Interview with Jerome Flynn (Pig Man)

What did you think about Bridget’s vision for series two?
It’s very aligned with a passionate interest of mine which is what it means to return to a healthy culture and a large part of that, for me, is reconnecting with our more native, indigenous selves through nature and our community. This series goes deeper into where community and nature come together. In a way, we have become orphaned from our healthy culture. We’re born into a culture which I think, from a male and female point of view, has an unhealthy relationship with each other and with community and with ourselves. Addressing the witch trials this series was very brave and bold and we're still living in the wake of that culture. For Bridget to be able to bring that in so successfully and to weave that in amongst the comedy and all the wonderful characters, it’s why I said yes to the job because I just loved her vision. 

The dynamic between Pig Man and Linda was central in series one. Why do you think their friendship works so well, and how does it evolve this series?

Their journeys cross over as they have both left their lives behind in service of something else so there's a shared recognition of the longing for that connection to land, nature and returning home to something that they've lost. He really loves her sense of humour and he's able to hang out with her and just have a really good time. He feels unjudged by her in a way that is refreshing and accepted. He’s also enjoying playing a bit of a mentor role, especially having lost his daughter. It's satisfying and enriching for him to be able to share what he's learned about the fungi and the forest and have her genuine inquisitiveness. He really feels he's got a mate. 

How would you describe Pig Man’s character this series, and what has changed for him?

Following his apparent failure to protect the mother tree, he's initially wracked with shame which sends him inside himself for a while, and also provokes some of the loss and the grief that he's already working with. He's judged himself for letting that happen. I like the way that he's using the forest, the movement, and the dancing to channel his grief and his process. But I think he's really deepening his relationship with his life there and becoming wiser for it. He’s very grateful for Linda because it helps to support his process.

Pig Man has a very unique sense of style. How do you feel about his fashion choices, and what do they say about his character?

As a young man or boy growing up, he was influenced by Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones, those characters, because it certainly seems to be the way he's going. There's something very practical about it; he feels free and really loves to be barefoot when he can. He feels there's a bit of longing to just be that character, slightly a cross between a wizard and Indiana Jones.

Linda comments that she respects Pig Man for doing housework, which frustrates her because she wouldn’t feel the same way if he were a woman. How does Pig Man feel about this? Do you think there’s an imbalance in how housework is perceived between men and women?

Yeah, it’s still there. It's about breaking down these antiquated ideas of what a woman's place is and what a man's place is. The way that Bridget's written the first series is causing some big waves in some households, but I think it's as much a gift for men. It's good to challenge these archetypes and clearly Bridget is doing that. That expectation that a woman should be the one who's looking after the home only makes sense because of the culture that we made. And it's not to say that there isn't a healthy, happy marriage where it lands that way, but I know households where it’s the other way around.  I think it's good to challenge these fixed ideas. For Pig Man, he's got much more of that natural balance in him in that he doesn't see himself necessarily as only being the provider; he enjoys the housework and was clearly given permission to do it. I don't think he feels attacked by Linda as he respects her and the point she's making and supports her in that.

What scene or moment from series two was a personal highlight for you?

I love working with Bridget. I loved our walk together, a little saunter through the forest, and our discussion about mushrooms. I love the ceremony, I couldn't have dreamt that up, it's perfect. There are many moments; being allowed to improvise, some kind of mix between dance and barefoot in the forest, without any words, that might have been highlight because that was pretty cool.

Is there an aspect of Pig Man’s character you wish you could channel more in your own life?

His willingness to follow his gut instinct and know the best thing for him to do to channel his grief. His willingness to let go of material life and follow something that he recognised was a passion that he could do. I find that very honourable. There are many ways I feel I can't always follow what my heart and instincts would like me to do, because I sometimes feel weighed down by responsibilities or ideas of who I should be. So, he's a good example of somebody who is listening and following his heart and his body. 

Pig Man is passionate about protecting the forest and its creatures, which resonates with your own advocacy for animals. Did this aspect of his character resonate with you personally?

It did indeed. I got a letter from Bridget, sharing her heart and her vision and explaining what Pig Man was about. I really got her journey, her passion, and her vision. The fact that I've specifically campaigned for pigs, made the documentary about them, and got on my hands and knees in the middle of Oxford Street in a cage to protest about the treatment of 95% of our pigs - that was when I put those two together. That was when I was like, “Okay, I've definitely got to play this part!” As we've become orphaned from our own natural place and connection to Mother Earth and her beings, that then goes hand in hand with totally dishonouring and disrespecting the lives of our animals. We've become so desensitised from that so, for me, it’s not only an entertaining piece of television, but also, it’s actually saying something really important and inviting people in to consider their lives in a certain way. We are at a point of needing to deeply consider how we live if we want to go on living in a decent way.

What do you hope viewers will take away after watching series two?

If they can walk away with an increased sense of curiosity and wonder about what it is to be human, free, and authentic, then perhaps that curiosity will then help us to realise maybe we don't have to be a slave to this world, to the society that we've created. There might be ways we can start to rediscover a sense of true belonging.