Sacha Dhawan has taken on a number of iconic roles in his career, and BBC's Wolf is about to become another defining one.
The new BBC crime drama is far from anything you'd have seen from the genre before now, making it fresh and exciting. As Dhawan put it himself: "You're constantly going to have the rug pulled from under you, because it's not always what you think it is."
We sat down with the Doctor Who star to talk about challenging himself with a completely different role, laughing through "dark" scenes with Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon and handcuffing Juliet Stevenson.
One minute, it's a suspenseful thriller, then the next minute, there's some dark humour, and you're laughing. It's really, really fun to watch, was it fun to play as well?
Yeah. I mean, I think that's what really drew me to the project, because I read the book, and the whole dynamic between Honey and Molina was really interesting. And the book also kind of captured this odd, sickly humour.
When I heard that Megan Gallagher was– well, I'm not saying "adapting" it, but kind of breathing it to life, I really hoped that she'd captured that as well. And she certainly did, because you're right, it is that kind of…
It's a crime-thriller. There's horror in there. And, of course, there's the sickly humour. So all of that combined… It's the perfect stuff that I like to watch, myself, I suppose.
The dynamic between the two characters is our favourite part of the show. Every scene that you and Iwan Rheon are in together is just electric. How did you work on that chemistry together?
It's probably down to the creative team and the casting director Andy Pryor. He's an amazing casting director. Sometimes I don't think he gets enough credit, because he's done so much cool stuff like Doctor Who, so I'd worked with him before.
So I just found out when I was attached to it that they said that they were offering the role out to Iwan Rheon as well, and that most likely he's going to do it. I was just a huge fan of him as well. I've always admired his work. Genuinely, I was really excited to be doing scenes with him, and I just hoped that he was nice, because he's known for playing quite dark characters. I thought: "What is he going to be like?"
Related: Doctor Who's Sacha Dhawan reveals what he took from Jodie Whittaker's final episode set
But he is genuinely the nicest guy and so I think that's why it works. There was no ego. We were just really passionate about the script. So it wasn't even like we talked so much about scenes, we just kind of enjoyed playing them and the dynamic just worked.
I think one thing that he did say to me – I think why he was attracted to it – is that it was because of the character of Molina. Because normally with the characters he'd played in the past, he'd kind of be doing them funny, if you know what I mean?
He liked being the troublesome sidekick that's always kind of messing up things. And I think that's where the humour is. And I think… [laughs] I'm just thinking about it now. It's just funny. The scenes are so dark but there were times when we had to stop because we were laughing. I mean, that is messed up. You know what I mean? But I think that's why it was just such a joy to do.
Can you share a particular example of a scene where that happened?
What's so great about the series is that it keeps you guessing. It's never what you think it is and therefore you never kind of settle into it. You're a bit like: "I don't know. Something just doesn't…"
Even the moment where you meet Honey and Molina as the detectives in it, you're like: "Something is really… I think they're really rubbish at what they do, something's not quite right."
But there was this scene as stuff starts unfolding, and we're on these blow-up mattresses, and we've got our sleeping blankets around us. In the scene, we are absolutely terrified. Just as we're talking about the scene – we're talking about what could happen in the scene – we just couldn't hold it together, to the point where we couldn't look at each other. So the only way of trying to get through it was looking at each other, but looking slightly to the side [laughs]. So we weren't even looking at each other, because, for some reason, it just hit us.
And I think, also, because the scenes are quite dark – at that point, we'd done quite a bit of dark stuff – I think we just needed some light relief, especially being in that house as well that we were filming in. It wasn't a studio. We were there for six solid weeks in different areas of it, and the house itself is quite eerie... It's its own kind of character, which added to it, as well, I think.
Your character is definitely calling the shots. What can you tease about how this might play out? And is there a backstory for your characters?
For my character, I had the book to refer to, but I also thought that Megan had also kind of elevated the story as well, which I think you have to for TV, to give it longevity, as it were.
But also, I had the freedom to create my own backstory. And that doesn't mean I suddenly added stuff. I think, for me, I genuinely wanted the audience to be terrified of me. It's so hard, because I don't want to reveal stuff, but I really wanted to give the impression that this guy was a psychopath and could potentially do something dangerous. Like he's having too much fun, which even would make Molina - who kind of is aware of what's happening - even say something like: "Ooh, what have I gotten myself into?"
So it meant that the actors playing the Anchor-Ferrers family – I wanted them to be genuinely terrified. So for me, I wasn't Googling how to be a psychopath. I felt like what happens to a man when he feels completely repressed and powerless in society, and suddenly has been given the power and can do what he wants and then gets off on it – that suddenly felt dangerous to me.
So that's kind of what I was playing around with. You know, what his family was like away from the Anchor-Ferrers family, away from that house, which you don't really know a lot of. So that was up to me to kind of have that in my arsenal, which allowed me to be incredibly unpredictable.
It meant that I didn't want to just be terrifying. I think what made me terrifying was playing scenes that were scary, but making them also have some odd sexual tension in them as well. So, yeah, I think that was kind of my approach to it, really.
It must have been a very intense filming experience. Was it difficult for you to unwind and switch off at the end of the day?
Maybe I'm a bit of a crazy actor – I just loved it [laughs]. I've rarely got to play characters like this. I think what I was so excited about is… You know, with my past work, I've played such a variety of characters, and I love being able to challenge myself and continue doing that.
I played the Master in Doctor Who. I've played a Marvel villain. I've played a kind of bookish nerd in The Great. So then you realise: "I can do this. I've got the confidence." I mean, I work incredibly hard to do my prep, and then you're kind of on the floor and you get to play – it's really good fun. So I wanted to throw myself into it and I don't mind being exhausted by it.
But I think for the Anchor-Ferrers family – you know, Juliet Stevenson, Owen Teale, Annes Elwy – I think it was probably tough for them. I did feel for them because they're constantly handcuffed and pushed from pillar to post. Juliet Stevenson is hung upside-down. We shove Owen Teale quite a few times...
It was hard for them. I take my hat off to them. In order for it to work, you've kind of just got to throw yourself into it and embrace it. And they really did that, especially being in that house, because no one lived in that house.
It was quite damp and you're having to sit on the floor for hours. And Juliet Stevenson is amazing but she wanted to be handcuffed – like, properly handcuffed, and just left there. You can see it. She's genuinely terrified. So all of that, it made it great.
And at lunch, we would like— it's not like we'd sit there in a hole somewhere. But it's odd. We all just had lunch and had a laugh. But after lunch, we kind of rolled our sleeves up, handcuffed Juliet Stevenson; hung her upside-down [laughs]. It's really hard.
Wolf will air on BBC One and iPlayer on July 31.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
