I hope we’ve done justice to who they were... and to what they did
DANIELLE DE WOLFE MEETS THE CAST OF SAS ROGUE HEROES, THE GRIPPING NEW SECOND WORLD WAR DRAMA FROM THE CREATOR OF PEAKY BLINDERS, STEVEN KNIGHT
IT’S fair to say anything Steven Knight touches turns to gold.
For a start, the Academy Awardnominated screenwriter is the man behind the BBC’s Brummie-based gangster drama Peaky Blinders.
But when you score an international hit on that scale, how do you follow it up?
Well, we are about to find out, as the Steven’s new adrenaline-fuelled series SAS Rogue Heroes hits our screens.
It takes us back to 1941 and the Second World War is in its darkest hours. Things, however, are about to change, as a ramshackle bunch of military recruits unknowingly prepare to change the course of history from North Africa.
“The whole thing, I am so proud of it. It’s so good,” Steven smiles.
“Virtually everything was a surprise,” admits the 63-year-old director. “The idea that these people, especially in their early 20s – some of them 19 years old, went there to do this... I just hope we’ve done justice to who they were and what they did.”
Based on Ben Macintyre’s bestselling book of the same name, the six-part series has an all-star cast.
Sex Education’s Connor Swindells and Skins’ star Jack O’Connell are joined by Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen and The Wire’s Dominic West, with the testosterone-driven affair brought down to earth by Modern Love’s Sofia Boutella.
Turning back time
Transporting viewers to the sunscorched deserts of Cairo, SAS Rogue Heroes serves up a slice of history – with a smattering of artistic dramatisation.
Cementing the origins of Britain’s elite SAS unit – “arguably the most famous military regiment in the world” – in the words of star Alfie Allen, the series is eyeopening, horrifying, and at times hilarious.
Alfie, 36, takes on the role of Lieutenant Jock Lewes. “I was in the countryside when I got the script,” reveals the Emmy-nominated actor.
“I was actually hanging out with an old military guy, and when I told him the names – David Stirling, Jock Lewes and Paddy Mayne – his face lit up. He was like, ‘wow, you’re playing Jock Lewes?’”
Alfie’s co-star Connor – who plays the unit’s eccentric founder David
Stirling – recounts how the book upon which the series is based initially came as a recommendation from his brother – “a massive war fanatic”.
“I’m laughing because I’ve never seen him light up in the way that he did,” recalls the 26-year-old of the moment he told him about the role.
“I mean, it was absolutely unbelievable. When I read the book, I felt the exact same way.”
The men behind the uniforms
Excitingly for the cast, filming for the series took place in Morocco.
Exposed to soaring temperatures and arid landscapes, Alfie reveals it was a time “camaraderie really started to form”.
Fresh out of lockdown, the sense of freedom was palpable for the actors who took part in a range of training exercises prior to venturing out to North Africa, learning to fire a Tommy gun and adjusting to the weight of military equipment. The real-life SAS founders would have trekked across open desert in 50-degree heat, wearing layers of sheepskin, jackets and woollen uniforms.
“You definitely need a certain type of fella to be pulling off the type of things these lads were pulling off – ground-breaking and real leaps into the unknown,” reflects Jack, 32, who later this year will be seen playing opposite The Crown’s Emma Corrin in
Netflix’s new adaptation of D.H Lawrence’s classic novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
The Rising Star Bafta award winner is of course no stranger to Second World War dramas and military roles. He played soldier Gary Hook in ’71 and Olympian Louis Zamperini in Angelina Jolie’s movie Unbroken.
The Derby-born actor, who steps into the shoes of Paddy Mayne, says the “secretive” and “unobserved” nature of the job plays into the origin story’s sense of “mystery”.
“A lot of what they’re up to, I think I’m right in saying, was illegal, hence the level of secrecy that surrounded it,” he reveals.
“I think what the series does a good job of is documenting how they were perceived within the army. The hierarchy would probably be in alignment with that theory – that they’re sort of expendable, I suppose... as any soldier is.”
The military seal of approval
Reflecting on how the band of men “changed the course of the war”, creator Steven describes the soldiers as “a ragged group” who were a law unto themselves.
“The military suggests conformity, usually. It suggests uniform and it suggests people obeying orders,” he offers.
“These people did the opposite. They disrupted the uniform until they looked like pirates and Bedouins. They didn’t obey orders.”
The moment of truth, according to Steven, came when a group of current and former SAS soldiers sat down to watch the series.
“So... we did this screening, and we sit there and look at their reactions. They loved it. I mean, they absolutely loved it,” he smiles.
“The first thing they said was the humour was authentic,” recalls Steven, noting a fine line often separates the darkly macabre from the hilarious.
“In those situations, when your friend has just been blown to pieces, there is this bleakness, and there is this horror.
“But in that moment, there is this funniness, this huge madness. And I think my task was to try and balance that, so that you are seeing the horror – but you’re seeing how human beings react.”
SAS Rogue Heroes is on BBC1 on Sunday; all episodes are available on iPlayer