Luke Evans: ‘I get anxiety thinking about my new ITV drama’

On a dreary afternoon in Bridgend, Luke Evans gives me a proud, patriotic welcome.

‘Welcome to Wales,’ he chirps, at Dragon Studios where he’s filming the adaptation of Elizabeth Day’s scandalous fictional novel about Martin Gilmore, an insecure man riddled with shame, guilt and secrets that begin to unravel at a somewhat hedonistic, lavish black-tie bash.

Day’s 2017 book follows a 25-year friendship between Martin and his best friend Ben Fitzmaurice. Martin was a sensational talent, landing a spot on one of the country’s best schools on a scholarship, where he meets Ben, an aristocrat born into wealth and social status.

It’s a twisted tale of sexual longing and relentless anxiety, which builds and builds right up to Ben’s 40th birthday party where, as the title suggests, decades of tension reach a disastrous climax.

Evans instantly knew he had to develop it when the book crossed his path. He turned to actress and writer Sarah Solemani, who, since breaking out in the Bafta-winning Him and Her, has gone on to write with Bill Hader on Barry and adapted Ridley Road for the BBC to huge acclaim in 2021. 

‘That was almost five years ago when we started this journey. We brought on Sarah Solemani, talking about how this could be adapted, and then I brought my life into it.

‘I talked about my life to her, the slight parallels in certain parts of Martin’s story, and we left her to it.

‘Two strikes later, plus life, other jobs and scheduling, here we are, six weeks into shooting a five one-hour episode drama. So it’s been a journey.’

Day’s novel was described by The Guardian as a ‘study of anxiety’ on its release.

The Party allowed me to look at my journey through my own life and where I came from

‘You’ll feel the anxiety, you’ll feel the pain, you’ll feel the want, the need, the loss and all these terrible feelings Martin carries on a daily basis and he has to face them,’ says Evans. 

‘The way we’re shooting it, you learn things about what happened, and then you realise this adult man is carrying all of that s**t around, and he’s now at a party where everyone knows certain things, and that is anxiety.

‘I get anxiety just thinking about it.’

There’s plenty of material for Evans to resonate with. In the book, Martin is English, but in this he’ll be Welsh like Evans, who grew up in the small town of Aberbargoed in the South Wales valleys, but his world became so much bigger in adulthood.

‘It allowed me to look at my journey through my own life and where I came from: a small village in South Wales with a religious background, an only child, and then I was dropped into college and later into a career in this business when none of my family are entertainers.

‘My dad’s a bricklayer, my mum’s a housewife, and I had to adapt. I certainly did what Martin does, which was watch, listen and learn, adapt and keep adapting until you felt comfortable in your own skin.’

I have to go to parties, but I’d rather slip away

I’m speaking to Evans on the day of filming the titular bash; hundreds of extras dressed to the nines at 11am in the pouring rain. It’s also Day’s first time on the set, the first time on any set inspired by her own work. 

‘It’s extraordinary and incredibly moving at the same time,’ she says. ‘It is such a pinch-me moment, coming to a studio like this, to walk in and see trailers with the names of my characters on them. I was just taking lots of film on my phone because I just couldn’t believe it.’

Despite years of walking red carpets and swanning into the most exclusive parties around the world, it’s still not a process Evans has found comfort in.

‘I really am not a fan of them because you never feel like you get to really talk to anybody, and everyone’s looking over each other’s shoulders, looking for the biggest star or some opportunistic moment to get a photo with someone.

Tom was my first choice from the second I read the script

‘Of course, I have to go to them, and that’s fine, but I just would rather just slip away. It’s not why I do what I do. I just love to entertain; that’s the fun part of my job. These parties can be very awkward, especially because I don’t live in LA, I don’t know anybody, my friends are just normal people.’

But it was at a party where he first met Tom Cullen, which would turn out to be a seismic moment. Casting Ben was perhaps the biggest job of all, his chemistry with Martin so central to making The Party as gripping as the book.

‘Tom was my first choice from the second I read the script. I’ve known Tom for about 12 years, after he ended up at a party in my house in London after the Baftas or something.

‘I remember going, “You’re just great.” He’s got a good soul, he’s a brilliant actor and he carries himself in a certain way, so it was just amazing that he actually said yes, and he’s here with us, and he’s just mesmerising as Ben, and that’s exactly what we needed.

‘Martin needs to have that feeling that he would do anything for this man, and this man has helped him immensely as well.’

Day has written a sequel, One of Us, revisiting Martin and Ben’s story. Are there any plans to adapt that too?

‘It’s very dangerous to talk about sequels and the second series,’ warns Evans.

‘Of course, it would be wonderful if this show lands and finds its audience, and people love it, they resonate with the characters, and really enjoy it. That’s what we’re doing right now, but for us to talk about anything further than right now, it just feels a bit crass.’

The Party premieres on Sunday October 11 at 9pm on ITV and will be available to stream on ITVX.

Comments


Add as preferred source