Interview with Nicholas Pinnock (Joseph Buckley)

9 July 2024

What drew you to Suspect 2?
Anne-Marie Duff, I’ve been a fan of hers since Shameless on Channel 4. And, I have always wanted to work with her. I hadn't read any of the scripts. I knew nothing about the show, but they said Anne-Marie Duff was doing it, and it was all two handers. And I said, absolutely, I'll do it. Very simple.

You mentioned two handers. It's obviously a very unique format. What challenges you face as an actor in that structure?
It's very intense, and it is literally you are relying on that one person and they're relying on you. There's no other characters or actors or personalities to bounce off. So that energy in that connection between the two has to be really, really good. If you can't find that, it can be really, really, really tough because there are so many layers that these characters go through that bring up stuff not only as is the actor, but as the human being behind the actor as well. So, you know, it can be it does have its challenges that aren't easy to navigate. But when you have someone you do connect with and you do feel you can trust immediately, it makes all the difference.

Do you think this structure helps you find the emotional intensity of the show?
Totally. Because it is just the two people involved and, there are no light moments. There's no levity in this. And it's, you know, it's half an hour of intense action.

The locations are very distinct in the series. Could you tell us about your character's situation?
So Joseph is on a boatyard and has to get away on a speedboat, and it’s a brilliant location. It looks more than what you would expect. It's lots of machinery and ladders, and it's a real workman's area. And I don't get to, to work on things like that very often.

How are you finding working with Caroline as the director?
I think she's fantastic. I think what really helps is that she has an acting background and she understands how to give a note and an actor’s process as well. Every actor has their own different ways of doing things. She's just very direct, and she gives a good note. You take the note and, hopefully make her happy. But, yeah, I really, really love her.

So, could you tell us about the character of Joseph?
He's ex-military, and he went to Susannah for some therapy, some PTSD therapy. And he ended up falling in love with her. It wasn't reciprocated. And she had told him they can't see each other for a very long time. I think there's like a 2-year period before a therapist and their client can see each other outside of the therapy room. Then she turns up and she's seeking his help, and that really throws him off, because he still has these feelings that he felt were unrequited, and he felt quite abandoned by her. And so it's a very tense and fraught reunion between the two. But she's in need of his help. And, you know, not only does he love her, but it's his duty as an ex-Marine, and he wants to help out this friend who's lost her daughter. And they go on this adventure together to find the bad guy.

This is one of the most action-packed episodes. Can you describe that experience?
Brilliant. I don't get to do that much action. So, driving speedboats and running around the place firing guns at bad guys. It's going to be a lot of fun.