Apparitions, a new drama series for 91Èȱ¬ÌýOne
Interview with Martin Shaw
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What kind of character is Father
Jacob?
Jacob is a priest who is just trying to do his
job, which is to promote people for sainthood.
He is undeniably a good man. His bosses feel
that he embraces exorcism but he is actually
quite wary of it. He feels so strongly that we
are all susceptible to the forces of Satan, that
there are times when it is the only option.
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What attracted you to the role?
Well I had the original idea to play an
exorcist and I've felt for a long time that we
need something very different on television.
Nowadays it's very difficult to find producers
who are willing to take a chance on something
that challenges the norm but Tony Wood
at Lime Pictures was prepared to take
that chance and we've managed to create
something that I think viewers will like, but
will also force them to think and engage in
the programme rather than view it passively.
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This is quite a different role to what
viewers will know you for, do you enjoy
challenging yourself with different
characters?
I not only enjoy it but I think it's absolutely
vital. It's very easy to forget that acting is
actually an art form and you have to train
for it. You do need to explore, it's all too easy
just to stay in the same place and stay in the
comfort zone
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Who do you think is the most intriguing
character in Apparitions?
I think all of the characters in Apparitions
are very complex and multi-dimensional.
Michael (Rick Warden) is particularly
intriguing because when we first meet him he
is so fully possessed that he doesn't actually
know who he is any more. His actions, his
words – none of it is really him and there
are times when he actually wants to be saved
from himself. Liam is also an interesting
character as initially many people probably
wouldn't consider him to be possessed. He
represents the anti-religious views of many
people and he is a good father, although he is
possessed by demons I feel that the audience
will empathise with him in a way that just
isn't possible with Michael.
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How have you found filming?
I've been working with a great cast, crew,
producer and director so you can't really
ask for better than that. We've all worked
incredibly hard to ensure that we do justice
to this fantastic script and create something
that is believable.
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Which scene did you find most difficult/interesting to film?
The exorcism scenes were possibly the most
difficult, particularly as in one of them I was
connected to a high wire! I had to be thrown
across a room and hit a wall with quite a bit
of force so we needed the special effects to
make it look completely real. The second
exorcism was also interesting as everyone
involved in the scene was so submerged in
the words and the actions that their reactions
were almost instinctive – it almost felt like we
were doing it for real!
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Does religion and spirituality play a
part in your personal life?
Religion doesn't play a part in my life but
spirituality does. I follow a spiritual path
which is right at the centre of my life. I
believe in God and I have a huge respect and
love for all religions so from that respect it
plays a part in my life but not the man-made,
ceremonial and controversial aspects of
religion.
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