Interview with Alfred Enoch – Pete
Category: Press Pack ArticleSo, tell us a bit about Pete - obviously he's a journalist...?
I would say Pete is conscientious, I think he's committed to his work, and sees there's a social function in it. I suppose on the one hand it's something that gives him fulfilment. On the other hand, it's a source of frustration because he's working at a dying local newspaper and he’s not at the point that he would like to be in his career. Like all the characters, he’s motivated a lot by what’s under the surface. The insecurities, the resentments, the things that maybe aren’t evident at first glance.
His masculinity is very specific – he’s sort of an alpha but also not?
I don’t think I’d say he’s an alpha at all. Nor is he trying to be, although probably that’s more by necessity than by choice. To me this is the crux of the Danny/Pete relationship. One is big and bulky and impressive and muscular, a policeman. Pete is more intellectual. His way of presenting himself is based on a completely different set of assumptions. There's an interesting conflict between those characters in a traditional suburban familial context. For me that’s the key of that dynamic. There's something in each of them that the other doesn’t have, then that’s called into question.
Do you think Pete is dismissive of Danny?
I do think Pete is dismissive of Danny, snarky and snidey and quite evidently that's insecurity. But it’s also doubling down on his mask. He’s like, how basic is it to be a big, rippling, policemen? It's 2023. It’s all about presentation and resentment and self-doubt and insecurity and, certainly for Pete’s journey, that’s central. With Sam that relationship was so much fun to play because that cold war over masculinity was so fertile.
Pete is on the trail of a dodgy businessman who, it turns out, Danny is reluctantly working for. The show is a couple’s psychodrama, but I guess this is the thriller element that gives us that shocking opening?
There's an intersection between, in Pete’s case, the professional and the personal. The way those things starts gathering momentum has a lot to do with the choices he makes in his work and the things he’s interested in. It's kind of a dramatic catalyst. It ups the stakes and makes it more thrilling. It's in the extremity that, you know, we learn more about him. Pete perceives himself as more modern than the people who live in this suburban neighbourhood. But he’s much more orthodox and he's much more narrow minded than he would like to think. It’s the realisation that is quite distressing.
What is the take on suburbia this show has?
Suburbia is a notion in our collective imagination, right? The show really leans into that. It is this abstract space to explore social repressions. It has this nightmarish, unreal quality which gives a psychological emphasis to the whole thing. So, I suppose suburbia is, in our show at least, more a state of mind than a particular neighbourhood in Leeds. It’s not social realism in that way. The neighbourhood where we shot has an extraordinary unreality to it. It’s our collective cinematic suburbia. But what's interesting is that the show is all about what happens behind the closed door, this perfect presentation, when it starts crumbling. The neighbourhood where we shot it in Holland has different quarters, each supposedly representing a different country. It’s like Disneyland.
What’s Dries like to work for?
Fantastic. He tries to work with pretty much the same crew every production so as actors, shooting in another country, with people from there, who speak a different language and know each other well, there was a distinct possibility that we’d remain very outside the gang. But there was something about the intimacy between them that was extended to us that made it an enjoyable process. Dries is very collaborative, and he's prepared to take risks. Maybe that’s because he works with people he knows and has developed a relationship with. Then you can really collaborate, then you can take chances.
How did you and Eleanor build up that very believable couple chemistry?
We had a bit of rehearsal time but when I'm not working on screen, I'm doing stage work mostly, so I always miss that space to get into the rehearsal room. We got on very well and we were both child actors so we have that in common. We shot most of the scenes at the house in one block. It was pretty much just Eleanor and I for a week of two handers, it was so enjoyable. That was a highpoint. But all of the cast were spot on. Jess and I have a scene where our two characters basically sit down and try and piece together what's happened after something seismic. It was great to get stuck into a scene which offered so much, roll up our sleeves, and play. That’s what makes the job fun.
Sam and Eleanor were glad to have a role that cut against their Outlander and Poldark stereotype. Harry Potter is not the same, but is this a good contrast for you?
Yes, that's interesting. The context for me is quite different because Potter is massive, but it's something I was not at the forefront of. It was great to be on board but ultimately people don’t think of me when they think of it. Really it was speaking to everyone on board and getting a sense of what they were aiming at that got me excited to be a part of it.