Five minutes with … EWEN LESLIE

THE STAR OF THE LUMINARIES ADDS ANOTHER GREAT ROLE TO HIS COLLECTION

Compelling Leslie’s the accolades a privileged proli stock c for actor characters boat and his has embodiment captain trade. earned are Since in Ewen Safe 2018, of Harbour, Cry, and an a devious opportunistic ancé in major The in Operation Bu alo. Now Leslie, 41, will captivate audiences on screen in The Luminaries, the six-part adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s 2013 Man Booker Prize-winning novel about fate and coincidences set during the 1860s gold rush in

New Zealand.

How would you describe your character, Crosbie Wells?

He walked into a bar, made a drunken bet and then his entire life changed. He says what he thinks and wears his heart on his sleeve. This role came after you played Alistair Robertson …

Yeah. When I shot this, I had just done The Cry, where I played a really manipulative, controlling, not great person. I spent the whole show gaslighting Jenna Coleman’s character. Then, I went into this and I was gaslit by Eva Green [laughs]. What was it like to work with The Luminaries director Claire McCarthy? I’ve been really lucky in my career that I’ve worked with really strong women – female directors and leading actresses. Whoever is number one on the call sheet can really dictate the energy of the set and how people work, and what those people are so good at is lifting everyone around them.

Were the coronavirus you productive lockdown? during I’ve been trying to write with various degrees of success. With two kids – she’s 2, he’s 5 – it’s tricky. I’ve been doing a lot of daddy daycare, which has been lovely, to spend lots of time with my kids. Do your kids know what you do?

I’m the voice of Pigling Bland in the Peter Rabbit lm. That’s probably the thing they’ll be most stoked about having me in. It’s hard to say to your son, “Look, Daddy’s playing a cop with PTSD. He sees ghosts. I really need to concentrate on this!”

• By Cynthia Wang

(The Luminaries premieres Sun., Oct. 31, on Paramount Plus)