Nathalie Armin Tells Us All About Filming Showtrial

From the creators of Line of Duty, the first season of Showtrial captured our attention back in 2021 as it traced the impact of the media and the court of public opinion on an active, high-profile court case. Now an anthology series, we’re back for another round, this time centring on a climate activist and the cocky police officer accused of killing him. As the case makes it way to court, at the fore are anxious defence solicitor Sam Malik (Adeel Akhtar) and rigorous CPS lawyer Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin). 

We sat down with Nathalie to hear all about filming, plus what she’s up to next.

Interview: Nathalie Armin

Leila (NATHALIE ARMIN) in Showtrial. (BBC/World Productions/Peter Marley)

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

Life is going well, thanks. I’m busy. I’m actually in Budapest right now, where I’m filming a new adaptation of Maigret. So it’s very busy, life – but good, thanks!

You can currently be seen in Showtrial on the BBC. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, what is Showtrial about in a nutshell?

Well, first of all, Showtrial is an anthology series, so season 2 has nothing to do with season 1. It’s a whole new story with a whole new set of characters. And season 2 is about a high profile climate activist who is involved in a hit and run and left for dead, and in his dying moments, he identifies his killer as a serving police officer.

In a nutshell, season 2 explores another high profile crime and court case, the shaping of online viewpoints, activism and the changing nature of activism, and how all of these things unfold in the media glare.

You play Leila – how would you describe her?

She’s a rigorous prosecutor. She works for the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service], and she’s good at her job. She’s responsible for putting together, finding enough evidence to make sure that the case can even go to court and a charge can be made. I didn’t know that that’s what the CPS did. I didn’t know the difference between the CPS and any other kind of lawyer. So I had to find all that out in some research on that character. And also other things: how many hours a week she might do, how exhausting a case like this would be, how much external pressure there would be on a CPS in a situation like this. Ben Richards’ writing is incredibly detailed and well researched, so a lot of the work was done for me.

Did you do anything special to get into character?

Not really, no. I mean, short of constantly drilling your lines and making sure you inhabit the physicality of the person. Often, you’re in clothes and shoes that you would not be wearing in your day to day life. So again, a lot of that is done for you, and you have a hairstyle that you wouldn’t necessarily have in real life. But outside of those things, no, I just made sure I knew my lines.

What was filming like and do you have any standout moments?

All of it! I mean, they were long days and often – because it was filmed in Belfast last winter – you would leave the house in the dark and certainly come home in the dark, having seen no daylight in between. So they were long and quite exhausting days, but nevertheless, it was all fun. And when you’re working with such high calibre actors, it’s thrilling, actually, to go to work. And I was lucky in so far as there were quite a number of actors on that job that I knew before. So it was fun being there with them.

Who was your favourite person to work with?

I couldn’t possibly choose. They’re all terrific in their own ways. I mean, I suppose in a way, I had a great deal more to do with Joe Dempsey, because we were working together to put the case together, say, than I did with Adeel Akhtar. But both are equally brilliant and great to work with.

Leila (NATHALIE ARMIN) & Southgate (JOE DEMPSIE) in Showtrial. (BBC/World Productions/Peter Marley)

Showtrial is a crime procedural, high profile drama. Did you have any reference points you were looking at in the genre while you were preparing to film, or do you have any favourite series in the same genre?

Yes. Well, obviously I watched season 1 of Showtrial, and then I also watched an American program called The Night Of. It’s a terrific program, with only four episodes. So I did watch some courtroom dramas, but I think Showtrial is a bit more real. Ben Richards doesn’t write in a way as to present one viewpoint as an absolute. So while it is a crime, and it is a court case, and it is about the changing nature of activism and political engagement, it’s also about all of those things. I think what Ben does so skillfully is not say this is one correct way of seeing this situation, and presents a variety of viewpoints. 

I think online, that sort of nuance is unavailable, and we really tend to speak in – and believe – absolutes, whereas I think real life tends not to be like that. And I suppose the other thing that he does brilliantly is, within all of this, without diminishing the seriousness of the subject matter, there’s a lot of humour in Showtrial, which also, I think, reflects real life.

I just think it’s the job of art and drama to hold things up to the light and allow you to form your own opinion on it and to ask important questions. And I think this does that very successfully.

You were recently in A Little Life on the West End. What was that like to be a part of?

We ran that show for a long time – six months, I think – and the show ran for just under four hours. And if you’re familiar with the book, you know, there’s nothing that the play avoided from the book – and, if anything, it heightened some of the darker stuff in the book. Often people ask me how we got through something like that, and I suppose my answer is always the same. Just by laughing quite a lot. Again, that’s not a way of diminishing the seriousness of those subject matters, but it’s a coping mechanism.

We were very tight knit as a company. We got on really well, and we laughed a lot. But physically, it was incredibly demanding – especially for James Norton, who the story centres on. Physically, he was a gladiator. He was remarkable. 

The best you could do was keep in as good a shape as possible, and because it finished so late at night, it wasn’t as if we could be partying all night long. Most of the time, most things were closed by the time we were finished, so there was a lot of going to bed as soon as you got home. I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well as when I did A Little Life, because I was always shattered. My head would hit the pillow, and that would be it, I’d be out. 

But it was a really happy time. How funny that that should be a very happy time. But it was. And I miss those guys. They are terrific people.

What has been your favourite project to date?

It’s so funny, isn’t it? One’s instinct is to pick on something that was hugely successful or hugely popular, or something like this [Showtrial], but funnily enough, it’s often things that came and went quietly that you have the fondest memories of. For me, I really, really, really enjoyed doing Home (Channel 4) because I really loved the subject matter, and I thought it looked very touching, and they were a lovely bunch of people to work with. And in terms of theatre, I did an American play at The National called The Motherfucker with the Hat (2015), and it was one of the most joyous experiences I’ve ever had. It was very funny, and very, very fun to do.

Who is someone you’ve worked with in the past that you learned a lot from?

I did a play called Damascus years ago. I think the first outing of that play was in 2007 – at the Edinburgh Festival, originally. And the people I worked with on that really changed my relationship to acting. All of them, to be honest. I don’t know why. These things often happened sort of by osmosis or something. But I remember at the time feeling, not an inclination to up my game, but to just value what we do and value storytelling a bit more. I don’t really know how to express it any better than that, but that job in particular changed my relationship to this profession

What’s a genre you’ve never done that you’d love to try?

I wouldn’t mind doing a horror. It’s so funny because I tend to be too much of a coward to watch them, but I imagine they’re really good fun to perform in.

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

Many. So many. There’s one that I always dreamed I would work with that’s not going to be possible anymore: Sam Shepard. I would have loved to have done a Sam Shepard play, with him alive and around.

Do you have anything coming up that you’re allowed to talk about yet?

Yes, there’s Maigret, which is a new adaptation with a very young and exciting cast. And we’re filming that currently.

Nathalie Armin photographed by Alexander Beer with styling by Rachel Davis and hair and makeup by Alexis Day.

Nathalie Armin Recommends…

I’m currently watching… I recently revisited One Day on Netflix.

What I’m reading… Okay Then That’s Great by Susannah Wise

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… The Bob Marley movie, One Love

Favourite film of all time… Rust and Bone by Jaques Audiard

Favourite song of all time… ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles

Band/singer I always have on repeat… Bob Dylan, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, the Bee Gees

My ultimate cultural recommendation… Books. I really recommend reading more, to everybody. If I think about the times in my life where I’ve been so absorbed as to kind of completely change my perception of the world around me, it’s been by a book more than anything else. 

Cultural guilty pleasure… Selling Sunset

WATCH

Nathalie Armin stars in Showtrial season 2. All episodes are streaming now on BBC iPlayer. bbc.co.uk