Rowan Witt On Totally Completely Fine

Aussie comedy continues to thrive in the UK, and we’ve got a new series for your watch list. Totally Completely Fine is a dark comedy following Vivian (Thomasin McKenzie) who inherits a property that turns out to be a popular suicide site, and she is inadvertently tasked with saving lost souls on the brink. Rowan Witt stars as Vivian’s protective older brother, John – and we sat down with Rowan to hear all about the series, plus his recent move to blighty.

Interview: Rowan Witt

Director Lucy Gaffy and Rowan behind the scenes on Totally Completely Fine

Hi Rowan, you can currently be seen in Totally Completely Fine on ITVX – can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

It’s a dark comedy about the Cunninghams, three orphaned siblings who are anything but totally, completely fine. The show starts when they learn about the passing of their grandfather, who inexplicably, leaves Vivian, the youngest and messiest of the trio, his cliffside property. It’s not until she moves in that she discovers that her new back garden is a popular suicide hotspot, and by leaving her this house, her grandfather is tasking her with rescuing the people who come too close to the edge. The show is based on real people and events and is about chosen family, how we are defined by grief and how sometimes our mess can be our superpower.

You play Vivian’s brother John – how would you describe him?

He is the protector of his little family, and the eldest of the three. After their parents died, he was very suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver to these two wild siblings at a super young age. His mission to keep them safe and ward off the world, comes from a place of love, but has really taken its toll. When we first meet him he is this tightly wound, ball of duty and impenetrable affection who is somewhat estranged to himself, but ultimately he gets a very satisfying journey.

What was it like playing him?

It was was great to spend time in the skin of someone who considers themselves to be so together. My house has never been cleaner nor my taxes so organised.

How did you get into character?

Caitlin Murray, our costume designer, actually gifted me a few sneaky costume secrets on this show, that no one will see, but were really affecting, like wearing these incredibly elaborate sock garters. They were a great little springboard that said so much about the character.

I was also starting another show the day after we wrapped filming which had a wildly different feel to it – different accent, different era. I was rehearsing in my hotel room over Zoom in the evenings, and so to get my head around which character was which, I created a playlist of John’s trigger songs that I would listen to on my way to set every day.

Did you do anything special to prepare for the role?

The scripts were so brilliantly nuanced, with this crazy beating heart at the centre of them, and everyone’s characters were so three dimensional – we knew exactly who they were. I did a bunch of postural work in prep because I wanted John to feel like he was constantly being wrung out. But the hardest thing was that we didn’t have very long to get to know each other before we started production, and everyone was flying in from all over the world  – LA, Spain, New Zealand, London. So, before filming began we got the gang together for a few little dinners and hangouts, just so we could all get over our jet lag and form some quick chemistry with each other. Thankfully we all instantly fell in love, and still hang out whenever we are in the same country.

Any standout moments from rehearsals or filming?

One of my favourite days on set was working with the brolga, which is this alarmingly beautiful, almost prehistoric-looking wetland crane. Brolgas are an Aussie icon, but it is rare to see one close in our part of the country. She was a consummate professional on set, and had a non-negotiable bedtime of 4pm. Frankly, genius. My agents have now incorporated this into all my contracts.

What was the cast dynamic on set?

The cast were the naughtiest group of people I have ever worked with in my life, so it was a deeply joyous and relaxed set, which was essential with some of the heavier themes in the show. A lot of that credit also goes to our incredible producer Nat Lindwall who went above and beyond to create an amazing set. Things like, before anyone set foot on set, crew and cast, we all had intensive suicide prevention training. And she also made sure there was a full-time mental health worker as part of the crew, who was on set every day and available to the whole team.

Who was your favourite person to work with?

The brolga.

Thomasin Mckenzie as Vivian Cunningham, Brandon McCelland as Hendrix Cunninham & Rowan Witt as John Cunningham in Totally Completely Fine. © ITV/Freemantle

What has been your favourite project to date?

One of my favourite projects was the Lincoln Centre’s production of South Pacific that Bartlett Sher did at the Sydney Opera House. It went gang-busters and we kept extending and extending, and in the end I worked on that show for several years and not once had a bad day. We were all exhausted and permanently covered in sand, but living every day in the 1940s, on a topical beach, with some of the best people, all while being underscored by a full orchestra was such a gift. There were five couples who met on that show who eventually got married.

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

The last few years have been back-to-back theatre, which I’ve loved, but I’m secretly stoked to have my evenings back, and excited for a few screen projects that I have coming up.

Who has been your favourite actor to work with in the past?

That’s an impossible question. But, I do have to say I recently worked opposite Katherine Parkinson on a series and for some reason we just hit it off – despite the fact that she insisted that she keep trying to sing at me, which I promptly put a stop to. On one of the first days on set her character had to attempt to scale a large chain-link fence in heels. She politely refused the stunt double and just made a running jump at the thing. It was such a gung-ho move, it was from that moment that I knew we’d be mates. She’s a sweetheart and thankfully we discovered early on that we had a very similar sensibility, so even just breaking down the scripts together in the makeup truck in the mornings turned out to be an hilarious and unexpected highlight of the shoot.

Which co-star did you learn the most from?

You learn from everyone you work with, every day. But maybe my first impactful memory was on a film with Keanu Reeves. Even though I was only filming for a short amount of time, I was on set for several months, and remember how extraordinarily invested and deeply kind and he was. To everyone. He really didn’t need to, but he came with me to get my head shaved, would sit with me at lunch, and really went out of his way to make me feel at home on set. It was such a great example of how to lead a company with grace and professionalism, and I’m very grateful for those memories.

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I’m a fairly physical person and so love having to learn random new skills for work, it’s one of the best parts of the job. So would happily do some more action stuff… Or anything with brolgas.

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

Armando Iannucci, Guy Ritchie, Sharon Horgan, Andrew Scott, Martin Short, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Wiig. No one else. Just them.

What’s the biggest difference between the UK and Aus that you’ve noticed so far?

I love how excited Brits are by art. Anywhere you go, you can have a pint and an informed, in-depth conversation about what’s on at The National or the newest favourite show they’re bingeing.

Oh, and the peaches in London are out of this world.

What’s your interior design style?

I’ve had it described to me as ‘Indiana Jones if he lived on a island and raised donkeys’.

Rowan Witt Recommends…

I’m currently watching… Sherlock… again

What I’m reading… I’ve been momentarily distracted from my Dostoyevsky and Proust by a stack of Beano’s from the ’50s that I discovered at my local second hand book store.

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… The Curse with Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie – brilliantly nuanced, smart, hilarious, form-defining.

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 And The White Lotus 3.

Favourite film of all time… Little Miss Sunshine. It is still one of the most perfect films every created.

My ultimate cultural recommendation… Novelty Automation near Holborn. I won’t say anything about it. Just go.

Cultural guilty pleasure… The final sewer gas lamp in London behind the Savoy theatre. I mean, maybe it’s not really a guilty pleasure, but it is very nice just to know it’s there.

WATCH

Rowan Witt stars in Totally Complete Fine. All episodes are streaming now on ITVX. itv.com