Interview with Tommy Lawrence Knight for Glue

3 September 2014

Tommy Lawrence Knight plays Caleb Bray

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What is Glue and what can we expect? 

There’s a murder that happens within a group of friends and their whole world inter-spirals, and it follows the police search into the truth behind the killing.

Can you tell us about who you play and what the character is about?

I play a character called Cal. I'm younger than the rest of the group, I'm 14-15. He's come out of care, he's had a bit of a dark childhood. He unfortunately dies in the first episode - and the mystery is around who the killer is, who killed Cal.

How much did you know about the backstory? He’s Romany, was that important for when you approached the character?

It was, we had a lot of discussions about his backstory, speaking to the directors, coming up with ideas and the past that the characters had. I mapped out his life pretty well before I started, so I felt pretty confident going into it.

What were your first thoughts when you read the script?

I'm a big fan of This is England [which Glue creator/writer Jack Thorne co-wrote] so I was really excited. It was amazing to have the opportunity to work with Jack.  My initial thoughts on the script were that it was fantastic. I was given the first episode for my audition, and there was a cliff hanger at the end of it which sold me on the show. The writing was just tremendous. It was great to read and I could visualise it off the page.

It very visual and the countryside plays a big part of it. Would you say it plays a big role, is it a different way of life?

It was really different to my way of life. I'm a city boy. Cal's life is surrounded my horses, the horse racing is a big part of everyone's life.

What was filming like? Did everyone get on in the cast? Did you hang out when you weren't on set?

It was great bunch, I've made some really good friends. It was really nice to meet so many good people, the cast were such a great group of actors, some of the best that I've ever worked with. I was completely out of my depth and just amazed at how great everyone was. It was a real honour to work with everyone.

Are you a fan of crime drama and the genre?

I am. I love Sherlock. I love that genre.  On Glue we didn't know who the killer was until we were given the last script. We were a couple of weeks into filming and all the cast we're going, 'am I the killer?' They didn't want to tell us, because they didn't want any of the actors to give anything away in their performance.  As a cast, we got together and brainstormed who the killer could be. We wrote little lists out, it must be this person or it could be this person. We were doing our own murder mystery on the side. Everyone had their own idea of who it was, with evidence to back it up. For the viewer, hopefully it will be the same thing.

Can you tell us a secret, something we don't know about you?

Filming was the first time I got to shoot on a wire rig. Falling into a big grain barn. We got into this big harnesses and got thrown 50 ft into the air. It was an amazing experience.

It you have to give audiences one reason to tune into Glue, what would you say it was?

It's a dark gritty, crime drama like no other. I've never seen or read anything like it before. It's totally unique.

ENDS.