“Everything was a discussion,” says Richard Gadd, talking about his new BBC series Half Man. “Everything in television is a sort of discussion all the time.”
Gadd was specifically addressing the level of violence seen on screen in the drama, and whether there were questions about presenting such material on the BBC. The six-part drama is a co-production between the broadcaster and HBO, with the latter company arguably more at home with graphic on-screen violence.
“We talked at length about the violence in the show,” he explained. “The thing with the violence in Half Man is it’s never, in my opinion, frivolous or there for violence sake.”
It’s a strong case to make. Half Man follows Niall and Ruben, two young men who are brought together by circumstance but who are different in so many ways. While Ruben is fierce and loyal, Niall is meek and mild-mannered. The two become like brothers, yet when Ruben turns up at Niall’s wedding 30 years later, an explosion of violence takes place.
The series has been described as exploring “brotherhood, violence, and the intense fragility of male relationships”.
“In order to explore a show about male violence, to pull punches on violence would be quite a bizarre thing to do,” Gadd continued. “To experience the extent of a character like Ruben, you have to see the extent of what he’s capable of, otherwise we’re just told. We’re just told that this guy is really violent, but I don’t see it, the whole show would have failed as a result of that. And I feel that very strongly.”
He explained: “I think the mistake that people make in television and film with violence is when it’s just there purely for gratuitous sake, and it’s part of grossing people out, or it’s there to add style or just get people talking. You can feel it emanating from the screen, sometimes, when people use violence superfluously.
“But every single time there was a piece of violence in the show that was extreme, I always asked myself, and the discussion was always, ‘Is it important for the character? Is it important for the story moving forward?’ And every single time I felt like it was.”
Gadd made the comments as he joined us as our latest guest for The Radio Times Writers’ Room.
Gadd started out in stand-up comedy, beginning on that journey when he was at Glasgow University and attended a student union event.
He started performing annually at the Edinburgh Fringe, before moving to London to pursue comedy further. He got TV work writing on entertainment shows like The Last Leg and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier.
While working as a bartender in London, Gadd would go on to have experiences which he later dramatised in 2019 Edinburgh Fringe show Baby Reindeer, which was met with critical acclaim and won multiple awards
Around this time, Gadd also started to get acting roles in TV series such as Humans, Outlander and Code 404, and co-wrote an episode of Sex Education.
He was brought to global prominence when Baby Reindeer was adapted into a seven-part series for Netflix. A surprise smash hit, the series was both critically acclaimed and won almost every award going. It was a whirlwind reception, which Gadd has admitted was “innately destabilising”.
Now, Gadd brings us Half Man, which he has not only created, but also stars in as Ruben, alongside Stuart Campbell who plays the same character earlier in his life. Meanwhile, Jamie Bell and Mitchell Robertson both play Niall at different stages ages.
As well as these four actors, the series also features a host of stars, including:Neve McIntosh, Marianne McIvor, Charlie De Melo, Bilal Hasna, Julie Cullen, Amy Manson, Anjli Mohindra, Tim Downie, Tom Andrews, Philippine Velge, Stuart McQuarrie, Sandy Batchelor, Piers Ewart, Scot Greenan, Charlotte Blackwood, Calum Manchip and Kate Robson-Stuart.
During our chat, Gadd spoke about his future inclinations when it comes to writing, acting, stand-up and potentially even directing, the genres he is drawn to writing and why Bell’s “vulnerability” made him perfect for Niall
He also spoke about developing the time-jumping structure of Half Man, the advice he’s taken from an iconic Franz Kafka quote, and the aspect of Baby Reindeer of which he is most proud.
“I am very proud of a lot of it,” he said. “I think the impact it had on charities and stuff like that was the thing I’m most proud of. I remember 53% of abuse charities went up, 47% of stalking charities went up.
“And that’s something I take great pride from with the show. You want to have an affecting piece of art that kind of moves people, but when you see figures like that, I think it feels special, in a way.”
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You can watch the full video at the top of this article right now, and look out for more trips to The Radio Times Writers’ Room soon.
In the meantime, you can catch up with our previous chats with Mark Gatiss, Harry and Jack Williams, Noah Hawley, Neil Cross, Steven Knight, Chris Chibnall, Jack Thorne, Sarah Quintrell and Stefan Golaszewski.
Half Man will release new episodes each Friday on BBC iPlayer at 6am.
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