We haven’t really had too many westerns recently... this feels new
Victoria’s Tom Hughes stars in new Western The English. He tells us about learning to ride and filming in Spain.
We are used to seeing actor Tom Hughes in period costume as Prince Albert in hit ITV drama Victoria. Now the 37-year-old has swapped palaces for the wild west in new series The English.
Set in 1890s mid-america, it features Emily Blunt as aristocratic Englishwoman Lady Cornelia Locke, who wants to avenge the death of her son by killing the man she holds responsible.
Tom plays an aristocratturned-cowboy called Thomas Trafford, in the six-part series written by Hugo Blick, the acclaimed screenwriter behind such small screen hits as Sensitive Skin, The Shadow Line, The Honourable Woman and Black Earth Rising.
Here Tom tells us what attracted him to the role.
How would you describe The English?
It’s a story of passion, loyalty, survival in the face of adversity, revenge, fear, corruption, and hope.
It’s set against the backdrop of a time of radical change in the world, and the awe and power of nature.
In terms of storytelling, what do you think is unique about The English?
The western is a genre that we all know and recognise, but there’s a lot of that period of history that’s not had the light shone on it.
Hugo’s passion for detail and historical accuracy and metronomic focus and compassion, in trying to tell that story broadly and fairly, is exciting.
We can hopefully bring a whole other historical, cultural and sociological commentary with the excitement of the genre of a western.
What are the challenges of making a Western?
The heat, horses, moustaches, the clothes – which are breathtakingly amazing but heavy, as they would be and are therefore accurate, but in the heat that can be tricky.
I’d never really ridden a horse before, but I’ve loved it.
I’ve been lucky enough to do things in the show like get the horse up to what feels like one hundred miles per hour, but it’s probably about three!
Was there anything that surprised you about the period of history portrayed in the script?
The series is called The English and it’s called that for a reason. That was the name that was coined for the influx of people coming from, predominantly Europe, but all over really, to partake in this land-grab and fortune trail.
How do you unlock your character?
There are many ways, but costume is massive. The moment of putting a costume on changes your rhythm.
The costume is important for Thomas because the buckskins he wears when we meet him in 1875 are so indicative of who he is at that point and his slight naivety, he’s certainly not worldly wise.
What was it like getting to shoot in Spain?
When I found out the shoot was in Spain that was exciting.
You feel like you’re on Mars sometimes because it’s so wild, the nature.
The locations have been fantastic, it does the job for you because you can’t see any civilisation, you do feel like you’ve been transported to what these guys would have been feeling when they arrived in America.
I couldn’t have imagined a better place to film it.
In what way will the series resonate with people around the world?
The fact that it’s a western will make it attractive to people – we haven’t really had too many recently, although it’s a genre that’s recognisable, it also feels quite new and almost post-modern in a way that will be exciting to people.
■ The English continues on Thursdays, BBC2 at 9pm or catch up on iplayer