How would you describe Honey?

We first meet Honey and Molina at the beginning of the series when they con their way into the Anchor-Ferrers home. It was great to play those scenes. When I was prepping for Honey, I wanted to make it clear that Molina and Honey are two different characters. Honey, unlike Molina, is very tidy, sharp and focused about making this job meticulous. That's his motivation - to complete it to the best of his ability. The stakes are so high because he's also he's got to fund his family but they’re of course kidnapping a family so there’s a lot of risks and things that could go wrong. Honey and Molina really are chalk and cheese but Molina is the only person Honey has and they’ve got to function together to get out alive.

How do you approach playing such a layered character?

One of the draws to this part was that it was unlike anything that I’ve ever read before. There's an intensity, there's violence and there's crazy scenes to play. At the same time, towards the end of the series when things shift a little bit, you almost want to feel for Honey which is quite a tricky thing to do. It was interesting to explore the fact that Honey hasn’t been dealt the best cards in life - he feels like he's been repressed, ignored and unrecognised. Yet now he's kidnapping a family who are incredibly privileged and have all the things that he never had. So there is an element of suddenly having the position of power to take out some of that anger and frustration on that family, as well as the system in general.

I was chatting to Megan during preparation and there are almost points where Honey gets so wrapped up in what he's doing that he could do something really dangerous and regret it. To get into all of that was a real joy.

What initially attracted you to the project?

When I first read the project, one of the draws was to work with Hartswood Films again and to work with Nikki Wilson, who I'd worked with on Doctor Who. The script was a real page turner and it really wasn't what I expected. I initially thought I was just coming in as a detective but by the end of episode one I quickly realised it’s nothing like I’ve ever really done before, and something that I certainly haven’t seen on British TV before. It’s a really interesting genre but it also straddles an interesting tone which I really like, especially in my storyline which is drama but also dark comedy and sickly humour.

Megan has also done a fantastic job of honouring the books but also introducing new themes, new ideas, new characters and fleshing out Jack Caffery's journey as well. She's also taken Honey and Molina's story and really heightened it – she wasn’t afraid to be imaginative or make it crazy or absurd at times.

Another draw to this project would be filming in Wales, it’s been a joy and I really adore the crews. They have been so supportive and allow me to do my best work especially when I’m doing some crazy scenes.

What do you think makes WOLF so unique as a crime thriller?

One of the things I really love about this project is that on paper it might sound like just another crime thriller, but what Megan has done so brilliantly is introduce an interesting genre where she combines crime, thriller, horror and even comedy. When I say comedy, it's not like you've got these characters trying to be funny. Rather, she puts characters in situations you wouldn’t expect to find them and that’s where the humour lies. You’re laughing at the absurd circumstances the characters find themselves in and that’s unique. The team behind the show are also what make it unique, not just Hartswood Films and APC Studios but also our brilliant directors, the way it will be edited and the look of the show.

What has it been like working with Iwan?

One of the things that was really important to me was to make sure that dynamic between Honey and Molina works. I've always wanted to work with Iwan because he's done such fantastic work on screen, theatre and in so many different genres too.

We have never worked together before but we just hit it off and it's been great considering when you see them on screen they don't really like each other. Well, Honey doesn’t really like Molina at all. It’s been a real joy to play around and just explore these scenes. We had a bit of freedom to switch things up a little bit so there's been times when it's been unpredictable and instinctive and we both kind of just go along with it.