The Tower | Interview with Emmett J. Scanlan (DI Kieran Shaw)

Were there any parts of DI Kieran Shaw’s character that you disliked or found particularly hard to play?

Look, there are aspects of people that you like and dislike. There are aspects of myself that I like and dislike. It’s part of being human. You can’t let those aspects turn you off or distract you from telling the story. It doesn’t serve you comparing yourself to other people so I don’t. I accept what it is when I’m reading it and then I play what’s in front of me basically. When I read this it was so different to anything else I’d done so I really warmed to that. I loved the writing and its fluidity and I loved that The Tower is based on a series of novels written by Kate London.

What did you respond to in Kate London’s writing?

I love the simplicity of it. I love the realism of it. I love the fact that you are constantly engaged. I loved it particularly when I was getting into book three, Gallowstree Lane. And what Patrick has done with it as well has really brought it to life and given it extra layers.

Were you able to ask Kate London any questions about the character? And if so what did you ask?

One thing I try to do is put in as much study and as much homework as possible so that by the time I get on set I’m allowed to play and to have fun. So when I’m given the opportunity to talk to somebody who has invented these characters I will take advantage as much as I can and Kate was wonderful. We had a great conversation about policing, her experiences as well as the books. She was very open and available. She would have been available throughout but I basically listened and trusted that whatever was necessary for the job would take root in my head when I’d talked to her.

Having read all three books you’ve observed that Kieran is someone who is indifferent to collateral damage. Is that because he feels untouchable? Does that make him a sociopath?

It only really manifests in later books and please God maybe later series but he is in no way a sociopath. He’s indifferent in that he does not allow damage to affect him. He has to allow himself to survive, he has to compartmentalise things. It’s almost not his job to be sad, to be angry, to be outraged, to even have an opinion on anything. For him to have an opinion is almost self-indulgent. His only job is to catch the bad guy by any means.

He says an interesting thing to PC Lizzie Adama at the start of episode three, ‘You have to allow yourself to survive.’ What do you think he means by that?

To allow yourself to survive you have to compartmentalise things and not allow the bad stuff to drag you down and stop you doing the best job that you can possibly do. He also says, ‘People want someone with balls.’ I think what he’s referring to there is somebody who has the courage to make those tough calls, decisions that might have some consequence, without hesitation. You have to have a certain mentality to be in the front line, whether we’re talking about the NHS or the police. There’s bravery, which is admirable to say the least. You have to implement surviving mechanisms. I think that’s what Kieran is trying to do because he can see something in Lizzie, for many reasons.

What were your favourite scenes to play with Tahirah Sharif?

There’s a place in Knutsford called Tatton Park, which is beautiful. I shot there for Peaky Blinders season six and then two weeks later I ended up in the exact same location for The Tower, back in that park where you can see wild animals walking around, deer, all sorts of stuff. There is this crazy seven-minute scene that me and Tahirah have and it’s beautifully written. The weather that day was insane. We got rain, we got gale-force winds, we got sun – all in any one take. It was pure chaos but in a way that weather took us out of our thinking brains into whatever moments we were in. You add on top of that we also had Buddy the dog in that scene. To be fair, the dog was a star. He smashed all his takes. I can’t say the same for me. That was one of the most challenging scenes but in a very exciting and positive way. I love the challenge.

How was it working with the young actor Rex Parry playing Ben Stoddard?

The young actor playing Ben was a trouper in his little bear outfit. He took direction and smashed it out of the park every single time. He was great.

Have you had any challenging moments acting with animals or children?

There are never any challenging moments with animals or children, at least in my experience. The challenging moments in my experience are usually with adults, on occasions, depending on the gig. It’s a team game. We get on set and the only way to succeed, I believe, in this game is to create something collectively and hope to do something good and in no way go there with any type of ego or competition. It’s all about creation.

The Tower feels a real collaborative effort. Who sets the tone for that?

It comes from the top and it trickles down. It comes from Polly Hill, Head of Drama at ITV, it comes from Mammoth. It comes from Patrick Harbinson and our wonderful director Jim Loach who is very Zen and very quiet and authoritative with all those qualities he already has. The tone was set and the vibe was sublime. There was a lovely Zen attitude. It didn’t feel like we were rushing at any point even though we most definitely were. Hopefully that manifests in a great show being shot. It was something that I personally needed and I really appreciated because the previous nine months the characters that I was playing were so mentally taxing and exhausting and vulnerable in every capacity. There’s only so much you can do with that before you burn yourself out to a certain degree. I didn’t feel like I was but it was such a long stint with those two gigs – Kin and Peaky Blinders – that when this came along to play a character like Kieran who was confident and assured and flirtatious – all those qualities that you could really play around with on the other side of the spectrum. It was almost therapeutic for me. I definitely needed it for my own sanity at that point.

Kin and Peaky Blinders – two gangland dramas back to back – sounds full on…

Yeah first we did Kin, which is beautifully scribed by Peter McKenna but that was five months in Dublin and it was intense. We’re talking October 2020 in the height of the pandemic. We were being tested and whatever went up your nose felt like it was going up into your brain past your tear ducts. Then we went from that onto Peakys season six. That was, dare I say it, even more taxing for me. Thankfully I was offered this as I was coming to the end of my Peaky stint. I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely. Let’s do this.’

What for you is the heart of this story? Is it questioning the use of language? Is it an exploration of policing?

It’s all those things. The story throws you into that visceral, almost unforgiving world and the ground level decisions that are made on an almost constant basis that have consequence on people, sometimes innocent, on their whole lives.

There is not a lot of love lost between DS Collins and DI Shaw. Have those scenes been fun to play with Gemma?

Yeah, it was almost like a running gag every time we saw each other that there was this disdain from each other’s characters, evil glares. They’re completely different cops. One is by the book, stringently by the book, and the other one likes to flirt with the legalities in order to get the bigger job done.

Did you enjoy being back in Liverpool filming?

Yeah, that was interesting. I was either filming in Liverpool or Manchester so frequenting streets that I used to frequent back in 2010 {while appearing on Hollyoaks]. That was definitely a trip down memory lane. I don’t really mind where I’m filming so long as I’m filming. I’m usually my happiest when I’m on set and we get to play, get to dance, get to make believe. It’s the creative process that’s important to me.