Welsh-born actor Tom Cullen has made a career out of looking for discomfort. He is known for his transformative work across various projects such as Downton Abbey, Knightfall again Black MirrorCullen has earned a reputation as an actor who is attracted to characters who live in gray areas; men whose faults make them uncomfortable but very compelling to watch. His most recent role, as attorney Michael Agnew in the show Casesit may be more important to him at the moment.
Based on Louise Kennedy’s acclaimed novel and adapted by Ailbhe Keogan, Cases is set in 1975 Belfast, where Michael defends young Catholics accused of terrorist-related crimes while running a dangerous case across sectarian lines.
It’s a story steeped in the path of a divided city, and one that Cullen says set him on his way from the start of reading it. “He knows a good script straight away,” said Cullen, speaking to SBS. “The texture of the world building feels so rich, so varied and complex for the characters. This kind of writing rarely crosses your path.”
Cullen admits the role he initially felt was beyond his control, but fear, he says, has become something he has learned to interpret as a sign that he is on the right path, “Fear is an important ingredient in any good work. There was a time when it used to overcome me and crush me, but these days I try to accept it and use it to push me. Fear makes you feel alive.”
Key to bringing Michael Agnew to life was an intense period of dialect work, a process Cullen described as inseparable from discovering the character’s inner world, encompassing what at first sounds like a mere technical exercise needed to faithfully render the character, into something like a portal to that character’s core.
“I usually try to let the character evolve a bit, without making brain decisions about what I think they should be,” he explains. “I’ve realized that my job as an actor is to just get out of the way as much as possible. It’s all there on the page, I just let it go.”
Cases is a distinctly female-driven production, with a female writer, director Dawn Shadforth, female producers and a female character at its center. Although Cullen says the transition hasn’t changed the way he talks to Michael (“my job is to bring the character together without judgment”) he’s proud of what he’s brought to the finished work.
“Watching Casesyou’re questioning femininity,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the male POV, but we’ve had a lot of them. Cases it has poetry and features that might have been in the hands of a man, it would not have been missed.”
That poem goes to David Holmes’ score, which Cullen calls the best he’s ever been involved with. “David understood exactly what Dawn Shadforth was trying to achieve. His score, like any good score, is not only effective, it is uplifting.”
Cullen’s research into the period and weight of what his character was navigating had the actor in a state of exasperation and fascination as he prepared for the role. He remembers watching a documentary by war photographer Don McCullin ten years ago and being overcome by a wave of grief at human violence: the emotion revisited him during his research. Cases.
A photo provided by Cullen’s partner, artist Alison Sudol, highlighted what the characters Michael and his lover Cushla (played by Lola Petticrew) did for him: two dandelions growing on a slab of concrete. “Two people who fight for more than the issues that surround them and divide them,” he said. “It’s an image that challenges all of us to try to distance ourselves from the issues that try to divide us.”
That interest permeates much of Cullen’s work; he says, he is attracted to characters with moral complexity, because he believes that none of us are purely good or bad. “We make choices that fit our circumstances; sometimes selflessly, sometimes selfishly. I love characters who ask questions of their audience. What would you do?”
Michael Agnew’s vulnerability, Cullen says, arose out of his capacity for love in an environment defined by merciless brutality. “His choice to be soft in the face of hardness is a quiet rebellion that touched me deeply.” It’s a quality that resonates with Cullen’s journey. He says: “Circumstances in my youth made me a strong and strong young man. “For years I have been trying to take off the protective armor; to realize that the real strength of a man is the bravery required to be vulnerable.”
Away from acting, Cullen continues to write and direct through his company Undeb Theatre, and is listing his 2019 film. Pink Wall among his oldest experiences. He speaks with conviction about the importance of self-employment, especially for those starting out.
“I learned more about screen acting from learning to edit than anything else in my career,” he says. “If there are any young or aspiring actors reading this, my unsolicited advice is to go out and do things. Don’t wait for anyone, be the master of your own journey.”
Cases airs on SBS On Demand.
