How would you describe Oliver?

Oliver is a self-made, successful businessman and it's come through his own talent, his own academic knowhow. He's made a great success of that and we see him immersed in that lifestyle, which ticks all those boxes. He is recovering from a heart transplant so he’s now keen to live every moment he can with his family. What is also clear, which I love about him because I don't get to play many of these parts, is that he and his wife adore each other. I get the feeling they always have. You don't often see much of that nowadays and that's lovely. It goes downhill pretty quickly and we’re taken on quite a journey.

How did you approach playing him?

This character was really about being as honest as possible and honest about fear. You have a TV idea of how you would try to protect your family and when you’re truly desperate and scared, so we’ve really had to imagine what we would do in those moments. It’s been interesting when we’re filming as I’ve often had to stop for a moment and think what these two guys have done to Oliver and his family and I think by now you have to come through and you can’t stay frightened for all that time, so as a result you become quite dangerous. You’ve got nothing to lose if you think you’re going to die.

Why do you think Honey and Molina are so unsettling as criminals?

Iwan and Sasha have fresh, young faces that are both charming and disarming. Therefore you invite them in and, without realising, you’re basically asking the devil in for a cup of tea because they are plausible as policemen, which is how they present themselves initially. By the time you start to ask questions, it's too late.

These guys give us a pretty bad time but not only that, they want to be heard and they want an audience. Honey has got a captive audience in us in the scene where the wonderful Juliet Stevenson, who plays Oliver’s wife, is hanging upside down while he trots out his opera performance from the Barber of Seville. On the surface, it’s a crazy, cruel comedic scene but it reveals how, on different levels, people can be and what they want from each other.

Why do you think audiences will want to watch WOLF?

The thing about WOLF is you have one storyline, which involves Oliver, his wife and daughter and of course Honey and Molina. There’s a second storyline that stars Ukweli Roach as Jack Caffery and that’s an amazing journey where he’s trying to find out more about his past and his brother. There’s many different genres across the series which eventually tie up into one intriguing narrative. Then there’s the exploration of different demographics – from the homeless to the cult that live outside society to the very wealthy upper middle classes, the police, the London life and the Welsh rural life. It’s fascinating, intriguing, thrilling and scary to watch.

How have you found filming in Wales? What opportunities does Wales present?

We were shooting WOLF very near to where I grew up and it’s utterly amazing to me because I'm of the generation that there wasn't that much filming here when I was young. So becoming an actor meant me leaving Wales. That's not necessarily true, but that's how it felt. Now as an actor, I'm asked to come back quite readily to where I grew up and everything you could possibly need is here. The Anchor-Ferrers house, for instance, is a Georgian beauty. I never knew it even existed because it's hidden from the road.

Wales has got everything you need. It’s naturally got the mountains and the wonderful coastline, some of those locations could look like California or some of the beaches in Australia. They could substitute for anywhere. You then have great studios and crew here now, a lot of investment has gone into the industry here in Wales. It’s really exciting and it’s so lovely to come home.