Q&A with Sendhil Ramamurthy who plays Leo Pandian

Why should people watch series two? 

People should tune into series two if they enjoyed series one. Series one - very fortunately for us - was a huge hit and the vibe for series two is the same. It's set in the same neighbourhood, just populated with slightly different characters but all within the same world. There's the psychological thriller aspect to it. 

What was it about the role of Leo / the show that appealed to you? 

The thing that I found the most appealing about the show when I was sent the first three scripts was that it felt really grounded. These characters and the situation that they're in felt real but they're not necessarily talked about and we got to explore that in a fictional world. 

Playing Leo in particular, it's just very different than what I was doing at that time. I tended to play a lot of kind of fantastical characters and a lot of characters in the comic book world. This just felt like a real guy to play. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your character’s story arc across this series? 

Leo is from very wealthy family. He's led a selfish, solipsistic life and everything kind of works out for him all the time and he takes a lot of things for granted, including relationships. 

It was a huge shock for Leo when he got stood up by his then-girlfriend Charlotte and it kind of sends him on his journey to where we then connect with him on the show. A lot of growth has happened for Leo in the past and viewers get to see the finished product when he turns up at the hospital all these years later.

All of the people he knows are from university and they get to see this changed guy for the first time. And then they, particularly Charlotte, are a little bit shocked.

Change is possible and it's that where one of the major tensions in this series comes from. He's not that same guy and he actually has a direction, whereas before, he's all over the place and things were a little bit weird with Jacob. Then you go on the journey with both of them and see what happens.

How does Leo feel when he first sees Charlotte again? 

Charlotte is in Leo's heart from the get-go. It's painful for Leo when he first sees Charlotte because it was very much unfinished. She stood him up and they never saw each other or spoke to each other again. And this is 20 years on that he's laying eyes on her for the first time, and then obviously he knows that she's married to Jacob. 

The decision that I made to play Leo was that he'd clearly done something wrong, like, what exactly it was? I don't think he's sure but clearly feels like he displeased Charlotte in some way and is very nervous to see her again.

Given this is a completely new story - did it still feel like you were joining an existing show or a completely new one? 

I felt like I was embarking on a totally new project because the story in series one and series two is character-driven, but with different characters on separate journeys. The paths may become parallel, but they diverge greatly. The hospital scenes in this series are very different from the first series. Leo goes to the cul-de-sac, but for me, Sendhil, I never did due to issues with lighting fires there. The bonfire scenes take place in a different location, and I never went to the cul-de-sac, which made me feel like this series was completely separate!

I was a bit jealous when everyone else went to the cul-de-sac while I was chilling. However, story-wise, it’s helpful because it’s a new adventure. I didn’t feel like I was continuing the previous series, but the storytelling style is similar.

What have been your favourite scenes and/or the most challenging scenes to film? 

The scenes with Annabel who plays Charlotte flowed naturally for me and I enjoyed these scenes the most. My favourite scene was the bonfire night scene, where the characters' histories and growth are revealed. The scenes with Annabel felt the most natural, and it didn't feel like work. This is a testament to the writing, as David knows how to write relationships. My scenes with Gemma were also easy to shoot. The final scene we finished 45 minutes early because everything just flowed.