The star of the intriguing psychological drama reveals five secrets from the set

1

It was so important to get the chemistry right between my character, Benjamin, and the older woman he falls in love with, Julia [pictured, with Benjamin], played by Julia Ormond. During the first week of filming, in Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, I told Julia we needed to go on an adventure so I drove her off to this gastropub for dinner down tiny streets which weren’t quite as wide as the car we were in! She was clinging on to me, so that broke the ice, as did the meal that followed.

2

Some of our most emotionally explosive scenes were on a beach in Devon. We had to move fast because the tide was coming in and the rocks were so slippy that there was a real chance I’d fall over. Luckily I managed to keep my feet.

3

We changed the ending – or rather the writer Marnie Dickens did. I didn’t make suggestions about what it should be but I did ask a lot of questions about why it had been written the way it was, and I think that started people talking about what ending best fitted the story we were telling.

4

If I was a method actor I’d have kept my distance from those playing Julia’s family because there is animosity between them and Benjamin. But we got on like a house on fire. Archie Renaux, who plays Julia’s son Leo, celebrated his 25th birthday on set and we all ate cake and sang happy birthday to him.

5

I thought the best way to prepare for the role was to mirror Benjamin’s experiences as much as possible, so I visited London tourist sites as he does with Julia. After many years living in LA, seeing the sights of London was a treat!