Somewhere Boy | Interview with Lisa McGrillis (Sue)

From King Gary to Deadwater Fell to Mum to Somewhere Boy, you seem to mix it up between comedy and drama.

Yeah, I feel quite lucky like that. I’m probably known more for comedy because of Mum, but Somewhere Boy has elements of very dark comedy so it’s quite nice to bring a bit of light to it as well. This show has exceeded my expectations – it feels unique.

Why did you want to be in Somewhere Boy?

Pete Jackson’s writing is amazing. Often you read scripts and think: this could be good. But when I read Pete’s scripts I thought: there’s no chance I’m ever going to be offered this part. It’s too good. When it did happen, I was so excited because it was exactly the kind of part that I felt ready to do, and very different to anything that I’ve done before.

What made the scripts so special?

Pete taps into people’s lives in a way that is so specific. Not a lot is said, but he sets it all up so quickly that you have an understanding of these characters and can relate to them within a few minutes of meeting them. They’re very accessible, but also very complex. The episodes and the story also have a lot of time to breathe.

How would you describe Sue?

Originally they were going to cast Sue as slightly older, but I think it’s really interesting that she was a young mother with Aaron (Samuel Bottomley). She’s a good person who’s had a difficult life – a stressed, worn-out mother with two young children, an awkward teenage boy and a partner she loves, but who doesn’t help an awful lot around the house. She’s a working-class mother and they haven’t got a lot of money, so day-to-day life is a bit of a battle.

Does she have good relationships with Aaron and her partner, Paul (Johann Myers)?

With Aaron, it’s just dealing with a teenager. Paul isn’t Aaron’s father and his biological dad’s not around, so Sue is the one having to manage his teenage behaviour. It’s exhausting, because he is awkward in his own skin and she feels very guilty about him feeling slightly pushed out by her new family. Sue and Paul don’t have a lot of time to have fun and enjoy life, they’re busy bringing up a young family. Paul’s a nice person, but I don’t think he does anything to make like Sue’s life any easier.

How does Sue react when Danny (Lewis Gribben) appears on the scene?

Sue potentially knew where Danny was all this time, so she takes him in and feels a huge responsibility to look after him, because she didn’t do anything for him when she probably could have. She’s buried quite a dark secret so she’s desperate to do the right thing. Danny’s strangeness adds another dynamic and level of stress to an already complicated house.

What relationship did she have with her brother, Steve (Rory Keenan)?

I chatted a lot to Pete about this. We thought that Sue and Steve were brought up in care so they only had each other growing up. I think Sue was in foster care where she was loved, but perhaps something went wrong for Steve, which adds to his complexities. Steve was a burden to Sue and she had to look after him because obviously he has had some quite severe mental-health issues. When Steve met his wife, Danny’s mum, a huge weight was lifted and they were then able to have more of a conventional brother-sister relationship.

Did you do any research for the role?

I was working from the script, really. At the time of filming, I had a four-year-old and a four-month-old and my husband was working abroad, so I was doing the juggle. I was exhausted from night feeds, expressing milk all day, and having a four-year-old during an incredibly hot summer. Having said that, there was something wonderful about the job, because I was up for being as raw as I could be, I didn’t want any make-up, just to scrape my hair into a pony tail, because I wanted to look and feel how I think Sue is portrayed. It was quite easy, because I just was so knackered – no research required!

Did you feel those maternal instincts towards Lewis and Samuel?

Working with them both was so easy, but those roles are so challenging. The scenes with Samuel felt so real, he has this authenticity which you can’t learn. Lewis is a unique soul who I’d worked with on Deadwater Fell. I knew then he had an energy about him. Although Lewis is Scottish, he stayed in his northern accent the whole time. He made a little speech on the final day in his Scottish accent and it was so weird! They’ll both have such interesting careers – Samuel is 19 and he’s already got a better CV than I have…

What was the most challenging part of filming?

The interiors of Sue’s house were filmed in a giant shed with no air conditioning, during a heatwave. There was a scene at a funeral where I wore a thick black dress and a thick black jacket, and they had big fans just blowing dust around. I was expressing so I was really uncomfortable. I was so tired from the baby, I had a massive stye in one eye, a cold sore on my lip and the make-up artist trying to dab all the sweat off our faces. There is no glamour whatsoever here.

What are you up to next?

I’m filming a six-part ITV drama called Maternal in Liverpool about women returning to work after having kids. They’re doctors working on the NHS frontline, trying to juggle parenthood and being a doctor. I’m excited about it. I’d also love to do more Somewhere Boy. I know Pete would do it in a slightly unconventional way.

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