of antiquity.
08:51 Can you guys sort of talk about that
08:53 in that sort of verbatim, in that?
08:55 - Yeah, it's, I mean,
08:56 I think with a show like this,
08:59 the possibilities for comedy are endless
09:01 because you're dealing with a real character,
09:04 but you're changing that character.
09:05 And actually, he is quite famous in England,
09:08 but he's not necessarily known in America.
09:10 Say, Robin Hood is known, or Ned Kelly,
09:12 but people don't really know who Dick Turpin is.
09:15 So we did have a bit of a blank canvas, didn't we?
09:17 And it's quite, there's a lot of pressure there
09:20 because he's a real person,
09:21 but also it does free you up to try it.
09:24 You can make whatever show you want, really.
09:25 So we try to sort of put lots of different layers
09:27 of comedy into it so that younger kids could,
09:30 you know, 14, 13-year-olds could enjoy it,
09:32 but also older.
09:34 You know, the way "The Simpsons"
09:35 are masters of that, really,
09:36 where it's working on lots of different levels.
09:38 But there's some visual comedy in there,
09:40 and there's some satire in there,
09:41 and there's some, you know,
09:42 there's lots of different types of comedy going on
09:45 all at the same time.
09:46 So hopefully there's something in there for everyone.
09:48 And when it's a global thing,
09:50 you're hoping, you know,
09:52 to put lots of different things out there,
09:53 lots of plates spinning,
09:55 so that something resonates with each,
09:58 with each country.
10:03 - You've probably heard of him.
10:04 Dick Turpin, new leader of the Essex Gang.
10:06 - Highwayman murder and rob.
10:08 - You're not a highwayman, Dick.
10:09 - I've got this.
10:10 We strike on three.
10:12 One, two...
10:13 We'll get the next one.
10:17 - Well, Dwayne, can you talk about what you found?
10:19 I mean, obviously, Ellie talked about it,
10:21 but what you found as far as honesty
10:23 that you really pulled out and thought worked for him?
10:27 - I feel like with honesty,
10:29 I like the fact that he's innocently honest.
10:31 He literally says what it is
10:33 and just tells the truth.
10:35 Like, he would literally,
10:36 if he sees something and that's how he understands it,
10:39 that's exactly what he's gonna say.
10:40 There's no sugarcoating,
10:42 there's no cutting around corners.
10:43 He's literally being honest and speaking the truth.
10:46 It's number one.
10:47 Number two, I kind of felt like
10:49 he's got such an amazing heart.
10:51 He kind of will love and protect anyone that is around him.
10:56 He's very loyal.
10:57 He's a loyal character.
10:58 I kind of see that that kind of grew throughout the series.
11:01 So yeah, with honesty, I kind of felt like
11:03 as the series comes on,
11:04 you see his maybe little dreams,
11:07 his love for poetry,
11:09 the fact that he gets a bit shy,
11:10 he gets a bit embarrassed,
11:12 the fact that he gets brave,
11:14 he kind of tackles things.
11:15 He's just, he really grows on me
11:18 and hopefully in the show and on the audience.
11:21 - I've seen you prancing around in your funny shirt.
11:24 - I'm new school,
11:25 and there's gonna be less violence on my watch.
11:27 Is there anything that I could have done
11:28 to improve your highway robbery experience?
11:30 - But we're just as tough as any other gang in here.
11:33 - Here's your peppermint tea, Dick.
11:35 Put a splash of honey in it.
11:36 I know you got a scratchy throat.
11:38 - Thanks, little Karen.
11:39 - Yeah, Hugh, can you talk about that perspective,
11:41 but also, yeah, the spinning of the plates
11:42 because your character, Wilde,
11:44 has to play two different sides.
11:45 There's a duality to him,
11:47 just as there is duality to the turpentine.
11:49 - (chuckles) Well, there is, and it's great.
11:52 That was the fun part, really,
11:53 to play this guy who is determined to be
11:56 the Darth Vader of the 18th century,
11:59 but he keeps being undermined the entire time
12:01 by someone who won't play ball,
12:02 namely our titular hero,
12:05 who is so bad at being a high woman
12:07 that Darth can't get a look in.
12:09 He can't compute.
12:12 And then added to that, he's got childcare issues.
12:15 So if he's gonna be sitting in his evil throne,
12:20 there's always someone mucking it up for him
12:22 because he's gotta get the swimming gear ready
12:25 for the land.
12:26 He's missing his swimming lesson or whatever it might be.
12:28 So that's really fun to have that sort of pomposity,
12:31 you know, that bubble burst all the time
12:34 while taking life very seriously
12:35 and wanting more cash for it.
12:37 - There's only one man brainless enough
12:40 to steal from the syndicate.
12:42 - Thank you, Dick.
12:44 I don't know what we'd do without you.
12:46 (dramatic music)
12:49 (gunshots)
12:52 (dramatic music)
12:55 (whooshing)