Hans Matheson reveals all about the new drama series Jericho

Hans Matheson talks about what attrached him to the role of Johnny Jackson on the epic new drama series Jericho. Jericho can be seen on itv on Thursday nights at 9pm from January 7th.

What was the appeal of Jericho?

I read the scripts for the first two episodes and thought, ‘They’re really good.’ Then when I met the director Paul Whilngton I instantly felt a connection. We spoke about films he was going to be referencing in terms of the look - There Will Be Blood, Days Of Heaven and things like that. So immediately I just felt, ‘This could be really good.’ But I didn’t know what would happen across the whole series. So it’s both been exciting and kept us on our toes as the scripts have arrived.

Jericho is about secrets and betrayal. It’s about what secrets do to relationships and how secrets bring people together. It’s about revealing the truth and the consequences of those things. And how people can be forgiven, and how they can learn and move through things. It’s a great story with really interesting characters.

Who is Johnny Jackson?

Johnny is an honourable guy but he is flawed. He likes to fight and I think he likes to womanise. But his heart is in the right place. Life happens to him and he finds himself in situations where he just has to cope with what’s thrown at him. He is very good at adapting.

Deep down he wants to belong somewhere and belong with someone. These are the things that are missing in his life. A home and a heart and someone to be with. The things that have happened to him in his life means he is suffering. Love is an outside force, if you like, and it happens to people. What it wants him to do is to open up, let go and find what really matters.

Did you do any research into this period?

I know these viaducts and shanty towns were built during this time and there are a lot of unmarked graves. A lot of these people were forgotten. They built the viaducts but their story is not known to us. And what happened within those communities? I don’t think we have an insight into the exact movements of what was happening. But we can imagine. And I imagine it was pretty grim.

You could liken Jericho to a western town. It has its own rules. It’s not governed by anyone and is still evolving. The community formed out of the workers and then necessity to have beds to sleep in, food to eat and places to drink.

These places were just established along the way. It’s like a gypsy life. Navvies and people come and go. A number of people would stay and keep the community going. But it’s all dependent on whether or not the viaducts are gelng built and the money is in place for the project to continue. In our story that brings in the aspect of the Blackwood Estate which is owned by Charles Blackwood, played by Daniel Rigby.

Are people happy to have Johnny in Jericho?

There are always different types of characters weaving themselves into positions in these sort of communities. Ralph Coates (Clarke Peters) sees very quickly that Johnny is a rival. Immediately he senses something about Johnny. A secret. And something threatening to him.

For whatever reason Johnny and Coates don’t like each other. But Johnny doesn’t feel as threatened. He doesn’t understand where Coates came from and what he wants. But Johnny has secrets of his own.

What was it like working with Clarke Peters?

Working with Clarke is just incredible. It’s like working with Clint Eastwood or Morgan Freeman. He is absolutely amazing that guy. In every way. He’s an inspiration to every single one of us. He does not care what people think. And that sounds like a strange thing to say about an actor. But a lot of people are very concerned about how they are coming across and they need approval. He needs none of that. He’s not afraid of making mistakes. And it’s so great to see. It’s like watching a great athlete at work. Just watching him walking across the set is fantastic. He’s a great guy too.

Can you describe the relationship between Johnny and Annie?

There is a spark between them but it’s not as simple as that. It’s not preconceived. I don’t think he wants this to happen at this time in his life. He’s not looking for it, certainly not consciously anyway. And nor is she. Annie is recently widowed. Suddenly they find there is a chemistry there and they’re not quite sure what to do about it. They do try to push it away. But that’s the power of this other force which is bringing you together.

Johnny has come to work in Jericho for a while. Then life happens. People aren’t always initially aware they’re falling in love. It creeps up. Then it’s almost a compulsion. But the idea of them being together is not going to be easy for either of them because they’re from different worlds.

Annie is from what I would term the middle class. So that comes with certain conditioning. Johnny comes from a different type of community but he is drawn to places like Jericho. There’s a rawness, a truthfulness about it. He’s more comfortable with it.

How was working with Jessica Raine?

It’s been great. She just has something and I think we work together really well. There’s a lovely chemistry there and it makes my job a lot easier watching her and what she’s doing when we’re working together. Once a director said to me, ‘You should judge yourself on how much other people enjoy working with you, rather than how good you think you are.’ And I really do enjoy working with her.

What was your reaction when you saw the exterior set built for the town of Jericho?

When I first walked up to it I was like, ‘My goodness me. This is fantastic.’ What a setting. I’ve since got used to it. This is home now. I’ve even fallen asleep in a bed on set between takes. It feels very natural and normal.

Can you tell us about some of the set piece scenes?

There was one involving a large number of cast which was frightening for everybody because it’s like being on stage. Everyone is there. It’s theatre. It’s the real thing. So you get a good energy from that. One set piece took three days to film. That was great to shoot and lovely to watch all of the different actors coming up. You have so many characters bringing a lot of light and fun to the series.

Does Johnny try his hand at tag wrestling?

I loved doing that. The wrestling scene was such a good day. Males are males. We do like sport and fights and all of that. We had great fun filming that. The guy I was wrestling was four times the size of me. You do get bruised and hurt. I hurt my knee really badly when we had a fight scene in a river. But luckily I had a week off and I needed it because I had to get physio on my knee. But that’s all part and parcel of a physical role.

Do you have to work hard as Johnny, digging and mining with a pick and shovel?

We do what we can. We’re not miners. I’m not going to try and pretend I could be a real navvy. They just give me a shovel and say, ‘Dig here,’ or, ‘Pull this up there,’ and that’s what we do. The first director Paul Whilngon and I laughed a lot because it is quite funny. We make it look as if we’re working but we’re not really.

One scene sees Johnny dancing on a hillside. Are you a natural dancer?

You’ll have to ask other people about that. I might think I am but they might think something else. I’d give Strictly a go but I’d probably embarrass myself and everybody else.

Some of Jericho’s cheap lodgings look like lively places to stay?

I searched for these kind of places as a student, where these things were happening, but I could never find them. So we’d end up in a really nice hotel where everyone was very civilised and quiet...and you’re looking for the raucous party.

How would you cope if you were transported back to a real navvy town?

I don’t think I would survive. It’s extraordinary what people can do, given the challenge. But I don’t think I would last very long.

How has it been filming Jericho?

It’s been an amazing journey. We’ve been so lucky. We’ve had such great relationships with directors, the cast, the costume and make-up departments.

We’ve been really lucky with the weather. At times, because this has shades of a western, it’s felt like we’re in America somewhere. It’s been so hot. It’s also nice to have the truth of the Yorkshire, English weather. Misty and dark and rainy. I like that too. It gives us less to do as actors because the weather is authentic and helping to tell the story.”

Do you have a favourite railway journey?

My first holiday experiences were in the Outer Hebrides because that’s where all my family are from. We used to travel from London by train and then get a coach and a ferry. So it seemed like we were going to the other side of the world. It was a long journey. We used to get the sleeper train. And I loved the sleeper trains. Waking up in the morning on a train and you’re in a different country. It’s just wonderful. It’s so expensive now but then it was more affordable. I don’t really like flying. I will fly. I didn’t used to. But I will now. But the truth is I would much prefer to go on a train any day. Train journeys are great. And if you do get to go first class, which I don’t that often, it’s even better.

Jericho portrays an emerging community. Have we lost our sense of community today?

I think it’s coming back. People fundamentally want that in their lives. It’s a difficult thing. People don’t realise how hard it is to have a thriving community that’s working economically and culturally. There’s so many things that have to come together. We’ve tried our hardest and we’ve got it wrong quite a lot. But it’s quite a simple thing, really. It’s not out there somewhere. It’s quite close.

Music and the arts and all of that can be a real help to communities, more than people think. It has to work economically, obviously. But we have to also embrace the issues that we’ve run away from and pushed away. We’re all part of this. We’re more compassionate and we’d be more understanding and more open now to learning from the mistakes we’ve made. I get a strong sense we can get back there.

Courtesy of itv