The Rise & Rise Of James Nelson Joyce

21 hours ago

James stars in Black Mirror, This City is Ours and A Thousand Blows, all streaming now

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This Scouse star has been a staple on TV screens so far this year – and there’s no sign of him slowing down. We sat down with James Nelson Joyce to talk all about his mammoth start to the year.

Interview: James Nelson Joyce

Hi James, how’s life going at the moment?

Mad busy, but great! I’m now back in Liverpool, the weather’s gorgeous, and I’m just trying to get back to a bit of normal life. You know, picking my nephews up from nursery, seeing my mates in the gym. Trying to take a little… Not a break from work, but trying to get a bit of normality back in my life.

You’ve had a very busy start to the year with A Thousand Blows and This City is Ours coming out. What’s that all been like?

It’s been fantastic. The reception has been great. First of all, it was A Thousand Blows, and people loved it. And it feels like people are loving This City is Ours as well, especially now I’m back in Liverpool. That’s the thing I was a bit apprehensive about: it’s about drugs and criminality, but you always want to show where you’re from in the best light, especially when you love where you’re from. And I think we’ve managed to do that. I think the city is quite proud of it, if I’m honest.

Diana Williams (HANNAH ONSLOW), Michael Kavanagh (JAMES NELSON-JOYCE) in This City Is Ours. (© BBC/Left Bank Pictures/James Stack)

What is it like to be part of a series that’s set in your hometown? And to film there, too?

Honestly, I say it a lot, but I do have to pinch myself. I’m just an ordinary kid from Liverpool, you know? Yet I’m part of this BBC drama with Sean Bean, and Stephen Butchard writing and directing. You just pinch yourself. When we were filming here, the weather was glorious, and we were filming in some stunning locations. We got feedback once from America; they saw one of the daily rushes. They said, ‘Oh my god, this city looks absolutely stunning!’ And I think it does.

How would you describe your character, Michael?

Michael is, like everyone, a complex character. He has been raised in a world where you’ve got to be strong, you can’t show any weakness; you have to be fast-thinking, quite cerebral, very business orientated. He’s maybe even, to an extent, cutthroat. And then he meets Diana, and he meets the other side of life: love and care and gentleness. I think it’s the first time he’s really realised he can be vulnerable. He can let that guard slip that we all have. He sees a future with Diana, one where you don’t have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life. And that’s what he really wants: he wants a family, and he wants love. Those are the complexities that come with Michael. He’s kind of Jekyll and Hyde, I would say.

Did you do anything in particular to prepare for that mindset, or to get into character on set?

I always create a playlist. Always. When you’ve got someone like Michael, he is a man of many colours. I don’t think he’d listen to the same music with Diana that he’d listen to with Banksy or Ronnie. It’s like a telephone voice, which we all have. You know, you don’t pick up the phone to your mum in the same way you do to your best mate. And Michael’s constantly doing that: the way he is with Banksy is totally different to the way he is with Ronnie, which is totally different to the way he is with Diana. It’s about finding those moments within the show.

That’s the beauty of Stephen’s writing: people are very complex. And I think you see it throughout all the characters. How Banksy behaves with Michael is totally different to the way he behaves with Freddie, and it’s the same with Ronnie and Elaine.

Any standout moments from filming?

I’ll be honest with you, the whole thing for me was a bit of a ‘pinch yourself’ moment. The first six weeks we were filming in Spain, and then we came back filming here in Liverpool. On the first day filming in Liverpool, we were in a block of flats that were next door to the apartment block I used to live in. So that was a bit weird… Just little moments like that. It was just lovely.

But I’d say the stand out moment for me was when we were all together doing the ‘House of Bamboo’ dance. The night before we filmed it, we were all in a pub, and the whole cast got up and we practiced the dance in the back room. And, you know, it’s little moments like that where you go, ‘oh, that was magic, that.’

You filmed A Thousand Blows before This City is Ours. What is that like to look back on?

It was totally different – the scope of it, the aspect of it. Stephen Graham is my idol. He still is to this day, even though he’s a close friend. To be playing his brother and working so closely with him… The only way I can ever describe it is that it’s like playing football with Stephen Gerrard. That’s the only way I can describe it.

You play Treacle. How would you describe him?

Most of all, it’s set in a time. You know, men don’t speak much now, but they certainly didn’t speak then. And Treacle is caught in a moment where he’s trying to protect his brother, but hasn’t really got the balls to say to him, ‘you’re past it’, and that he loves him. Me and Stephen [Graham], as people, are open books. We just wear our hearts on our sleeves. We’re very open and honest with each other. So we tried to find moments in the script to show a little bit of vulnerability, because men back then didn’t do that. We were playing real people, and we wanted to make it as authentic as possible.

It was a gift to work so closely with Stephen. Let’s say it how it is: forget Britain’s best actor, Stephen, right now, in this current moment in time, is there a man on the planet who everyone is desperate to work with more? No. Stephen is getting his flowers at the minute, and he’s always deserved them. As good an actor as Stephen is, he’s an even better human being. He’s the most incredibly generous, loving, kind, caring man. There are not enough words to describe him.

Season 2 was filmed back-to-back with season 1. Anything you can tease about what’s in store?

I guess you see the ramifications of what’s happened at the end of season one. How is Treacle after he gets beaten up? How does Sugar cope with what he’s done to his brother? Is Treacle capable of handling The Blue Coat Boy? Does he have enough respect locally? And then you’ve got Hezekiah, too. So season two is just every bit as exciting as season one, if I’m honest.

What was working on Black Mirror like?

Black Mirror is unlike anything I’ve worked on so far in my career. When I describe it, it comes from the heart: Charlie Brooker’s writing is so intellectual and so intelligent. It’s the first time I’ve had to really use a different part of my brain! It’s very Shakespearean, the way he writes. His writing style is so unique and so different to anyone else’s. You know, he creates language, doesn’t he? And new worlds. So it was a totally different experience to anything I’ve ever done before, and it was very fast paced. And I was working with David Slade who is an amazing director, and Peter Capaldi, so it was fantastic. It really was fantastic.

Were you a fan of the series before?

Truthfully? I’d seen a couple of episodes, but I’ll be honest with you, I don’t watch much drama. I try to switch off. I’m a very boring person: I go home, I put my Motown music on, or watch the football or watch the boxing. I try to disassociate myself from the world of acting, if I’m honest. Obviously, I’ve watched Adolescence and episodes of Black Mirror, but when you’re working on set, it’s 12 to 14 hour days, and when you get home, you’re learning lines, researching parts, auditioning, whatever it is. So I just try and remember who I am apart from the world of acting. You need a break away from it, because it will just drive you crazy.

It’s such a huge show. How did it feel when you got the audition, and then the part?

I didn’t audition. After Christmas, I thought, I’m going have a month or two off before I film This City is Ours. And then I got a phone call from my agent, asking ‘What are you doing on this date?’ And I was like, ‘nothing’. And she was like, ‘Do you want to do Black Mirror?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course!’

It was another ‘pinch yourself’ moment. When you’re young and you want to be an actor, it’s hard because you’re fighting to even get an audition, never mind getting a part. I’m still in that mindset ‘this could all end tomorrow’. So to get phone calls like that. ‘You’re working with David Slade and Charlie Brooker is writing it. And Peter Capaldi.’ It is like, why me?

What was filming like?

As I said, it’s like nothing I’ve ever worked on before. You really have to understand the world Charlie’s created. Working with Peter Capaldi was magnificent. He’s an unbelievable actor, and you learn so much being around him. Peter is so experienced. You’ve just got to be like a sponge.

You’ve also starred in Strike, The Gold, Bird… But what has been your favourite project to date?

Either A Thousand Blows or This City is Ours. I remember finishing Time and saying ‘that was my favourite’. But I really have been very lucky that the majority of the projects I’ve worked on have been amazing experiences. How many people get to say that they’ve worked with heroes? You know, I can say that, and Stephen Graham is a close friend now. He is like a big brother to me. And the cast and crew This City is Ours were unbelievable. We all became so close. Jack McMullen is genuinely one of my best mates, and we were working together for six months. And Mike Noble who plays Banksy, we went to the same infant school, junior school, high school and college together. So it really, really, really was an incredible experience.

Any roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

You’re gaining a bit of a reputation for playing the tough guy… Do you like that? Are you wanting to branch out?

I just want to keep doing good work, and whether that’s playing the tough guy, the hopeless romantic, or whatever it is, as long as the scripts are good and the work is good, I’m not bothered. I know how lucky I am to be doing this job. It always just depends on the script for me, and the people that are involved with it.

Any genres you haven’t done that you’d like to try?

Yeah, loads. I keep getting linked to James Bond, so I wouldn’t mind going with that.

What’s your dream role?

I always really wanted to play George Best, but as I say, the scripts and the team have got to be right. If I’m being really honest, what I realised coming away from This City is Ours and A Thousand Blows is that good people make the job. Don’t get me wrong, the story and everything are important, but if you’re coming home from work and you can’t wait to go back… That’s what that’s what we all want, isn’t it?

Who is an actor, writer or director you’d love to work with?

I had a taste of Shane Meadows on The Virtues. I had a tiny little taste of it. I want the full cake next time. I want the full experience.

Anything fun in the pipeline – professionally or personally?

I’ve actually been asked to play football against Louis Figo and Ronaldo and a few other faces like that for a charity game. That’s a bit mad. I grew up wanting to be a footballer but was never good enough. But it looks like I’m gonna get to put the boots on against Figo and Ronaldo! You know, if you told little 15 year old James that, you know… A bit mad.