You’ve probably seen English actor Jason Flemyng in the films of Guy Ritchie and/or Matthew Vaughn, as Lock, stock and two smoking barrels, To tear out, Layered cake, Kick assAnd X-Men: First Class. You may have seen it in Hollywood movies like Rob Roy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Chucky Seed, The Strange Case of Benjamin Button, Carrier 2 or in small independent films from around the world. He now plays the antagonist in one of the biggest British TV series, the third season of Trigger pointwith Vicky McClure.
Flemyng plays Steven Wyles, who causes the team’s explosives officer, or Expo, Lana Washington, played by McClure, all sorts of headaches with his sinister vendetta. “Someone is targeting individuals and demanding income,” according to the plot synopsis for the third season. “Working alongside the police counter-terrorism unit, the bomb disposal squad is racing against time to find the bomber before he claims his next victim.”
Season three of the show, produced by Jed Mercurio (Service exercise, Bodyguard) HTM Television, in association with All3Media International, which distributes the series internationally, begins airing on ITV1 and STV on Sunday and will be available to stream on ITVX and STV Player.
Flemyng spoke to THR about his role and why he always seems to be seen as a villain.
I told a friend of mine that you were chosen Trigger pointand he said, “Yes, I recognize him. He must be playing a bad guy!”
Flemish [Laughs] Everyone says that. It’s so unfair. I’ve played these roles throughout my career and I think I’ve been miscast from the beginning of time until now. But that’s what I do. As soon as you see I’m in there, you know people are going to die.
What can you share about your character in season three without spoiling too much?
At the beginning, we see the victims, we see the explosions, we see the consequences of his actions, but we don’t see him. It’s a game of cat and mouse between Vicky and me, it was fun.
Vicky is someone I have admired from afar for a long time. When you meet people like that, you say to yourself, “Please, let them be nice. » And Vicky was exactly as I expected and exactly as I wanted her to be. It was a joyous shoot, and it came from the top.
There are some great dialogue scenes with Vicky that were a real joy. In football [aka soccer]if you go on the pitch with Ronaldo, you look like an idiot, right? But as an actor, if you get on set with Vicky, Stephen Graham, Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, the better the actor, the better you are. Honestly, I was really lucky.
What can you tell us about the dynamic between Vicky’s Lana and your character Steven?
It’s a classic cinematic relationship between the compassionate cop, even though Vicky is not a cop, but, you know, the compassionate protagonist and my character. The story behind this character is that he is a small man. It’s David against Goliath. He was screwed by the capitalist system. He is a byproduct of profit, and he is sick and dying, like many of his friends. He has no way of fighting back. So he takes matters into his own hands. It’s kind of a Robin Hood story to a certain extent.
Vicky’s character understands why he does it, but obviously doesn’t agree with how he does it. But his character is compassionate and left-wing, you could say. He does it wrong and she understands why he does it, but can’t agree with the way he does it. There are a lot of these one-on-ones where they discuss it, which is great. Her compassion for him is very discreet, but we know it because she is a very great actress.
There are massive scenes that you definitely don’t get in a movie. I have more lines in one scene than in entire films, because there are scenes that are six or seven pages long. But when you have a good dialogue, it’s easy.
The writing worked well and I hope the audience will have compassion for him because they understand his plight and what happened to him. I think in modern society many people feel voiceless and feel like a byproduct of the capitalist system.
Did you know Trigger point GOOD? What was your reaction to this opportunity? join the show?
This one landed on the desk and I thought: Great! It is [shot] also in London. Doubly brilliant! I really didn’t really have a clue. I knew Vicky was in it and I knew it was Jed’s show. But when I got to that, I knew it was a big deal. Usually, when people ask me what I’m doing, I say, “I’m making this film about a lesbian sheep farmer in the Czech Republic. And it has German subtitles.” And they’re like, “Oh yeah? Great.” But when I said I was in Trigger pointThey were like, “Oh my god, yeah, Trigger point.” It’s probably the most popular thing I’ve ever done.
I’m at the age where my kids are 14 and it’s nice to be on TV and at home. It seems easy to me not to be in Jordan, making a film that few people will ever see. It’s nice to be in London, filming with people who know exactly what they’re doing in a very tight machine. I have now watched the other seasons, which are great. And I think this year it’s kind of gone to another level visually. It seems more cinematic and dramatic. So, I’m really excited to see what people think.
So will your fans be able to see more of you on mainstream TV shows, maybe even as a hero who saves the day for once?
I’m with you on this. But it is those in control who must make these decisions. (Laughter)
