蜜芽传媒

Tell us a little about your character Jake.
Jake’s the timid one of the brothers. He’s quite gentle, philosophical and mystical. What transpires is that Jake carries a bit of resentment about his unfulfilled life and, unlike his pragmatic brother Max, Jake is a little bit of a hippy. I guess he’s an ageing punk rocker.

What is his relationship with his brother Max like?
Up until the start of this story, they’re very much estranged. I don’t think they’ve spent as much time together for a long, long time. Ironically, it’s this catastrophe that’s brought them closer together, albeit in a very sort of sticky, haphazard, way.

What event happens at the start of Guilt?
It’s a hit-and-run incident. Max and Jake are driving home from a wedding and hit an old guy, throw him up in the air and kill him stone dead. Together they try to cover it up and get away with it, but everything that could go wrong does go wrong for them, and sets the wheels in motion for a turn of events neither could have predicted.

And what direction does their guilt take Jake and Max in?
Initially Jake defers to Max, as he always does. Max promises he’s going to fix things, he’s going to deal with everyone and everything - but then Jake realises his brother is out of his depth. I guess it’s a real coming of age for Jake, a turning point in his life. He has to finally stand up and be counted, to sort things out.

Why is there such disparity between the brothers?
In many ways Max symbolises all the things in life which disgust Jake: he’s materialistic and shallow, while Jake is more spiritual, so they do lock horns. Everything that Max wants to do to fix the situation they find themselves in appalls Jake in a human sense. And Jake’s humanity is a real issue for Max.

How does Jake feel about the guilty incident?
It’s a festering sore to Jake. This is a huge, life-changing thing to him, whereas Max snaps into trying to fix the situation without morals or scruples.
Jake is very much of the feeling that they’ve killed a human being, albeit accidentally, and they need to do the right thing. They have a very different outlook on what they’ve done. It’s a real test for Jake.

And then Angie comes along. Is she a happy accident for Jake in among all the guilt?
Oh yes absolutely. She’s a further illustration of Jake’s life and how things happen to him. He’s been on his own for a while, I don’t get the impression Jake meets women willy nilly, and here comes Angie who is just lovely in every way, but it’s all hanging on this terrible incident, you know. It’s just the way the cookie often crumbles for Jake and it’s happening again.

Jake is a record shop owner and a music fan, what is your preferred music?
I’ve got a very eclectic taste in music so to delve into it I would be here all day, which is a bit like Jake really. At the moment I’m listening to a band called Idles on a loop and Mark loves them as well. We’re going to see them in December so we’re in training for the mosh pit.

What attracted you to work on this project?
It was a no brainer actually. I got offered the chance to be in Guilt and I didn’t have to wrestle with the decision - great script, Mark was on board and Neil Forsyth [the writer] is someone I know and admire. It kind of all fell into place and I didn’t have to think twice about it.

You and Mark have known each other for years - what’s your connection?
We met in first year at High School when Mark had just moved into the area. Although we had different groups of friends, we’d sometimes walk to and from school together because we lived nearby.

When we both became actors, we’d go along and see each other in theatre and we’d meet up every now and then but we never got to work together - until now. It’s amazing to think that the two boys who walked to the high school together all those years ago are now playing brothers in a fantastic 蜜芽传媒 drama. It’s really quite surreal.

I think I’ve worked with every other Scots actor but this is the first time with Mark which has been absolutely fantastic. And to do such meaty stuff and having a good run at things, rather than just the odd scene here and there, is just brilliant. Mark has lived up to all my expectations, he’s amazing to work with.

Any stand-out moments from filming?
I think the whole lot was to be honest, it was a real pleasure to go in every day and work with the cast and crew. I was looking at my call sheet every day and seeing all the people I was going to work with and couldn’t wait to get stuck in. It was fabulous.

If you could be any other character in Guilt who would you choose and why?
No one. There’s only Jake for me. I don’t want to think about anyone else - Jake’s the man!

Are you guilty of anything?
Yeah I’m guilty of many things but I’m working on it. That’s all you can do, really.