Torchwood Week: Gareth David-Lloyd

What was your impression of the change in Torchwood’s format, from a series of thirteen separate episodes to a five-part single story?

Gareth David-Lloyd: When they first said it was going down to five episodes, I was obviously a bit put out because I was expecting a little more work, basically. The first two took seven months [each] to film, and this went down to four months. I was worried as an actor. Then I got the scripts, and realised it was going to be one long story. That takes the pressure off because we don’t have to have two or three storylines in our head, as we do filming separate episodes back-to-back. We were able to cover the story a lot more organically, from beginning to end.

A lot of it was shot in sequence by the director, Euros Lyn. For us as actors, when we go an emotional journey, we get a sense of realism and that really works. It may have gone down to five episodes, but I’m more proud of this series than anything else I’ve done before.

We find out a lot more about Ianto’s background and personal life in this story.

It was weird, because as an actor you try and develop some sort of backstory to your character. And it came out almost exactly as I imagined his home life to be.

It’s very similar to mine: I grew up on an estate very much like [Ianto’s family] and my sisters still live there. I thought, “Has Russell been doing research into my background?” So it was nice and easy, in a sense. I could really put myself in his shoes quite easily, using comparisons to my own life.

Over the course of the last series, Ianto really developed as the character who could come up with the dry one-liners. This time, we see him more rooted in the real world.

That’s right. Ianto was such a mysterious character before. You didn’t know what made him tick. He was the quip guy, the comedy relief. It’s nice now, because we can now see that side of him is to mask his insecurity, to guard his emotions. He uses the comedy to hide something which is far more sensitive, more vulnerable. That’s all put into context this series, and the two elements marry quite well.

We see a scene with Ianto coming out, in his own way, to his sister. Did that ring true for you?

I love those kind of scenes. It rings very true, in the sense that he’s more worried about her reaction than he needs to be. Their main concern for him is that he’s happy. They want to see more of him, for him to be less distant. I think that when they eventually know it’s like a huge weight off his shoulders, and I think it’s probably a start of readmitting himself into the family, and putting things with his father behind him.

I think that although his father has died, Ianto still feels like he’s there, and it’s his reaction that he’s more worried about than his sister’s. Once he finds he has support from his sister and that she’s just happy that he’s happy, it’s the beginning of a healing process.

You mentioned that a lot of Ianto’s character stems from his insecurities. Once he finds peace with his family, do you think we’ll see less of the quips?

Now that he knows he’s got family to fall back on, people who care about him and love him, it will make him more confident, more courageous, more open with his feelings. It’s going to help him a lot.

It’s quite unusual to see a gay couple in a BBC1 drama that isn’t specifically about them being gay.

Absolutely. The normality of having the Jack-Ianto relationship as one of the focal points of the show, and the way it’s treated with indifference — it’s just there — I think is great. A lot of shows are made about being gay, and they may have gay couples at the forefront. Here, it’s just not an issue. It’s not pushed in your face or anything, it’s just another relationship. I think that’s quite important.

The relationship has changed quite a bit over the last couple of series. After all, when the series started, Ianto was keeping his cybernetic girlfriend in the cellar.

I think Ianto used Jack’s attraction to him to manipulate him, up until the Cybergirl episode. They were probably doing things just before any of that happened, so that Ianto could gain his trust and manipulate him into helping with his hidden agenda. Then, when he loses Lisa, he’s completely stripped bare in front of the team, basically. All he’s got left is Torchwood, all he’s got left is Jack. And when Jack gives him a second chance, he’s got something he can be part of, something that defines him. Throughout this series, Ianto’s fears are that he’s going to lose all that again. And how easy can it be to have a relationship with someone who can live for ever? He’s got all these doubts in his mind, these worries. In a thousand years’ time, will Jack even remember him?

Do you think Ianto trusts Jack? After all, Jack has a past, and a history of being extremely flirtatious. Ianto seems the sort of person who’d want to be faithful to his partner.

Absolutely. You can see it in Ianto’s eyes when Jack says, “I hate the word ‘couple’”. He says, “Me too,” but it offers the security that he wants. He wants the relationship to be real and proper, to mean something and not be a flight of fancy.

I think Ianto does change Jack in that respect, through this series. A trust is developed and a relationship is cemented. Jack becomes more of a one-man man.

And yet there’s something of a frisson between Jack and Gwen, too.

There’s a sort of hidden love between those two. I think it was confused in their minds as sexual at first, but Gwen is now settled with Rhys, and Ianto and Jack’s relationship puts Gwen and Jack’s into perspective. It’s not sexual, it’s a friendly love, it’s work colleague love.

You lost two key colleagues at the end of the last series. Does that put you on notice that your character may not be safe?

That’s the great thing about it, I think. None of the characters are safe. A big tragedy can happen to these people in this sci-fi world just as easily it can to people in a single camera, documentary-style drama. I think that’s what makes all the scary bits scary. You have all these domestic situations, but when the shit hits and the fan and it all kicks off, there’s real danger there.

It must have been weird not to have Burn Gorman or Naoko Mori around while filming.

Yeah, we have been missing the actors just as much as our characters have been missing their characters. Hopefully, that’s evident in the performances. They’re vulnerable, they’re trying to recruit, but nobody’s quite fitting the bill. And by the end of the first episode, they’ve lost even more, so they’re really on their own. So losing those guys helped in a way.

How do you cope with being recognised when you’re out and about? Is there a responsibility that comes with being a lead actor?

You find at conventions that people get taken aback, because they’re expecting this stilted, dark, emotional young man in a suit to appear. And then I turn up in my hoodie with a scruffy beard, playing heavy metal music! I think they’re quite taken aback at first. Now they’ve got to know me a little bit, to know Gareth rather than Ianto, they enjoy the difference. And being so different in real life helps with not being recognised in the street. I’m a scruffy git!

So do you get by unmolested, then?

Yeah, occasionally. It’s a great fan community, though. I haven’t had any weirdness. You do hear horror stories. James Marsters [the Buffy and Smallville star, who played Captain John Hart in series 2 of Torchwood] has got a few of people jumping across tables and flashing their, um… and grabbing his arse during a photo shoot. I haven’t had any of that, everybody’s been really lovely. On the odd occasion when I do get approached by someone in the street, it’s always very easy and very relaxed.

Are you comfortable with the recognition?

I was uncomfortable at first. I was all, “Why do they want my autograph?” But after a while it does get flattering. If I had John [Barrowman]’s dilemma where he gets recognised everywhere he goes, then I can probably see getting really uncomfortable with all the attention.

With the reduced filming schedule, has that opened up other work for you?

I’ve done the three Torchwood radio plays, an audiobook and keep getting invited to conventions. As an actor, those little things are important to get you by. There’s non-Torchwood stuff, too: I’ve just done a short independent film in Cardiff, part funded by the BBC and Bafta. It’s called A Very British Cover-up and it’s about drag queens. That should be funny, and hopefully it will open some doors as well. Fingers crossed.

You mentioned the Torchwood radio dramas. Can you tell us a little more about them?

They’re all very different. One of them’s set in India — you can do that on radio, can’t you? Why can’t we get an episode on television set in India, and travel a bit? If these episodes were on television, they’d be very high budget.

There’s one that’s very Ianto-oriented: he gets a three-page speech. He has to face the possibility of losing Captain Jack — there’s a danger that he might actually die in one of the episodes. That was nice to play: it’s good to get pages of dialogue which aren’t quips, but solid drama. And I don’t have to wear a suit: I can turn up in my scruffy clothes and just speak the words!