Blake Ritson Interview for Indian Summers

8 March 2016

Tell us a little about your character, Charlie Havistock

I think it’s fair to say he’s something of a disruptive presence this season. Last season we learn that Alice ran off to India with her son to escape her husband and then this season (set three years later in 1935), Charlie’s finally come out to Simla to reclaim his wife…at any price. Outwardly he is very charming and dapper. He’s a model of civility: he sings, he dances, he plays the banjulele and he also has the ability to coerce people to do his will. But inwardly he is pretty corrosive, he’s like a snake that will bite anyone that crosses his path. I would say that Charlie starts in a pretty dark place at the beginning of the series, but he becomes even more and more erratic and reckless as the season progresses. He’s calculating, vicious and deeply malicious and he becomes a physical and psychological threat to many characters this season. It’s been a huge amount of fun to play: he’s very much a wrecking ball swinging through the polite society of Simla. Everyone else is on egg shells, especially given the delicate political climate, but he couldn’t care less because he just wants to go back home with his wife.

 

You seem to really relish his unpleasantness?

I did! Charlie seems to really enjoy being an incredibly disruptive presence and I think he enjoys putting people’s noses out of joint and creating maximum chaos. So, as an actor, it was very enjoyable playing a character that is so utterly irreverent. He is also very witty. The last series I was working on I played this religious extremist sociopath so to play someone that’s just so irreverent but with great flamboyance - playing the banjulele and singing 1930’s nonsense songs – it was really fun!

 

Do you ever need to apologise to Jemima after filming with her?

Yes, on an almost daily basis! I apologised before a scene, during and afterwards because I did feel a little bit bad.

 

What was it like filming with Jemima in general?

I think Jemima is a brilliant actress. She’s very spontaneous, very much in the moment and incredibly generous as an actor. Henry was a good friend of mine before doing this (we did a play together – Rope at the Almeida, so we knew each other well). That’s the other thing, you’re out there on the other side of the planet for 6 months, so it was great that it was an incredibly lovely cast and crew.

 

Henry mentioned that you’re a good one for mischief on set – is it important that you’re able to have fun out there?

I think its lovely if you have a friendly working environment as it just helps, but I also think the temperament one has on set is linked inextricably to the temperament of the character you’re playing. So, if you’re playing a character that is witty and irreverent and anarchic, I think that generally spills over to how one behaves on set.

 

How was it joining an already established cast who knew each other quite well?

I had a lot of friends on set already. Art Malik I’d worked with on Upstairs Downstairs – and I already knew Henry really well. I’d worked with one of the directors before on Da Vinci’s Demons and producer Dan Winch on the Crimson Petal and The White. I'd also worked with Executive Producer Charlie Patterson on Mansfield Park. Everyone goes the extra mile and they are so passionate about the project - I think that’s really reflected in the end product.

 

Had you watched the first series before?

Yes, I was a fan! It’s so distinctive. I love the look and the feel of the series, it’s so different to anything else on television. I think Paul Rutman is a deeply talented writer as well. This season in particular is such a rollercoaster towards the end – it gets crazy!

 

How was filming in Malaysia?

I loved it! It was absolutely extraordinary. It’s so beautiful and it’s a real adventure filming up in the clouds in the middle of a rainforest. The journey to work every day looks like something from a Miyazaki film. Certainly its one of the most bio-diverse locations that I’ve shot in. Every day where we had breakfast, we’d look at these beautiful mottled green pit vipers and foot long stick insects and monkeys that would steal from the crew. On set you just didn’t know what you were going to encounter. I remember one day sitting in a chair and admiring this amazing view and suddenly realising that I was sat in the middle of a giant bull ants nest!

 

Did you manage to explore much?

Yes, my girlfriend came out and we went to Singapore and travelled all over the place. It’s a remarkable part of the world.

 

What were the best and worst things about being so far from home?

The best thing is the spirit of adventure and stepping boldly into the unknown. I quite like being out of my comfort zone a little bit – the geography and the wildlife were extraordinary. The worst thing – well this is the longest I’ve been away from home actually so that’s always challenging. But in terms of physical challenges – the heat is profound. There were certain locations were some of the crew were struck by heatstroke and there are quite a few dramatic stunts towards the end of the series, so lots of moments where I was running around in a three piece suit battling the humidity and 45 degrees.

 

What was it like filming with Julie?

I’d never worked with Julie before but I’d heard such wonderful things about her. She’s a force of nature; she’s an extremely loving, caring, passionate person. She’s a joy to be around on set, she’s so generous with everybody. And she’s very fun to act with as well.

 

It’s quite a difficult role between yourself and Jemima – did you do any research for it ahead of taking the part?

We really tried to dig in to the psychological and mental violence that Charlie inflicts on Alice: where it came from and what were the hotspots. I think calling her Muddle is a great example. That’s where Paul Rutman is so clever, on one hand it can be an affectionate moniker, but it’s also a diminutive and can be perceived as a pejorative word - it straddles the two. Paul’s done a really good job of digging into the complexities of their relationship. It’s very hard to think of a character you are playing as a pure villain, so from the very beginning I thought “well, maybe Charlie wasn’t a bad person – maybe he’s more of a wounded animal, his son has been kidnapped and they’ve gone off to India etc”, so he’s just found himself in a horribly dark place. His actions are pretty monstrous though – increasingly as the season progresses. I think understanding where the pain of the character comes from is important, so it’s not just pure sadism, recognising that there is a kind of inner hurt which he has failed to metabolise. That is the greatest tragedy of this character: I think, he loves Alice to bits and all he’s ever wanted is for her to love him back. He is just lashing out like a wounded animal. A wounded animal with a great taste in cravats.