My pride in Mathias
HINTERLAND ACTOR TALKS OF SUCCESSFUL ROLE
RICHARD Harrington, the brooding star of S4C crime drama series Y Gwyll/Hinterland feels a “special pride” in the character he has inhabited for the best part of three years.
The third series of the Ceredigion and Aberystwyth shot drama, which has been sold across the world, returns to the screen in October and Harrington who plays Detective Chief Insp Tom Mathias spoke to the Herald.
The Merthy Tydfil born actor said: “I think the character you play has a huge element of yourself (in it).
“He’s certainly somebody I’ve been with the longest, and I do feel a special pride for him but I feel something new has to happen to Mathias now to keep enjoying it.”
S4C officials have not yet announced if there is to be a fourth series but Harrington has said in the past he does not see himself playing the role “for ever”.
But regardless of whether he carries on in the role of the depression plagued detective Mathias has certainly had an impact on the actor.
“I think when you play anything really for a length of time it does affect you: personally it’s affecting me in a way that I spend a lot of time away from my children, that affects you personally, and getting to know the tragedy of him will affect you, if you’re an empathetic person, which I am I think, you can get moved by his story.”
Harrington has had plenty of reallife heartache and loss to deal in that time. He said: “So many things have happened during this whole shoot really from start to finish, I’ve gone through a really difficult break up personally with my partner and I lost my mother during it, those are big fundamental things to happen to some- body, and I feel he’s been side to side with me. I’ll miss him when he’s gone.”
He revealed the series was initially to have been called Mathias before it was changed to Y Gwyll in Welsh and Hinterland in English.
Richard revealed some details of the new episodes which picks up from where the dramatic climax to the second series left off: “Yes Mathias’ caravan was indeed burned in the last series, we do find out who did it yeah.
“The reasons behind it though is slightly ambiguous at the moment (but) I think it’s much more interesting to come into a third series with not the whole picture and it’s much more fun to play with different notions.”
The brooding, wild Ceredigion landscape is as much of a star of the show as Harrington who admits he has fallen in love with place: “There’s something mystical and magical about this ancient land.
“I think we’ve done the place justice, I mean not everyone is murdered around here, and the crime rate is quite low really in comparison, but we’re making drama, so it’s felt like a home from home for me really.”
● Y Gwyll/Hinterland returns to S4C on Sunday, October 30.