The Accident: Interview with Mark Lewis Jones (Iwan Bevan)
Category: InterviewTell us a bit about The Accident.
It’s set in a small Welsh town that has been left behind and forgotten about. But they’ve got a new building project for the community to get back on its feet. I play the councillor that’s been in charge of it from the council side. It’s been his dream really, to bring that opportunity for work and everything that comes with it into the community. It’s called The Accident so you can guess what happens next: there’s an accident and it’s how that community deals with that level of tragedy; how it deals with the impact on each of the families and how the families cope and how they interact. There’s then an inquest and so it’s how they all kind of deal with finding the truth and who has to own up and put their hand up and be honest. In terms of our relationship between our little family pod, it’s how Sarah’s [Lancashire] character and me and Jade [Croot], how we really calibrate as a family, which is the dynamic within our pod and how that family readjusts and the impact it has on us as a family. And how the relationships within that family change as a result of what’s happened and as a result of liability and who’s involved and who isn’t and the search for the truth.
You touched a little on your character but can you tell us a little more about what Iwan is like?
I think he likes to be the king of the castle a bit. He likes to be head of the council and to be well respected. He’s the guy who always makes a speech, you know. But there’s a darker side and that’s played out privately in the home. The community is either turning a blind eye to it or is unaware but there’s a darker side and this darker side gets revealed and changes. The thing about The Accident is how many people within that community change as a result of what happens in the first episode.
What was it that attracted you to the role?
Well I worked with Jack Thorne on National Treasure and loved it. I loved his writing and have seen lots of stuff he’s written. I’ve always been a massive fan of Sarah Lancashire. And the part: the part is fantastic. It was a no-brainer, this job. It had everything. I thought it was so well written and Sandra [Goldbacher the director] was wonderful. It was a really special job.
What was it like working with Jack again?
I love Jack’s writing. I think he’s got a wonderful way of writing these extraordinary stories and these people and then giving it to us and allowing us, giving us the space to explore it without bearing down. He has a particular way of writing which is really lovely for actors. He really gives you lots of scope and lots of opportunity to have a good root around in the character.
What was it like working with Sarah and the cast?
I’ve run out of superlatives. It was wonderful. It really was something very special. We met at the readthrough and hit it off straightaway. She was an absolute dream to work with. Not just as an actress – to really get to know her a bit has been a great experience for me. I can’t say enough good things about Sarah Lancashire. As for Jade, she’s an amazing find. She’s wonderful. She and Sarah made it a very special job. There were other people in the cast that I’ve worked with a lot before; Joanna Scanlan and Eiry Thomas were two people I’ve worked with a lot. It was lovely having people like that on board and other Welsh actors and some new ones. It had a lovely atmosphere and feel about it. We weren’t only doing something so tragic and so emotional, the feeling on set with the actors and Sandra in particular was wonderful.
I was going to say, what was the atmosphere like on set? Obviously it was very serious but did you all try and keep it light?
Yeah, it was lovely really. It’s funny, isn’t it? You can be doing something so incredibly serious, but we were all very relaxed about it in our approach. When it was necessary to pull the stops out everybody did.
You are from Wales so what was it like filming this project there?
It was great. Wales has become a real centre of filming now. People have really cottoned on to the idea that there’s so much going on in Wales at the moment. It was lovely filming here. It’s always nice to go home at night!