What were your thoughts when you first read the script?

I’ve lived in Belfast for most of my life and that was the main draw for me. First of all that a show like this was being made in Belfast. There have been other police dramas set in Northern Ireland but they haven’t focussed on what makes policing in Northern Ireland so different. It was also nice to see all these little cultural details in the script that Adam and Declan went in to. A lot of times you see things set in Northern Ireland and a lot of the stuff isn’t really real, it’s not what the place is really like. It’s more like an outsider’s perspective. You could tell the first time reading his script that they’re from Belfast and really knew what they were talking about.

Describe the process of being cast in the show and what made you decide to accept the role?

This was my first in-person audition since the outbreak of Covid and before that I had been self-taping. It was just great to get in the room with the director and casting director. The first audition was really amazing and I got a sense that we had really hit it off. But that’s never a given. I came back for a second audition and then got the good news a few weeks after that.

How did you feel?

It was pretty crazy experience. It was near Christmas, my Mum and Dad own a fish and chip shop and I was helping them out one day. I saw my agent was calling me so I went out the back, my mum and dad followed me. He said to me “how would I like the role of Tommy?”, I started screaming, my Mum and Dad started screaming. It was all a bit hectic. I was shaking so much I couldn’t finish my shift so they sent me home. Best phone call I’ve had in my life and one call I’ll never forget, especially with my Mum and Dad being there too. I’ve wanted to do this since I was 10 so to finally get this call was huge.

Can you talk about Tommy being on the fast-track programme?

I think if you have a higher level of education you can enter this fast track programme and it will keep you off the front line and bump you up a bit faster rather than spending time working your way through the ranks. Tommy is a pretty nervous and frightened guy before he joined the police, so the idea of him getting away from the front line as fast as he could made more sense to him.

How does Tommy begin to come out of his shell and build confidence?

His partner and mentor Gerry has a lot to do with that; in fact all of it is to do with Gerry. They spend a lot of time in the car, Gerry is laid back and easy about things, not nervous or scared and that rubs off on Tommy. The first few episodes we see Tommy nervous and unsure. As the series progresses we see him become a bit more comfortable and by the end of the series he really goes for it. Gerry has taught him well. The confidence and the ability to do the job is in Tommy from the start but he just needed a strong figure like Gerry to bring it out of him, to guide him through and make him streetwise.

What sort of research did you do for the role?

Coming from Belfast I was already embedded in the culture and the city’s backstory so I feel I had a good understanding and sense of what the producers may be looking for in the character of Tommy. On a practical level I spoke to some members of the community about their perceptions of the police and had conversations with serving police officers.

What did you learn from this? How did that help you?

From speaking to the police officers in particular you learnt that when you go in to certain areas in Belfast it’s taken for granted that there will maybe be some people that don’t like you and don’t want you there. Which makes policing probably a lot more difficult and makes Tommy a lot more nervous. On a basic acting level you have to heighten your senses, nothing is taken for granted, you should be looking over your shoulder all the time. Doing all the things a police officer would do but even more carefully, more thoroughly. It heightens everything. The sense of danger, the drama for the audience and Tommy’s nervousness.

You underwent some training for the role - what did you learn specifically about being a member of the PSNI from this?

During training for the role we were shooting blanks on the range, and I learned they can still do a lot of damage, you still get the kick back off the gun. That was an eye opener for me. The former-police advisors said their main job was to look out for the community and to help them any way they can. I think that’s what makes Siân’s character (Grace) such a good police officer in the end, she has that experience of being in social care and carrying that across. She’s almost that perfect member of the police to be helping the community.

Did Richard ever make you laugh during scenes?

Thinking back, some of the scenes make me laugh even now. We had a laugh from start to finish, we really did. What was interesting and what worked well in comparison to Richard is that I am an inexperienced actor as Tommy is an inexperienced police officer. It was weird how that connection carried across in real life and then on set. One of the funniest moments during shoots, and I don’t know if they keep this in, but we were driving around having a conversation, the scene was about Gerry’s music, his favourite musician was Kris Kristofferson. In the end they put it on the car stereo and let it play at the end of the scene. I swear by the end of the scene both myself and Richard were singing our hearts out, driving along and just laughing. That was one of the best memories I have of a scene with Richard.

Any particular locations that you enjoyed working on or stunts that you did?

There was so much that was enjoyable but about three or four that stand out. The first one which was still early on the shoot was the police chase where I jump out of the car and chase this guy down the side streets of the city centre and the way they filmed it was amazing. They had three guys on a quad bike with the camera facing me, so I was sprinting around side alleys in Belfast chasing this quad. That was so interesting. All the firearms stuff was amazing, being there doing the real tests and shooting real weapons these guys practice with. Another good one is a scene where Gerry and I have to give CPR, it was really difficult scene to do, to put yourself in the place where it’s life or death. It was quite crazy. We had real life paramedics standing but to make sure we were doing everything right and we had plastic bodies to practice on. That was so interesting to learn and do.

Have you learnt anything specific from the other more experienced cast members?

There was nobody on set that I didn’t learn something from. The more I was on set the more I learnt from them. Richard and I were on set together a lot. There was one point, the director Gilles came to me and said, this is only your first job out of drama school how do you know what to do, why is that? I said I’m just copying everything Richard does, so it worked. I learnt a lot from just watching Siân, Martin McCann as well, he was someone I watched a lot growing up and to actually get to be on set with him. I was just a sponge taking as much of it in as I could. Even if it wasn’t my scene I would be on set watching the monitors to try and soak up all this crazy experience and knowledge from everyone around me.