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IT’S NOT JUST THE COLD THAT KILLS

JANUARY 2015

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CO NT ENTS3 INTRODUCTION

10 EPISODE SYNOPSES

13 RICHARD DORMER

4 OVERVIEW

14 SOFIE GRÅBØL

18 MICHAEL GAMBON

5 BEHIND THE SCENES

INTERVIEWS

15 STANLEY TUCCI

20 LUKE TREADAWAY

6 KEY CHARACTERS

12 SIMON DONALD

16 CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON

21 JESSICA RAINE

23 SIENNA GUILLORY22 NICHOLAS PINNOCK

25 CREATIVE TEAM27 CONTACTS

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I’ve only been at the helm of Sky Atlantic for a few months, and it has been such an exhilarating time to have joined this great channel. I’m a massive fan of the content on Sky Atlantic, from the immersive Boardwalk Empire to the bloody, brutal and brilliant Game of Thrones and everything in between. HBO’s fantastic programming has always been the backbone of our enviable schedule, but now we’re adding to that with our next original thriller: Fortitude. I’m so excited about this show. It’s a truly brilliant story: gripping, intriguing and provocative. With unrivalled A-class talent both on and off screen, this is a series packed with quality and scale, beautifully shot in breathtaking locations. Sky Atlantic is a world-class channel. It’s daring and grown-up and we’re able to deliver stories that are more

INTRODUCTIONambitious and cinematic than anything else you see on television.

We want to work with the best quality people, on both sides of the camera, giving them the freedom to challenge and inspire. With Fortitude, I believe that’s exactly what we’ve done, and it’s testament to the programme that it has already been bought by broadcasters the world over. The team at Fifty Fathoms and Tiger Aspect have worked tirelessly to deliver a superb piece of television in Fortitude, and I can’t wait for our customers to see it when it airs in January 2015. Zai BennettDirector of Sky Atlantic

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Surrounded by the savage beauty of the frozen landscape, Fortitude, a small town in the Arctic Circle, is one of the safest towns on earth. There has never been a violent crime here. Until now.

In this close-knit community, a murder touches everyone and the unsettling horror of the crime threatens the future of the town itself. The local police chief, Sheriff Dan Anderssen (Richard Dormer), must investigate alongside Eugene Morton (Stanley Tucci), a detective who has flown into Fortitude so fast that questions are being asked about how much he knew, and when. As the two cops try to make sense of the killing, each finds reasons to mistrust and suspect the other.

The murder is a catastrophe for the town’s governor Hildur Odegard (Sofie Gråbøl), who’s planning on turning the declining mining town into a site for high-end tourism. For wildlife photographer Henry Tyson (Michael Gambon), who only has weeks left to live, meanwhile, the murder is the catalyst to unearthing Fortitude’s darkest secret. As the cold Arctic darkness gives way to endless summer nights, this apparently idyllic community struggles to make sense of the horror that has been let loose at its heart. This gripping 11-part drama is created and written by Simon Donald (Low Winter Sun) and produced for Sky Atlantic by Fifty Fathoms and Tiger Aspect Productions.

FORTITUDE: A PLACE LIKE NOWHERE ELSE

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In Simon Donald’s vivid imagination, Fortitude appeared first as an idea for a movie. We managed to persuade him it was far better suited for television – partly because a series would give him time to properly explore the characters and storyline, and partly because Sky had just declared its intention to compete with US cable for ideas of scale and ambition. We took the idea to Anne Mensah and she bit our hands off. Simon and I spent time at the top of the world, very near the North Pole, researching how people lived up there; why people lived up there; how they dealt with a life unprotected from the ferocious weather and the merciless polar bears and how they endured weeks of complete darkness. Life in the Arctic is not for the fainthearted, these are frontier towns where the rules of life are quite unlike anywhere else on earth. And yet at the same time, we found a rare sense of community and an exuberant love of life. People choose to live in the Arctic for different reasons: because it is on the edge of the world and offers genuine tranquillity; because it is where scientific research into our planet is at its most exciting and urgent; because its beauty is almost unimaginable; because it is a good place to hide.

MAK IN G FO RTITUDE

Simon wrote a pilot script and Sky greenlit the project on the day they received it. And the script quickly attracted a phenomenal cast as well – we got our first choice for almost every role. Sofie Gråbøl, Michael Gambon, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Eccleston, Richard Dormer, Luke Treadaway, Johnny Harris, Nicholas Pinnock, Jessica Raine, Darren Boyd, Verónica Echegui. What a family they became to each other, in real life as well as on screen. Production, though, was not always easy. It took a long time to find somewhere that could double as the Arctic, and sit by the sea without feeling noticeably like another country. But we finally found our town on the east coast of Iceland, where the crews are superb and the sense of absolute isolation was perfect. Except, for the first time since records began, there was no snowfall – or snow on the ground – during the six weeks we were filming across the winter. So we had to bring snow to Iceland with us. From London. And re-lay it across our town and mountainsides for take after take. This was not how we had hoped to be working. But the crew – British and Icelandic, working side by side – were tireless as well as talented.

We filmed our interiors back in London on 45,000 square feet of sets, pretty much our entire world built from scratch by Gemma Jackson, the production designer who had also created the world of Game of Thrones. And creating one story involving 26 regular characters across 11 episodes turned out to not be that easy either. We gathered a writers’ room and filled huge offices and corridors with charts and sheets as the story strands grew

BY PATRICK SPENCE, MANAGING DIRECTOR FIFTY FATHOMS PRODUCTIONS

B E H IND T H E S C E NE S

and interwove and the writers let their imaginations run free. And we spent almost as much on coffee as we did on fake snow.

The story of Fortitude is unlike any other we have ever watched. It creeps up on its audience from a direction they cannot possibly predict, and it will hopefully stay with them for a long time afterwards. It certainly had a profound effect on some of the actors who played in it, such was the commitment of everyone involved.

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DAN A NDERSSE N RICHARD DORMER (GAME OF THRONES)Dan is sheriff of Fortitude. With barely any crime in the area, his job consists almost entirely of search and rescue. Dan has a quiet charisma and a strong physical presence, he is good at his job and well liked in the town. He’s single, but intensely attracted to Elena Ledesma, a Spanish woman who has recently moved to the island. When we meet Dan, he’s wrestling with drunkenness and self-loathing as he keeps a dark secret that could have devastating repercussions.

HILDUR ODEGARD SOFIE GRÅBØL (THE KILLING)Fortitude’s governor has lived in the region for 20 years, having first visited on honeymoon with her husband Eric (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson). While Eric is content to work as a policeman, Hildur has thrown herself into politics and her main concern is the town’s ongoing decline. Her flagship project, three years in the making, is the development of a glacier hotel outside Fortitude to boost tourism and guarantee the town’s existence when the once thriving mines are forced to close.

DCI EU GEN E MORTON STANL E Y T UCC I ( T H E H UNGE R GAME S )A detective with the British police force, DCI Morton is a former FBI agent who has been based in the UK for over 25 years, after falling in love with a local woman when he was investigating at Lockerbie. Morton is summoned to Fortitude following the gruesome murder, and is single-minded in his pursuit of the truth, not caring who he upsets in the course of the investigation. His methods quickly gain him enemies in the small town, including hostility from the local police.

K E Y C H ARACT E RS

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PROFESSOR C HARLIE STODDART CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON (THE LEFTOVERS)An eminent scientist, Professor Stoddart is head of the Arctic Research Centre based in Fortitude. In charge of the environmental impact assessment for Governor Odegard’s glacier hotel development, the potentially lucrative project that could save the town from ruin hinges on his findings. When local children make an unexpected discovery on the island, the respected professor is catapulted into the centre of the most significant event in Fortitude’s history.

HENRY TYSON MICHAEL GAMBON (HARRY POTTER)An award-winning photographer famous for capturing the animals and landscape of the Arctic, Henry is a powerful, intelligent, independent and proud man who has lived in Fortitude longer than anybody. He has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer, a condition he’s making worse with his heavy drinking as he tries to block out the guilt he harbours over a fatal incident he was involved in. Henry also faces the prospect of exile to the mainland or back to the UK, as there are no facilities to deal with the terminally ill on the island.

VIN CEN T RATTREY LUK E T RE ADAWAY ( C LAS H O F T H E T ITANS )Talented young scientist Vincent arrives in Fortitude ready for the adventure of a lifetime, and he finds it. The newest member of Professor Stoddart’s team at the Arctic Research Centre, he is there to investigate the recent cannibalistic behaviour in the polar bear population, but is soon drawn into the strange and terrifying events that threaten the town. Vincent is authoritative and confident in his field of expertise, but rather less so in his dealings with other people – notably his beautiful new colleague Natalie Yelburton.

K E Y C H ARACT E RS

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JULES SUTTE R JESSICA RAINE (CALL THE MIDWIFE)A newcomer to Fortitude, Jules recently moved to the island with her husband Frank and son Liam (Darwin Brokenbro) when the ex-military man took a new job as a search-and-rescue pilot. Jules and Frank’s marriage is far from perfect, however, with his wandering eye often causing friction. Jules’ world begins to fall apart when Liam is taken seriously ill and she makes a devastating discovery.

FRANK SUTTER NICHOLAS PINNOCK (TOP BOY)Having served in Afghanistan, former military man Frank is now a search-and-rescue pilot working with the Fortitude police. When he begins an affair with fellow newcomer Elena, his irresponsible actions have further-reaching consequences than he could ever have imagined, affecting both his personal and professional lives.

ELENA LEDESMA VERÓNI C A ECHEGUIA new arrival in Fortitude, Elena is hiding a dark secret that would make the locals nervous. The only person who knows the truth about her is Dan, although it hasn’t stopped him from falling for her. Now working at the Midnight Sun Hotel, she has become involved with a married man and is a major player in the mystery surrounding the town’s shocking events.

N ATAL IE Y EL B U RTON S IE NNA GUIL LO RY ( LUT H E R)Beautiful and brilliant scientist Natalie works with Professor Stoddart at the Arctic Research Centre, where she immediately catches the eye of newcomer Vincent. Cool and calm under pressure, she is thrown into the centre of the vicious crime committed in Fortitude as the Research Centre becomes the key to unlocking what really happened.

K E Y C H ARACT E RS

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M ARKUS HUS E K LE PPDA R R E N B OY D ( S PY )

LIAM SUTTER AND CARRIE MORGANDA R W I N B R O K E N B R O A N D E L I ZA B E T H D O R M E R- P H I L L I PS

RONNIE MORGANJ O H N N Y H A R R I S ( T H I S I S E N G L A N D ’ 8 8 )

PC INGRID AND PC PE TRA M I A J E X E N A N D A L E X A N D RA M O E N ( ST R I K E B AC K )

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EPISODE 1

LOGLINE In the remote Arctic town of Fortitude, two children make a remarkable find, while the discovery of a horrific crime brings a new arrival to the island that complicates Sheriff Dan Anderssen’s investigation.

SYNOPSISIn a feature-length pilot episode, a young British scientist, Vincent Rattrey, arrives in Fortitude to start ground-breaking research into cannibalism among polar bears and the changing Arctic environment. Meanwhile, two children make a startling discovery in the permafrost that will change both of their lives forever. Fortitude’s Sheriff, Dan Anderssen, has to deliver bad news to his old friend Henry Tyson, as well as grappling with unrequited love for beautiful Spanish

E P IS O D E SYNO PS E S

newcomer Elena Ledesma. However, he is unaware that Elena is on the brink of an affair with his new colleague, search-and-rescue pilot Frank Sutter. Later on, Vincent makes a horrific discovery when he finds the victim of a brutal murder.

With suspicion falling on newcomer Vincent, Dan and his team work on the crime scene, as Fortitude’s governor, Hildur Odegard, tries to keep the news from investors in her glacier hotel project. It isn’t long before a detective from the British police force arrives to investigate the murder, though, much to the disquiet of Dan and the governor. Elsewhere, Frank and Jules Sutter keep watch over their ailing son, just as their marriage implodes when Jules realises Frank’s been having an affair.

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EPISODE 2

LOGLINEAs the police close in on their murder suspect, Morton follows a different line of enquiry and Governor Odegard takes action to protect her glacier hotel project. Elsewhere, Ronnie Morgan is acting suspiciously…

SYNOPSISAs Dan shuts Morton out of the investigation, the Met detective proceeds with his own enquiries, while the sheriff hunts for a potential suspect out in the Arctic wilderness. As news of the murder spreads through the community, local miner Ronnie Morgan decides it’s time to leave town and secretly slips away with his daughter, Carrie, while

EPISODE 3

LOGLINEDan and Frank travel up the coast in search of a suspect, however Dan’s feelings for Elena are threatening to overwhelm him. Morton, meanwhile, uncovers a new piece of evidence at the crime scene.

SYNOPSISWhen the investigation opens up a new lead, Dan and Frank have to work together, pursuing Ronnie Morgan into the unforgiving landscape. For Dan, this means containing his jealousy over Frank’s involvement with Elena, but that’s something he finds increasingly difficult.

Morton uncovers a new key piece of evidence at the crime scene, which seems to provide a conclusive link between the recent murder and the death of scientist Billy Pettigrew a few months earlier. Meanwhile, a different piece of evidence is discovered, this time linking Frank Sutter to the murder and Dan loses control as he brutally arrests him, horrifying Elena with his violent outburst.

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LOGLINEMorton sidelines Dan and takes over the investigation as the evidence against Frank looks overwhelming. Elsewhere, Elena’s mysterious past is about to catch up with her.

SYNOPSISDan’s loss of control during Frank’s arrest allows Morton to sideline the sheriff and take charge of the interrogation. As Frank protests his innocence, Morton gradually builds a compelling case against him, interviewing first Jules and then Elena.

Meanwhile, a demoralised and ashamed Dan seeks solace with Henry, who comes to understand that the sheriff ’s feelings for Elena are at the heart of his problems. And Hildur is aghast when Morton discovers Dan has been concealing information about the mysterious Spaniard, although it’s Dan who finds a key piece of evidence that puts another suspect in the frame.

Governor Odegard takes action to stop the recent events affecting her plans to turn Fortitude into a tourism destination.

Elena’s relationship with Frank is put to the test when she becomes aware of his son’s injuries – injuries that were inadvertently caused by their adulterous actions. Natalie Yelburton, a scientist at Fortitude’s Arctic Research Centre, is asked to assist with the investigation, but with Morton and Hildur both pushing her for information as well, she’s not sure who to trust. Plus, Dan learns of Elena’s involvement with Frank.

E P IS O D E SYNO PS E S

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What inspired you to write this series?I’m interested in crime thrillers and I wanted to write one that was as distinctive as possible from all the others. I was keen to find a place where I could set a dark, twisted thriller that was unlike any location we’d seen recently – and that took us right up into the Arctic Circle. I also wanted to write something set in a very small, pressure-cooker community where people are left to their own devices and have to sort things out themselves when something goes wrong. And finally, I wanted something that moved into a different thematic area from a traditional police procedural; I wanted to go into some dark, urgent, real-world science, and all of that ended up being Fortitude.

Fortitude has been described as unsettling. Do you agree with that? Very much. In police dramas we usually see a lot of the police work we know they do in real life, but we wanted to construct this story in such a way that even when they follow all the normal routine investigative paths they get nowhere. They continually head down blind alleys, because whatever is causing

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SIMON DONALDFortitude’s creator Simon Donald is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His single drama for Channel 4 Low Winter Sun won multiple awards and he also wrote BBC One’s The Deep, as well as episodes of Rebus, Wallander and Murphy’s Law. His multi-award-winning play The Life of Stuff was subsequently adapted for film and followed by the successful features My Life So Far and Beautiful Creatures starring Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch.

all the dark murderous mayhem that’s gripping this little town doesn’t surrender itself to any of the investigative tools the police are familiar with.

Allied to that, we set it in a community where there’s a very small police force that is brilliant at search and rescue, but they’re not investigative detectives. So they’re trying to solve a crime without any of the routine choices that cops make in big city shows, where their responses to murder are driven by experience and tested procedures. Our cops don’t have any of that about them. And they’re in a small town with a population of 780, so they know everybody. They’re not used to investigating dark, hidden motivation in people they know well.

Tell us about the town of Fortitude and its rules.The rules are based on those of the Arctic towns on which Fortitude is modelled. We were astonished when we got there and heard about the rules of these places, which change the nature of who lives there and the kind of life you have quite extremely. You’re not allowed to be unemployed and you’re not allowed to stay there if you’ve

no means of supporting yourself. There’s very little crime. It’s a relatively high-earning community because it’s in an extreme place – the rewards for working out there are higher than for the mainland equivalent. If you’re caught with drugs or become too dependent on alcohol, you’re off the island because it’s such a dangerous environment. There’s no welfare system on the island at all, which means there’s very little maternal care and there is no palliative care at end of life, so you’re not allowed to give birth or die there. I’d never heard of anywhere like that before and I found it compelling.

Why are there so many different nationalities in Fortitude? Does that reflect the real towns you’ve modelled it on? Yes, there’s a small, highly specialised university that pulls in experts from all over the world, and that makes it cosmopolitan. There’s a burgeoning tourist industry and no indigenous population so it’s a complete melting pot. Everybody speaks English because of the western academics, and the Norwegians speak English as well. Everyone we met spoke fluent English and they

conduct most of their business in English because the people they’re dealing with are incomers, they’re tourists and scientists.

You’ve approached the writing of the series differently to other dramas, haven’t you? We’ve tried to work much more like the big American shows and it’s a process we don’t have too much experience of in the UK. The US system puts a team of writers in a writers’ room and breaks down the episodes and stories over a long period. All the writers work together and you have a story brainstorming environment where you cook everything up. So we put together a room of writers and we worked together for a few months, working out the stories and the plots of all the episodes, and I think we ended up learning an awful lot about how you do that.

A key character is killed in the very first episode. Why did you choose to do that? Audiences are sophisticated and the audience I’m writing for watches the kind of shows I love: The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Deadwood and Game of Thrones. A feature of those

shows is that you just don’t know who’s going to get knocked off next. Nobody is safe simply because they’re a famous actor or because they’re playing a likeable character. So I was looking to find the most unexpected combination of murderer and victim that I could come up with in this little world, and that was important because it’s great fun to be wrong-footed.

We also find out who the killer is quite early on in the series. Again, why did you make that decision? Who did it is never the full story – why they did it is what you care about. The reveal of who did it in this instance is pretty shocking, so the puzzle isn’t solved by identifying who did it at that stage, the mystery is still there. There will be more that takes the audience down a chilling route until the very end, and the conclusion is pretty extreme.

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Can you describe your character and how he fits into the story?Dan Anderssen is the sheriff of Fortitude, but at the beginning of the series people don’t know how good a sheriff he is because there is no crime in the town. He’s a dependable and strong guy, who doesn’t say a great deal, then when things start to kick off he has to rise to the challenge and call on every skill he has as a policeman to cope with things.

How would you sum up the series?Ultimately, I think it’s a love story. It’s a crime drama that kind of mutates into something else, something darker and scarier. It’s very unpredictable.

What was it that appealed to you about the series?I loved it, I’d never seen that kind of beautiful Arctic world filled with glaciers, white ice, polar bears and whales. And I loved the character of Dan, there’s a real soul to the guy. I really like his journey, he’s quite surprising as you start to get to know him. He’s a bit like a shepherd, very protective of his flock and of the town of Fortitude.

It looks like Dan might be hiding a few secrets. Is there a dark side to him?Oh yes, he’s incredibly dark. Ultimately, Dan is a good man who does bad things, but he does them for the right reasons. It’s up for debate whether he’s right or not morally, but I think he’s right. He has a dark past, but he has every reason to behave the way he does.

You’ve alluded to a love story as well. What can you tell us about that?I don’t want to give too much away, but Dan has an unrequited love which drives him to behave the way he does. Which I think is all the more heartbreaking.

Did you do any research to prepare for the role?I read a lot about Arctic research centres and how people survive in that kind of cold. My main research came every day before I went on set when I did a little tour of the town we were filming in, like a cop on the beat. The locals would give me cheery waves like I was the town copper and I’d trudge through the snow in my Arctic gear. I really felt like I belonged to the place.

How did you deal with the cold in Iceland?

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We were wearing this Canada Goose gear, which was just incredible, so it was probably the warmest shoot I’ve ever done. I had a woolly police cap, which kept my head and ears warm. It really was lovely.

How did you get to grips with the skidoos and snow-based activities? I had a few scenes on a skidoo and there was an incident that could have been serious, but overall I really enjoyed it. Iceland is a lovely place – I’m in love with it and I can’t wait to go back. It’s probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.

The beauty of the location is really captured in the series, and it certainly starts with an arresting scene, doesn’t it?It’s a very brutal opening and it will grab people’s attention. But I can’t say too much or I’ll give it all away.

Your character and Stanley Tucci’s clash. How did you find working with him and how does that relationship develop over the series?Working with Stanley was brilliant. At first, the characters are very different and as actors I think we’re very different as well. Stanley is very fluid and very easy,

so relaxed and charming, whereas my character is very still and intense and contained. Dan and Morton are like chalk and cheese, but I think they want to be a little like each other. Over the series, they develop a kind of grudging respect for each other, and towards the end I think they actually do like each other, but they have to do their job.

Did you enjoy the shoot? What was the atmosphere like on set?It was the most fun I think any of us have had on a set. We were one big family. We had this big stellar cast but everybody was just so lovely and laid-back, it was one of the nicest shoots ever.

Fortitude has such a beautiful filmic quality and, of course, you’ve been involved with Game of Thrones, which is also on a grand scale. Do you think TV is now rivalling film or could it even be the new film?I think it’s overtaken film because the beauty of a TV series is that you can watch a character develop over 12 hours rather than just two. And with TV, you get something to look forward to as it’s spread out over a →

RICHARD DORM E RHailing from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Richard Dormer has performed in productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Private Lives and Waiting for Godot. He has also written a number of plays. In 2012, he played the lead role in the film Good Vibrations, a biopic of punk rocker Terri Hooley. Dormer is best known for his TV work, starring in Hunted, Hidden and fantasy epic Games of Thrones as Lord Beric Dondarrion. In Fortitude, he plays Sheriff Dan Anderssen.

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enjoy playing that aspect of her character?Because of the great responsibility Odegard carries as a governor, she has to maintain a façade, which becomes harder for her along the way because she is under pressure from so many directions. She has to keep not only herself but the whole community together.

Did you enjoy filming in Iceland? I have always wanted to go to Iceland and it was just as breathtakingly beautiful as I had imagined. We don’t really have cold winters in Denmark, and we don’t have any dramatic nature, so this was a very exotic place to be while still feeling at home as a Scandinavian.

Fortitude has attracted a stellar cast. What was the atmosphere like on set? Did you have fun during filming?The cast was just the most lovely group of actors, and there was a true ensemble feeling throughout the shoot. When we shot in Iceland we really had time to get to know each other, going for walks, eating together. The food was so good, Icelandic lamb and reindeer steak is fantastic, and Michael

Gambon told stories that made everyone roll with laughter. We all just had the best time together.

There are quite a lot of gruesome events in the series. Did anything on set make you squeamish?The special effects were so well done that it was truly scary sometimes. There was a dead body so realistic that I was relieved to see the actor it was modelled on alive the next day.

How have things changed for you since the global success of The Killing? The success of The Killing in the UK has surprised and amazed me. It is a project that means a lot to me and to see it being received so well outside Denmark has made me so proud and grateful. And it has brought me so many great new opportunities; I wouldn’t be in Fortitude had it not been for The Killing.

Finally, why should Sky Atlantic viewers tune in to Fortitude?Viewers can look forward to a complex thriller that plays out in a spectacular setting. I was often taken by complete surprise by the twists and turns of the story and I’m sure the audience will be too.

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SOFIE GRÅB Ø LAcclaimed Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl has worked extensively in the theatre in Denmark, appearing in productions of A Winter’s Tale, Macbeth and Ghosts, to name just a few. Gråbøl shot to international fame following the global success of BAFTA-winning crime drama The Killing, in which she played Detective Sarah Lund. She has also appeared in a raft of Danish films and, most recently, she starred in the National Theatre’s production of James III: The True Mirror. In Fortitude, Gråbøl plays Governor Hildur Odegard.

Can you describe your character and how she fits into the story?I play Hildur Odegard, who is the governor of Fortitude. She is married to Eric, a policeman. She has high ambitions for Fortitude, and also for herself.

And what is Fortitude?It’s an isolated community of people, who are deeply dependent on each other.

What was it that appealed to you about the series?Michael Gambon in The Singing Detective made a huge impression on me when I was young, and I admire Stanley Tucci greatly. The possibility of working with these fantastic actors was just amazing, they are truly great. Plus, I haven’t played many characters in power, and the role of Governor Odegard immediately appealed to me. The mind of a power-seeking person was an interesting one to work with.

Is Hildur as trustworthy as she first appears?Good question! I think she is a person who wants to do good. Can we put it like that?

We occasionally see glimpses of Hildur’s more vulnerable side. Did you

number of weeks. A film is just bang and it’s done. TV is attracting such great cinematographers and film actors these days and that’s thanks to shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad, which really showcased how fantastic TV can be and what’s possible. Box sets are the new kind of movie craze.

So why should Sky Atlantic viewers tune in to Fortitude?They will see something they’ve never seen before. They’ll be uplifted, they’ll laugh and maybe even shed a tear at the end. There’s a brilliant ensemble cast, great scripting, a love story, it looks out of this world and it is absolutely terrifying. It gave me nightmares, and that’s saying something.

You had nightmares while you were filming?I’d never had a nightmare in my life and I had three during filming. There’s some pretty scary stuff and it wormed its way into my subconscious so at night-time it was really affecting me. Although on set at the time of filming, I was just laughing about all these things.

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Can you describe what Fortitude is about?Well from my character’s point of view, it’s about a murder. I play a detective who comes from London to investigate a murder on this island. Fortitude is a town based on a real place in Norway that exists on the edge of the earth, really. There are very few people who live there, mostly scientists and people who don’t want to be part of society as a whole. It’s a place like no other, you’re not allowed to die in Fortitude, and that’s based on the reality of towns in that part of the Arctic, where if you’re taken ill, really ill, you have to leave. I think that’s fascinating. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding your character, isn’t there?Well yes, to a certain extent. He’s the ultimate outsider and Fortitude isn’t a place that welcomes outsiders easily or warmly. He’s there to investigate this murder and it’s like pulling teeth to get information out of anyone. He has entered into what is, in essence, a kind of big dysfunctional family. What would you say are the themes of the series?I think Fortitude has

STANL E Y TU CCI Academy Award-nominated actor Stanley Tucci is famed for his scene-stealing performances in a variety of blockbuster movies including The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia, Easy A, Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Hunger Games films. In 2010, he received an Oscar nomination for his role in The Lovely Bones, and has also worked as a writer, producer and director on a number of projects. In Fortitude, Tucci plays DCI Eugene Morton.

elements of many genres, particularly murder mystery. But I think it’s mostly about people. Fortitude has attracted a great cast. What has your experience of working with them been like?It’s a wonderful group of people. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve walked onto a project where I didn’t know at least one person, and it’s nice. I was very excited to work with Michael Gambon, of whom I’ve been a fan for a very long time, and Sofie Gråbøl, who’s an extraordinary actress. I’d seen Luke Treadaway in the West End, and we’ve got a really great group of very talented people. I live in London now so the UK-based shoot has been very convenient for me. The studio is a great space that works really well and, as far as I know, it had never been used before. They’ve built some incredible sets, they’re beautifully imagined by a brilliant designer. What was it like filming in Iceland?Extraordinary. I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland, it was one of the reasons I wanted to do this job, and it was a great experience. I was there for about 10 days

and had a great, great time. There’s a beautiful landscape, really nice people and good food. It was great. A very exciting experience. Did you have any difficulties filming in the conditions there?The weather in New York last year was more severe than the weather in Iceland, because Iceland, as it turns out, is warmed by these currents. It’s really misnamed, Iceland, isn’t it? There are, of course, areas where it’s brutal and dangerous, but we weren’t necessarily there, so in fact there were times when I think the weather was just like it was in London. It was raining a lot, which was unfortunate because we really needed the snow. They had to get snow machines in, didn’t they?They had to make snow, yes, which nobody expected. It was still beautiful though, and when it did snow, it was gorgeous. I happen to like the winter so it was great. This is your first British drama. How have you found the experience?It’s wonderful. I’ve worked in England a lot but I’ve never done anything for television, and I love it. I think there are

great crews, great designers, certainly great actors and directors to choose from, so it’s really been a real pleasure. Why do you think people should watch Fortitude?Because it’s very unusual. It’s going to be great and not what you expect at all.

“ I THINK FORTITUDE HAS ELEMENTS OF MANY GENRES, PARTICULARLY MURDER MYSTERY. BUT I THINK IT’S MOSTLY ABOUT PEOPLE.”

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What were your first thoughts when you read the script for Fortitude?I know Simon Donald’s theatre writing and I’ve always admired him, so I liked the detail of characterisation within his dialogue. Then, of course, the scale of the thing – it’s massive. And that cast, I wanted to work with those actors. I’d seen a lot of Richard Dormer’s stuff, and working with him was a big attraction for me, and of course to work with Michael Gambon, and then to have people from entirely different cultures and disciplines like Stanley and Sofie.

It’s an amazing cast. Did you all get along?We got along fantastically, and I think that was helped by the fact that we were uprooted and dropped in the middle of Iceland at regular intervals, which is a beautiful and extraordinary country. The sense of wonder we all felt out there, the intensity and beauty of the place, is really present in the programme.

Had you been there before?I had shot in Iceland before on Thor 2, but this was in an entirely different part of the country. I was very much landlocked and inland the

first time, and I much preferred where we shot this time.

Did you get to see the sights?I did. I’m a runner, so on my days off I was running out along the roads, out in these vast valleys and glaciers.

How would you describe your character? How does he fit into the story?Charlie is a scientist of the natural world, so for me he had a real idealism and a childlike wonder to him. He makes a discovery which is every natural scientist’s dream and he’s desperate to protect it, and to a certain extent he represents the world of nature and idealism. Sofie’s character comes into conflict with him because she’s very much concerned with the world of commerce and business, and is trying to promote Fortitude as a tourist destination, whereas he knows about the impact of tourism on nature and he’s trying very much to protect that. So he’s quite childlike really, he has a huge enthusiasm and a huge imagination. It was refreshing for me to play somebody who’s, in a sense, so untroubled personally.

He’s troubled by events that happen around him but as a human being he’s really upbeat, and has a great relationship with Luke Treadaway’s character, who is a young scientist. There are shades of a paternal relationship there which I enjoyed. Luke’s a great actor to work with and such a nice guy.

There’s a lot going on in the series. How would you describe the show?It’s a crime drama with wonderful scale and ambition, and it’s also very much a human drama. Despite the locations and the crime element, it’s really an examination of character motivation, all these really quite extreme and eccentric people are drawn to this extraordinary place to live for quite idealistic reasons, and then this brutal murder happens. The series examines the impact of tragedy on a close-knit community, and it lifts the lid on how people in those very tight communities live.

It’s always nice to watch something that isn’t very obvious as well.Exactly. I don’t think the tone of it is entirely predictable, and that was a big attraction

for me. You couldn’t quite pin it down.

And, of course, you’re in The Leftovers, which is another very mysterious series.Yes, that’s right, I was thinking that too. The tone of both shows is quite unusual, which actually makes them quite difficult to talk about really. Atmosphere is such a huge aspect of both of these series and that can only be experienced by watching it.

As you’ve already mentioned, Fortitude has attracted a stellar cast, including the Oscar-nominated Stanley Tucci. Can you appreciate why, in recent years, more film stars are starting out to work in television?Absolutely. Over the last 15 or 16 years, America has really led the way in terms of what TV can do. It’s become the long-form novel, you really get opportunities to examine a character in a way that you’re never going to get in a film where you’re just another special effect. Whereas what The Sopranos, for instance, or Breaking Bad does is appeal to real actors, and that’s what a lot of the actors get in Fortitude: an opportunity to really examine their characters in detail. →

CHRISTOPH E R E CCL E STONAward-winning British actor Christopher Eccleston is highly acclaimed for his work on both stage and screen. He was BAFTA-nominated for his roles in Our Friends in the North and The Second Coming, and received an International Emmy for his work in Accused. In 2005, Eccleston became the ninth Doctor Who and, most recently, he starred in Thor: The Dark World and HBO drama The Leftovers, which also airs on Sky Atlantic. In Fortitude, Christopher Eccleston plays Professor Charlie Stoddart.

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That must be so rewarding, to peel away different layers to a character. Every season in Breaking Bad and The Sopranos there are new facets, where you’re not just playing a standard character.Yes, and it’s an indictment of what’s happening in cinema, because that’s what we used to do in films but it doesn’t happen anymore, they’re just popcorn rides. Which is why television is suddenly getting crowded with all these film stars.

What medium do you prefer to work in? Theatre. You know, you have to do television and films to make a living. There’s not a huge amount of money in theatre, and if you’ve got a mortgage and a family…

Is there a particular type of part you’re hungry to play, or do you feel that you’ve done the lot?I’m always looking to play something different, something lighter. I’ve played a great deal of tragedy.

You’re very good at it, though.And if they’ll pay me I’ll do it, but I’d like to explore comedy, I’d love to do some comedy really and lighter stuff.

When you play heavier roles, do you take that home with you?Not consciously. I would not describe myself as a method actor, but I think if you spend a day replicating what it feels like to lose your child or to murder somebody, to a certain extent that’s going to go home with you. I think that’s why I run so much, because after shooting, if I possibly can, I get my shoes on and go and burn it off for an hour, I find that very useful for me. I think you do take it home without realising it, but the more experience you get the smarter you are about handling that.

How much of a draw is the location of a project when it comes to picking a part? If a script isn’t great, could a shoot in Barbados, for instance, make it a bit more desirable? I’m sure that is a draw. What was great about Fortitude was that you could see exactly how essential that location was to the tone of the piece, because the characters we’re examining throughout the series have been drawn to that place for very specific and personal reasons. You don’t choose to go and live in an extreme environment like that unless

you’re unusual. So what Fortitude has is a number of very unusual, original characters packed together, which for a drama is perfect. None of these people are run-of-the-mill. They all have very strong back stories and mystery to them, which is the stuff of drama.

Looking back over your career, can you single out an actor or actress you’ve learned the most from?Yes, Peter Vaughan, who played my father in Our Friends in the North. He’s the actor I’ve learned the most from in terms of performance and how to conduct yourself on a set. He was a great example to me. On Our Friends in the North, there was Gina McKee, Mark Strong, Daniel Craig and myself, but Peter Vaughan was by far and away the most intense and committed actor of all of us and he was in his 70s. That was a huge example to me. He took me under his wing and taught me a great deal.

In Fortitude, your character is an expert in all things Arctic based. Are you an expert on anything? What would your Mastermind specialist subject be?Probably soul music. And I’m not talking Motown,

I’m talking Stax soul, what we call southern soul. I’ve also got a big interest in reggae and ska. But I don’t run listening to music, I’m a purist. I run listening to my own banal thoughts.

There’s quite an eerie element to Fortitude, isn’t there? When was the last time you were properly freaked out about something or experienced something that was seemingly unexplainable?That’s never happened to me. I’ve longed for it to happen, I’d love to experience something of that nature, but I’m a natural sceptic and it’s never happened to me. I remain open, though, as does my character.

“ NONE OF THESE PEOPLE ARE RUN-OF-THE-MILL. THEY ALL HAVE VERY STRONG BACK STORIES AND MYSTERY TO THEM, WHICH IS THE STUFF OF DRAMA.”

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Can you describe your character and how he fits into the story of Fortitude?He’s a nice man, I think. He likes a drink but he’s not shy about it and he’s a well-known photographer whose work is sold all over the world. He’s lived in Fortitude longer than anyone else, and, early on, he’s involved in a very big moment while he’s out photographing nature.

How would you describe Fortitude?It’s fascinating. And varies so much for me. In some scenes, Henry is pissed out of his head and swearing, and in others he’s quite soft and gentle. He’s in this complex world and he’s seen a terrible thing happen, and as it gets worse he gets even more drunk. It’s pretty good stuff.

Did you enjoy your time in Iceland while you were filming?Yes, I loved it. I’d be there for say a week and a half, two weeks, then they’d fly me back to London for a week or so, and then I’d go back. I went back and forwards maybe six times, and every time I got there it was new again. I liked the weather there, it wasn’t too cold. And the cast were all lovely, I made lots of good mates.

Your career has been so varied and television has changed a lot over the years. What would you say are the ingredients for a great British drama?Well this one is so ambitious and we’re seeing more of that on television. The characters are so complex that it must be very interesting to watch. Fortitude is very exciting, I hope it’s a big hit.

Along with yourself, the cast on Fortitude is stellar. Why are such big actors doing television as well as film these days?Television is completely different now, it’s as good as film. It’s beating film. It’s intelligent and well shot, so it’s no concession for an actor to work in TV. There’s such good stuff being made, you can’t resist it. I tend to prefer sitting in a big cinema watching a movie than watching the telly, but sometimes, there isn’t much difference.

You’ve worked with so many acting greats in theatre, TV and film. What’s the best piece of advice you were given early on in your career?I started off at the National Theatre when it opened, and spent a year standing

at the back holding a spear. I suppose that gets you used to being an actor. I had Tony Hopkins next to me, and all these actors who went on to become famous so I just watched and learned from them. We worked with the greatest actors in the world and, in a way, you copy them but it doesn’t look like you’re copying them because you’re you, you’re different. I think most young actors do that, they watch others and pick things up from them.

Looking back, I had quite a big start. I was at the National for four years when I was a kid, with all these world famous people. But I was so thick I didn’t know who they were. When that job finished, I went on to the next and I haven’t been out of work since. Life carries on and the past gets bigger without you fully realising it, and now I’m sitting here, 98 years old or something, and it went, poof, like that.

Are you aware that you’re now one of the greats that young actors look up to? No, you never think like that, you can’t. Actors always knock themselves. I never imagined I would have the career I’ve had.

Obviously you’ve played so many roles, but is there one that’s particularly special?On television it’s The Singing Detective, which I did about 25 years ago and I’ll never forget. I remember it being so enjoyable and frightening at the same time because I’d never played a part as big as that on the telly. In the theatre, there are so many parts I’m proud of, too many to mention.

Is there a flipside to that? Is there anything you wish you’d done or a part you didn’t get that you wish you had?I’ve never failed to get a part, but there are parts I wish I hadn’t had because it didn’t go well or something went wrong. I remember being in a play in the West End which I hated because it wasn’t very good. The set was so badly designed that we could barely get on or off the stage. Things like that stick in your mind but, generally speaking, I’ve forgotten a lot of the jobs I’ve had. There are TV plays I did 40 years ago that I know I was in but I can’t remember being in them or what they were called.

The BBC used to broadcast plays every Sunday night, so I would always hang around →

MICHAEL GA M B ONSir Michael Gambon is one of the most beloved and respected thespians of his generation. The Irish-born actor began his career at the National Theatre Company in London, under the tutelage of Laurence Olivier, before going on to receive widespread acclaim and awards aplenty for a plethora of theatrical roles. In 1986, he became a household name, playing the lead role in The Singing Detective, for which he won one of his four best actor BAFTA Awards. Today, Gambon is perhaps best known for playing Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the Harry Potter films. He will soon be seen in the film version of Dad’s Army and, in Fortitude, he plays Henry Tyson.

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Do you think there are so many people wanting to act because they see it as being glamorous?Well there’s no glamour. A lot of the time, it’s hard work, sweat, swearing and wishing you hadn’t done it.

So what advice would you give to a would-be actor?I’d just say be truthful when you’re acting, keep happy and keep trying. And if you can’t

do that, become an airline pilot or something.

Is there anybody you would have liked to have worked with that you didn’t get the chance to, or would still like to?I’ve been lucky, I’ve worked with everyone. Brando, De Niro, Pacino, all those American stars and all lovely blokes, I had great fun with them. I did a play at the Royal Court with Daniel Craig who now plays James Bond, and at the time he didn’t have a clue he’d end up in such a massive role. He’s a wonderful actor.

Is theatre your first love?Well it’s for my generation, isn’t it? We were all theatre actors, but kids nowadays don’t get to do that because so many provincial theatres have closed. I used to go from one rep to another but now they’ve all gone and it’s shocking.

Do you approach TV and film differently to a theatre role?Fundamentally it’s just acting, but in the theatre you know that you have to be heard at the back of the stalls, so you have to play it big. Whereas on television you have microphones, so you can

speak in whispers. It’s a different sort of process. If you acted for television the way you would in the theatre, you’d look like an idiot.

Does TV ever appeal more than theatre because it’s less repetitive? I was once in a play in the West End for a year and that’s crucifying. Can you imagine playing the same part every night, in the same costume with the same dialogue? Of course, you can never show the audience that you’re bored. These days, a West End play tends to be on for three months or so, which is tolerable. So that’s my other piece of advice: don’t do a long play.

Do you go to the theatre?I’ll tell you a secret, I don’t think actors go to the theatre as much as they say they do. I don’t think they like to see another actor being brilliant.

So it’s an envy thing?Yes, although I’m probably exaggerating. But I prefer going to the pictures or watching telly.

What do you like to watch?Because I work with all those Americans, I tend to drift towards their things, but those American gangster

movies are drying up a bit now.

How important is it that broadcasters in the UK are investing more in original drama?It’s very important and it’s getting better, more money is being put into it. There is some great TV being made at the moment and it’s nice to be a part of it.

So finally, what would you say to viewers to encourage them to watch Fortitude?Watch it because you will never see anything better. It’s not like anything else, it’s unusual, well made and it’s done with care and love. There’s good writing and great actors, apart from me, so they’ve got to watch it.

“ WATCH IT BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER SEE ANYTHING BETTER. IT’S NOT LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, IT’S UNUSUAL, WELL MADE AND IT’S DONE WITH CARE AND LOVE.”

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I worry about actors now. When I was 22, it wasn’t like it is now. I got parts without even trying, but lots of kids want to act now and I worry about them because there aren’t enough jobs for them all. There are so many drama schools these days but hardly anybody will be able to get work. It’s silly isn’t it? If you wanted to spend your life doing this now, you wouldn’t stand a chance.

Wood Lane to get parts. The casting directors and producers were on the third floor, and I used to go up there with my mate and shove pictures with my name on under the office doors, and that’s how I got a great many parts.

Is it possible for young actors to do that sort of thing now?I don’t think so, the world has changed so much.

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Who is Vincent and how does he fit into the story of Fortitude?Vincent Rattrey arrives in Fortitude at the beginning of episode one and he’s there to study with Professor Stoddart at the Arctic Research Centre. He’s a clever young scientist who’s interested in the PFAs, the perfluoro-alkoxy compounds, which are giving signs of strange things going on among the apex predators, the polar bears in Fortitude. He’s previously been studying in England where the apex predator is the badger, so he’s a bit green, everything’s new to him. He comes across some strange customs and he’s also the one that discovers this horrific murder, so things go wrong pretty quickly for him. Vincent is the audience’s way into Fortitude, he’s just stepped off the plane and meeting people for the first time.

How would you describe the series?It’s about people. I don’t think it’s about polar bears or police or science, but all of that is in this world. It’s about people, how they interact and how the strains of mistrust and people’s hearts can warp the different situations they’re in. You see people

being pushed to their limits, and they’re a small group of people, as Dan Anderssen says, clinging onto a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There’s an extreme sense of isolation where everything is magnified and as this community struggles through the hard times, they try to stay together and remain human.

Did you feel that sense of isolation while you were filming on location?I’d go off and have a run on my own along a fjord or around a lake, which was beautiful and extremely isolated. But the rest of the time, it was a real bonding experience with the whole cast and crew.

Was there any research you could do to prepare for the role?I spent some time trying to brush up on my knowledge of perfluoro-alkoxy compounds and what they meant, and I did some research on badgers and polar bears and apex predators in general. I gave myself a crash course in Vincent’s world and then just tried to be open to the fact that, as a character, I’d never been there before. You don’t learn a great deal about Vincent in the first few scripts, so I tried to be open

to what that character might develop into as well.

There are a couple of love interests for Vincent along the way, aren’t there?Yes. Well, love interests as far as they go for Vincent. They’re sort of unseen moments, really, the things that happen between episodes. Sienna’s character, Natalie, is the person Vincent spends most of his time with and they both get pretty involved in the drama and mystery of the island. So Vincent and Natalie develop a bond, but it’s more a meeting of minds.

You’re involved with some of the most gruesome moments of the series. Were you squeamish about any of the props? I’m a vegetarian and it was funny because it did get to the point where I was asking ‘what are we dissecting today?’. We had an amazing prosthetic animal maker and one day there was a full-sized polar bear on the lab table and we had drills and saws to go into its head with. You’d peel back its skin and then, in one take, you’d carry on into the skull and into the brain that had been perfectly prepared for us to excavate. It was amazing. What I did find weird were the prosthetic

humans – they looked so real and then we’d have to cut them up. I say it was weird, but I did spend most of the time larking around with saws and saying inappropriate things to dead bodies, so I can’t claim it was too traumatic.

How did you deal with the cold?With thermals, hand warmers and Canada Geese. A lot of the time, I was too hot because with all those thermals on you’d get really warm. I was cold on the days off when I didn’t have Vincent’s coat and I’d be walking around Iceland in a denim jacket, though.

Fortitude has attracted such a stellar cast. What was it like to work with the likes of Michael Gambon, Christopher Eccleston and Stanley Tucci?It’s a great team, isn’t it? A script and a story like this is going to attract amazing people. Having a cup of tea in the hotel foyer with Gambon while waiting to get picked up really is the stuff of boyhood dreams. I’m looking forward to there hopefully being a second series where I might be able to cross paths with some of the characters I didn’t interact with so much in this one. →

LUKE TREADA WAYOlivier Award winner Luke Treadaway originated the lead roles in the National Theatre’s productions of War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, winning the best actor Olivier for the latter. His film and TV credits include Clapham Junction, Clash of the Titans, Attack the Block and 13 Steps Down. In Fortitude, Luke Treadaway plays scientist Vincent Rattrey.

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Do you have a preference between film, TV or theatre? And do you approach the mediums differently?Until now all I’ve really done is theatre and film. I’ve got so much out of that and I’ve loved it. What I’ve found strange about TV is not really knowing what’s coming next, because in film or theatre, you have the whole story before you get going. But I’ve found this so exciting. It’s really fun to work on something for such a long time and watch the story grow. Every night when we sat down to dinner having received the scripts for the next couple of episodes, we’d all be blown away.

Vincent is a scientist and you had to get to grips with some scientific terminology, but how were you at science at school?Well that’s a question I’ve never been asked before! When I was in year nine, so when I was 14 or so, there were a few of us in my class who were hot into science for some reason. We were also the bad kids smoking behind the gym, but at the same time we were really good at science, and we had a great teacher, Mr Simpson. Anyway, he

picked us to enter a national chemistry competition where we were competing with kids up to the age of 18 and somehow, we got through to the national final. So we came up to London and only went and won the bloody thing against all these hi-tech science public schools, just us five from a little Devon comp. We won a few grand for the school’s chemistry department or something and returned as heroes.

Never mind the Olivier Awards, it’s all about the chemistry.Yes, chemistry club has been my highest achievement for sure! Although I did quit chemistry A-level after the first term because I couldn’t handle it.

Why should Sky Atlantic viewers tune in?Well I’ve never seen anything like this on TV before, and the trailer alone has literally made me… well, I can’t say what I want to say, but it’s absolutely brilliant. There’s this stunning scenery that is totally connected to the emotion of the story, and the story is gripping and unpredictable. And the performances are phenomenal. It’s so exciting.

JESS ICA RAINEFollowing a successful stage career including roles in David Hare’s Gethsemane and Mike Bartlett’s Earthquakes in London, Jessica Raine shot to prominence in 2012 after winning the lead role of Jenny Lee in BBC One’s Call the Midwife. Since then, Raine has appeared in Line of Duty and is soon to be seen in Wolf Hall and Partners in Crime. In Fortitude, she plays Jules Sutter.

Can you describe your character and how she fits into the story?Jules is a bit of an outsider in Fortitude. She has recently arrived with her husband Frank, a search-and-rescue pilot, and her marriage isn’t in a great place. She’s trying to make a new life for her family, but she doesn’t have many friends. She’s quite isolated.

How would you describe Fortitude?It’s unsettling. It doesn’t quite go as expected, and it’s full of strange characters. Nothing is quite as it seems, and you have all these incredible actors in this strange world that Simon Donald has created.

What was it that appealed to you about the series?The landscape really jumped out at me when I read the scripts. This is a genre I’ve never tackled before and, if I’m quite honest, when I was reading it, I didn’t quite know what it was and that appealed to me. I really got a sense of this place and the landscape, and I thought that was such an interesting place to start a series. This town is so isolated and it’s interesting to see how its inhabitants react when something goes wrong.

How did you find filming in Iceland?I loved Iceland. We were on the eastern coast, where we got a great sense of the environment and it really informed a lot of what we did. The landscape is like another character that the DoP and directors have completely knitted into the story. I can’t wait to see what those icy, endless summers look like. While we were there, the sun didn’t go down, it went across and it puts your head in a weird place. You’re having a drink thinking it’s seven in the evening, but it’s actually one in the morning. The cast was all in the same hotel, which was great because it reflected the situation in Fortitude where all these different people are thrown together.

Fortitude has attracted a stellar cast. What was it like to work with the likes of Stanley Tucci and Michael Gambon?Jules and Michael Gambon’s characters have quite a tender relationship. She finds him drunk and helps him home, and they become friends. He’s her only real friend in the town, he’s the only one who offers her any warmth and understanding. And acting with Michael →

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Gambon is incredible, he’s such a great guy and he’s very funny. He has some great stories and I really loved working with him.

Your character has to deal with a number of devastating revelations. How do you prepare for those scenes of high emotion?I totally believe in using your imagination. I don’t have a child, so it’s just a case of imagining these things are happening. There’s a helplessness to Jules that isn’t very nice to play because you have to go to somewhere quite horrible. She hasn’t got any friends and she’s tossed about by what’s happening in Fortitude, and she eventually gets trapped there. There’s a certain heaviness to it that isn’t particularly nice, and I really wanted her to get some relief and go out and get drunk a bit more.

Fortitude is very different to Call the Midwife. Are you looking for roles that are as far removed as possible?Well the whole point of being an actor is that you want to put on as many coats as possible. Fortitude is a million miles away from Call the Midwife, it’s a contemporary piece for a start. I love seeing

what different people will do in different situations and Jules isn’t immediately a strong female character, she’s trying her best and you, hopefully, feel a lot of empathy for her. She’s put in a horrible situation and, personally, I really sympathise with her.

Can you sum up why Sky Atlantic viewers should tune into Fortitude?It’s unique and unsettling. Fortitude encapsulates what’s happening to television dramas right now in terms of them being very well done and very exciting. I think it’s going to be up there with the greats. We’re all very excited about it.

NICH O LAS PINNO CK Working professionally from a young age, Nicholas Pinnock appeared in a number of high-profile TV series, including EastEnders and The Bill. He then went on to roles in the award-winning Top Boy, The Ice Cream Girls and Mandela: The Prison Years. Pinnock also appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger and in early 2015 will be seen in Monsters: Dark Continent. In Fortitude, he plays Frank Sutter.

Can you describe the series?There’s a lot going on. There are lots of secrets, people turn out to not necessarily be who you originally thought they were and there’s a murder. This is the first time the people of Fortitude have encountered such an event and it causes a lot of turbulence. They don’t quite know how to deal with it or what to do with it.

Because there’s no crime in Fortitude?Exactly. Fortitude is the best place in the world to live until this horrific event happens, so then you find out a lot of things about the people who live there.

How does your character fit into the story?Frank has recently moved to Fortitude with his wife Jules and son Liam to be the chief search-and-rescue officer. He doesn’t really want to be there, he’s done a few tours in Afghanistan and would rather still be there but something has made it impossible for him to stay.

He is a bit of a naughty lad isn’t he?I like to say misguided. He tries to escape this life he doesn’t really want because he’d rather be back in

Afghanistan, and that makes him take certain courses of action.

What can you tell us about his son, Liam? Liam goes through a pretty major event that Frank is involved in and it causes a lot of tension between Frank and Jules, as well as having a kind of ripple effect throughout the town.

What is Frank and Jules’ relationship like? Let’s just say it’s not a great one, but there’s hope.

And what about Elena?Frank and Elena have a very strange relationship, perhaps not one a married man should be having. But that in itself is a really interesting turning point in Frank’s story as well.

Fortitude has attracted an A-list cast. What has it been like to work with everybody?I am surrounded by a wealth of talent in this show. It’s an absolute dream job to be working with these people and to be included in such a cast. I could list the whole cast and gush about how lovely they are.

How did you find filming in Iceland? →

“ IT’S UNIQUE AND UNSETTLING. I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE UP THERE WITH THE GREATS. WE’RE ALL VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.”

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SIE N N A GUILLO RY Sienna Guillory is best known for her role in series three of Luther, in which she played the detective’s love interest. Prior to that, she appeared in The Buccanneers and The Virgin Queen, as well as playing the title role in American mini-series Helen of Troy. On the big screen, Guillory appeared opposite Colin Firth in Love Actually and has taken lead roles in sci-fi horror franchise Resident Evil and Eragon. In Fortitude, Sienna Guillory plays scientist Natalie Yelburton.

Can you describe your character and how she fits into the story of Fortitude?Natalie? Hells bells. She’s a sexually adventurous scientist. She maintains an emotional distance yet craves physical contact. Being a scientist means she doesn’t take anyone’s word for anything and has to find out things for herself. She’s driven by this insatiable desire for knowledge and need to understand why things happen, so she’s the tester of facts and bodies and people. She’s a bit of an oddball, she wants everything on her own terms and she’s really passionate about her work. I admire her sexual liberty and I believe she realises that women who can say yes to sex comfortably can also say no with confidence.

Simon has written really strong characters, and it’s nice to play a scientist. I know there are plenty of women on television playing scientists, but I don’t think we can have enough. In 2012, only 13% of the UK’s STEM workforce – STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – were female, and I think diversity is important in any industry –diversity of thought leads to innovation. I think it’s Natalie’s openness to other

possibilities that really helps get to the root of what’s happening in Fortitude.

It sounds like you really connected with this character. Did you do much research to prepare for the role?I read a lot and it was quite difficult, actually. There were lots of fiddly props and some ridiculous words, I was kind of juggling foetuses, Barbra Streisand and Iliad backwards. I read a lot about pathology, stem cell research, and PSAs in the environment and how they affect behaviour. I Googled a lot of stuff about the results of climate change and the way metals move through the food chain and how one would go about researching such things, so I had an understanding of what Natalie is talking about.

Your character does a lot of dissecting and other gruesome things. Did anything on set make you squeamish?I loved it. It was like Halloween! It was really weird, dark stuff, some of the creepiest stuff I’ve ever experienced on a set – it made your skin crawl sometimes. The special effects people were amazing.

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It has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It really fits Fortitude, it’s eerie and spiritual and mysterious and intriguing, all the things I think the show is. Everywhere you turn you can see a snow-capped mountain. We have filmed in the most amazing locations and viewers are in store for some really epic scenery.

We’re in something of a golden age of television at the moment. Will Fortitude add to that? Oh for sure. Fortitude will deliver something that you haven’t really seen on television before. We were up in Hoffell filming on a glacier – this is the glacier they filmed Batman and Bond on and I don’t really see many TV shows that can offer that landscape on such an epic scale.

Why should people watch Fortitude?Because Michael Gambon is in it, that’s why I’m going to watch. And because Fortitude is very intelligent television. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.

I’ve done a lot of blood and gore before but this was on a completely different level.

There are a couple of love interests for Natalie along the way, but she likes to keep men at an arm’s length, doesn’t she?Yes, absolutely. I don’t want to reveal too much, but it’s about maintaining an emotional distance because, essentially, she doesn’t trust anyone. She likes to find things out for herself and she’s comfortable with the physicality of discovery.

So how would you describe Fortitude as a whole?It’s bloody, beautiful and chilling. It’s a sort of gloriously noir murder ensemble piece set in a tiny Scandinavian town in the Arctic Circle, and it’s a town full of fairly odd personalities with their various accompanying personality disorders. We’re like a bunch of naughty children, you know, running as far away as we possibly can and building a fort where we can do what we like, so we sort of create our own rules. It’s a cold place full of warm people where dark things happen.

What was it about the series that appealed to you?

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It was a combination of things. I loved working with Sam Miller on Luther, he’s an incredible director, so I was really excited to work with him again. Simon’s an excellent writer, he’s very original, and the cast is just extraordinary. It’s the most incredible cast you could wish to work with and everyone was lovely.

Christopher Eccleston is the most amazing actor, and he’d go running for miles in his teeny-tiny shorts. Sofie Gråbøl is just incredible, an idol of mine, and Michael Gambon’s a legend and the most brilliant storyteller. Richard Dormer is hilarious, and Stanley Tucci is wasted as an actor, he’s a damn fine barman and makes the most brilliant martinis. Johnny Harris is the sweetest, most beautifully menacing man; we did a lot of boxing training together and I was terrified of getting punched. And then Luke, everyone loves Luke, he’s wonderful. I had a bit of a game going with him where I tried to make him to say something negative, but he’s just physically incapable of it, he sees the best in everything and everyone.

Obviously you all got on very well. Did that make it

feel extra special while you were filming?We all had a sense that something incredible was happening and we were all so intrigued to find out how the story would go and who would be doing what. Every time we got a new script, we were blown away scene by scene. All of the storylines are incredible. We really bonded in Iceland over a love of the script, love of the characters and the love of the place.

Do you share any similarities with Natalie?We both have a massive love and respect for nature. I grew up in Norfolk, which obviously isn’t the Arctic, but there’s something about the wildness in both places that’s incredibly liberating. I have a massive love for horses and she feels the same way about reindeer. I’m also a bit of a geek. I always want to be as prepared if not more prepared than I can ever be for something. Natalie doesn’t leave anything to chance, she likes to be prepared as well. I don’t know that she’s particularly likeable, but I don’t think I’m particularly likeable and it doesn’t really bother me. I find Natalie really interesting, I like her strength and her convictions. She’s a bit cooler

than I am. Quite a lot cooler actually.

Did you have much downtime to explore the area while you were filming?Iceland’s extraordinarily beautiful and incredibly wild. It has such a tiny population

and the people are so warm and trusting. The first time I flew in, I was sitting next to a teenage girl on the plane and it was dark and snowing when we landed. I was picked up at the airport and as we were driving away, there the girl was, walking down the road in

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the middle of nowhere with a little backpack on. I didn’t like that so we stopped and offered her lift and she jumped in with us – so trusting. Kids here can barely play in the streets anymore, but in Iceland they have so much freedom,

which I find really beautiful.

Why should Sky Atlantic viewers tune into Fortitude?This is a rare piece of television. There is such ambition behind it and it’s brilliant. It really grips you from the get-go.

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FORTITUDE: THE CREATIVE TEAMEXECUTIVE PRODUCERSPatrick Spence Marvellous, Five Minutes of HeavenSimon Donald Low Winter SunAndrew Woodhead Spooks (MI-5), Law & Order UKFrith Tiplady Peaky Blinders, Ripper StreetAnne MensahHead of Drama, SkyCameron Roach Commissioning editor, Sky

WRITING TEAMSimon Donald Lead writer and executive producerBen Richards The Tunnel, The FixerStephen BradyTom Butterworth & Chris Hurford

DIRECTORSSam Miller (Episodes 1, 2, 10 & 11)Richard Laxton (Episodes 3 & 4)Hettie Macdonald (Episodes 5, 6 & 7)Nick Hurran (Episodes 8 & 9)

PRODUCERSMatthew BirdTrevor Hopkins

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D IRE CTO RS O F P H OTO GRAP H YJohn ConroyGary ShawDavid LutherChris Ross

P RO D UCT IO N D E S IGNE RGemma Jackson

CO ST UME D E S IGNE RLiza Bracey

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ABOUT SKY ATLANTICSky Atlantic is an entertainment destination showcasing the most iconic and cinematic series on television, and home to the world’s greatest acting, writing and directing talent. Bold and ambitious commissions sit alongside award-winning US content to create a channel for people who are passionate about world-class television. As well as being the place to see the most iconic series from America – Game of Thrones, Girls, Veep, Mad Men, The Following, Boardwalk Empire and True Detective, to name just a few – Sky Atlantic attracts the world’s best storytellers to create original and innovative shows. It is the only place to see John Logan’s Gothic drama Penny Dreadful, cross-Channel crime thriller The Tunnel, new episodes of Alan Partridge’s Mid-Morning Matters, the Sky Atlantic Documentary Films strand, which will return later in 2014 for its third season, and the forthcoming star-laden Fortitude, the channel’s most ambitious original drama to date.

ABOUT FI FTY FAT H O MSFifty Fathoms was set up by Patrick Spence in 2010. It is a boutique label, producing drama for British and international broadcasters. As well as Fortitude, it also produced Marvellous, a 90-minute film for BBC Two starring Toby Jones, written by Pete Bowker and directed by Julian Farino. And in 2015, it begins production on The A Word, a six-part series for BBC One, also written by Pete Bowker.

Fifty Fathoms creates an environment in which a writer can deliver their boldest work; doing whatever it takes to champion and protect the uniqueness of their vision. Fifty Fathoms sits under the umbrella of Tiger Aspect Productions and Endemol.

AB O UT T IGE R AS P E CT P RO D UCT IO NSTiger Aspect Productions, an Endemol Company, is internationally recognised as one of the UK’s most successful and prolific independent television producers. The company portfolio includes children’s/animation, comedy, drama, entertainment and factual/features genres.

It creates a wide range of critically acclaimed and award-winning programming for all of the UK’s major terrestrial and non-terrestrial broadcasters. In addition, the creative output now enjoys high profile internationally through commissions for major foreign networks. Tiger Aspect’s programmes are shown by a host of broadcasters in hundreds of territories.

Tiger Aspect’s programming is built on its relationships with the best UK talent. The company’s belief in nurturing and supporting creativity at every level means that Tiger Aspect consistently attracts the ultimate in on-screen, writing and production talent.

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CO NTACTS

TAMSYN ZIETSMANtamsyn.zietsman@bskyb.com

020 7032 8093

LUKE MORRISONluke.morrison@bskyb.com

020 7032 1479

CHARLOTTE JORDANcharlotte.jordan@bskyb.com

020 7032 1496

Programme Information:

GEMMA BAREHAMgemma.bareham@bskyb.com

020 7032 1487

DVD requests:

ALEX WOODalexander.wood@bskyb.com

020 7032 1488

STILLS DEPARTMENTstillsdepartment@bskyb.com

020 7032 4202

Fifty Fathoms publicity:

IAIN MCCALLUMiainmccallum@ tigeraspect.co.uk020 7434 6727