ON SET WITH... Richard Dormer

as warrior Beric Richard, 47, best known

Thrones, plays Dondarrion in Game Of

BBC1’s Rellik, DCI Gabriel Markham in for a serial killer which follows the hunt us behind in reverse. Here he takes which was the scenes on the thriller, shot on location in London...

8

MONDAY

My character Markham is hell-bent on bringing to justice not only the person responsible for a series of acid attack murders, but the person who scarred him with acid. Thankfully I’m free of prosthetics for the scenes we’re filming this morning, which are set before he was attacked, but not for the later ones which means I have to sit in the make-up chair while Phantom Of The Opera-style prosthetics are glued to my face, head and upper body. I have sympathy for those afflicted for real in the way Markham is.

9

TUESDAY

There are plenty of action scenes in Rellik, some of which involve me running – which I love – and others that involve me sitting behind the wheel of a car while a racing driver actually controls the vehicle from a pod on the roof of the car! It sounds complicated but it works. Basically I’m trying to mime what the guy ‘upstairs‘ is doing while there are cars coming towards us. The stunt drivers worked out their routes weeks in advance so we just have to hope they know what they’re doing.

10

WEDNESDAY

Scenes with Paterson Joseph today, who plays psychiatrist Isaac Taylor [pictured], the man who’s been treating Steven Mills, the chief suspect in the acid attack murders. It’s fun doing scenes with Paterson, they’re very cerebral – a real challenge but hugely rewarding too.

11 THURSDAY

Markham is undergoing sessions of therapy to help him come to terms with his injury. The therapist is trying to encourage him to have treatment – actual physical treatment – for what he’s suffered but Markham wants to catch the criminal before he submits to any kind of surgery. This drama is mentally demanding to film and the therapy scenes are especially so. I find myself feeling very emotional, really affected by what I’ve just talked about and filmed. Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, all acting is a kind of therapy.

12 FRIDAY

I realised quite early on that this drama is exposing me. It’s the opportunity for me to play a character who’s more like me than anybody else I’ve played. So I knew I’d find things out about myself during filming and the thing I’ve discovered most is my resilience, which I’m actually quite pleased about. Getting up at 5am, working all day and sometimes doing night shoots – as we will be this evening – has been tough, especially straight after filming Fortitude and Game Of Thrones for Sky. I’m going to be exhausted when this is over!