Entertainment
Robert Aramayo Reveals What He Relied on Most for His Flawless ‘I Swear’ Performance
[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for I Swear.]
Summary
In the biographical drama I Swear, actor Robert Aramayo embodies Scottish activist John Davidson, diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the age of 14 in the 1980s, at a time when the condition was largely misunderstood. With verbal and physical tics that left him feeling like he always had to apologize for behavior he had no control over, Davidson didn’t learn to embrace the duality of his existence of his gentle nature with the upsetting words and phrases he shouts until he met Dottie (Maxine Peake). As Davidson learned how to live with Tourette’s, he also felt it was important to bring together a community and educate their family and loved ones on how to navigate a world that doesn’t know what to make of them.
With I Swear in UK theaters in 2025, Aramayo beat out Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons when he took home Best Leading Actor at the most recent BAFTA Awards. When asked about his top tier standout performance and whether he’s proud of what he was able to accomplish in the film, Aramayo graciously deflects the conversation to those who have reached out to him to share their stories of living with Tourette’s, having someone with Tourette’s in their family, or knowing someone with Tourette’s, and how amazing that experience has been.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Aramayo discussed going all in on putting in the work to bring Davidson’s story to the big screen, what most helped prepare him to authentically portray Tourette’s, feeling like he was in safe hands with his co-stars, embodying the verbal and physical tics, the impact Dottie had on Davidson’s life, and the importance of Davidson finding a moment of understanding with his mother. He also talked about how it’s both exciting and challenging to continue to return to the role of Elrond in The Lord of the Rights: The Rings of Power, with Season 3 due out later this year.
Robert Aramayo Is Proud That ‘I Swear’ Has Sparked Conversations About Tourette Syndrome
“All the responses from people … is so amazing.”
Collider: When you do a film like I Swear and you give a performance like you gave, that feels like you put everything into it, and then it has the success that it’s had, and you go on to win the BAFTA, can you appreciate how much your effort paid off? Yes, it takes a lot of people to make any one movie, but have you taken a moment to appreciate and be proud of what you accomplished in all of this?
ROBERT ARAMAYO: I don’t know. It’s tricky because it’s a long narrative and there have been lots of amazing moments along the way. All the responses from people and the dialogue that has been around it and the stories of people that have reached out and said that they live with Tourette’s, or their kids live with Tourette’s, or they know someone with Tourette’s, or they have another neurodivergent condition, and they want to share it, or they saw themselves in the film in some way is so amazing, and I feel really proud of that. I feel really proud that the film has been able to spark that kind of dialogue.
We talk a lot about representation, but that’s a community that is severely underrepresented, so it was cool to see all of the other characters and individuals with Tourette’s in the film.
ARAMAYO: Yeah. When we did the days with the community, it was some of the most special days on set because we got to spend time with incredible people who had amazing stories. We knew everyone by that point. It was just a bigger family at that point.
Aramayo also reunites with his Middle-earth co-star, Peter Mullen, in the film.
Did you go into this with any major doubts about being able to pull it off? Did you feel confident that you could pull off and deliver a performance that would do John Davidson justice? What was going on inside your head before filming started?
ARAMAYO: Of course not. I don’t think I ever felt like I was like, “Yeah, I’ve got this.” That’s probably a good thing. I think that’s a good thing. I just knew that the only thing I could really be in control of was how hard I worked on something, and I wanted to work as hard as I possibly could because I felt so passionate about this story. Ultimately, that’s all you can control in the end.
Does a performance like this give you a different understanding of what you’re capable of as an actor, or what challenges you’re willing to take on as an actor?
ARAMAYO: I don’t know. It’s been the biggest challenge of my life. Yes, I’ve learned things about myself as an actor, but then I think you learn on everything that you do. When you’re working with people like Maxine [Peake] and Shirley [Henderson] and Peter [Mullan], who are incredible actors, they all taught me so much. They all work in really different ways and they’re incredible actors. It taught me a lot in so many different ways.
Robert Aramayo Wanted To Gain As Much Knowledge As He Could About Living With Tourette’s for ‘I Swear’
“You just look at something and go, “Right, okay, what do I feel like I need to do, to do the best work that I can on this film?””
It feels like doing something like Game of Thrones might have helped you prepare for a project like Rings of Power, at least in the sense of doing a fantasy series of that size and scope. But what prepares you for doing something like this film and living in the shoes of John Davidson? Was there something that you feel most helped prepare you, or was it a combination of things?
ARAMAYO: A combination of just learning as much as I possibly could. You just look at something and go, “Right, okay, what do I feel like I need to do, to do the best work that I can on this film?” On this one, it was about gaining as much knowledge as I could about John’s life. Yes, that came from John, but also about living with Tourette’s in manyo different ways, from books, to YouTube, to people that I met, to just traveling around and really gaining as much knowledge as I could.
Tourette’s feels very specific and individual to every single person, so you can’t just study one person to fully understand it.
ARAMAYO: Yes. They say, if you’ve met one person with Tourette’s, you’ve met one person with Tourette’s because it’s so singular. It’s a biopic about John Davidson, and one of the elements in John Davidson’s life is Tourette’s. But there are so many other things, obviously, that make John the person that he is.
Robert Aramayo and writer-director Kirk Jones discuss how they worked with the real John Davidson for their inspiring biography.
Watching this film, it’s quite clear that in order to have made this film this way, your writer/director, Kirk Jones, had to have creative control. Was that vital to you being able to do what you needed to do on your end? How did he most help you, as a collaborator, throughout the shoot?
ARAMAYO: In many ways, Kirk helped me. He had such faith and trust in me, and me him. It was so important that we had that trust and that dialogue between the two of us, all the time. We were constantly talking. If I felt like I needed something, I felt comfortable enough to tell Kirk about it and he’d speak to me about it. He’s such a collaborative director. He really is quite special.
Kirk Jones has said that he’s worked with some very serious, very talented actors, and he’s never seen anyone go as deep into a role and a character as you did for this film. I read that you stayed in the accent all the time, and you must have spent a lot of time just working on everything, in general. Were there ever times when you felt like you lost yourself a bit in all of this, or did it always feel like you were doing character work?
ARAMAYO: I always felt like I was working on the movie and on John. I’ll go back to the actors around me, who were amazing actors that would push me and talk scenes over with me. When I think about the experience of working with Peter Mullan, it was such an incredible experience. When you’re working with people like that, you feel like you’re in safe hands and you’ve got real teammates. I love that.
Throughout the Filming of ‘I Swear,’ Robert Aramayo Stayed Focused on John Davidson and His Emotional Life
“The tics could be whatever they needed to be because they’re involuntary responses.”
What was it like to figure out how to bring the two sides of John Davidson together? He’s described as this gentle, sweet, polite, kind person, but then he says these things that he also acknowledges are homophobic, racist and sexist. He’s labeled as a troublemaker, but he has no control over his tics. What was it like to weave all of that together, and also figure out the verbal and the physical aspects of it?
ARAMAYO: I think it goes back to focusing on the person. I focused on John and playing John and focused on his emotional life and his emotional experience of something. That’s where my attention was all the time. Then, the tics could be whatever they needed to be because they’re involuntary responses. They’re not a reflection of a person’s thoughts and feelings. And anything can be a tic. We speak about tics in different ways, but anything can be a tic. When you realize that, it becomes less interesting to you. What’s more interesting is how he feels about it or how he feels about the impact of it in a room or on the person the tic has impacted?
Did you have to limit how many times you physically hit yourself?
ARAMAYO: There was obviously a massive focus on safety and keeping me safe, and they gave me everything that I needed. The production was so supportive of me. We shot in many different ways. We shot in a way where we could capture anything that might happen. There was a freedom with how we were shooting things.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’: Robert Aramayo on Finding His Own Voice as Elrond
He also spoke about the relationship between Elrond and Galadriel.
I loved the scene in the car, the first time you meet with the parents of someone with Tourette’s and you get in the car with their daughter. What was that scene like to shoot with both of you going off in your own ways before being able to have a conversation together? What was it like to find that moment?
ARAMAYO: That’s something that can happen when two people with Tourette’s meet. One can trigger the other and that triggering thing happens. That did happen with John, so we wanted to make sure it was in the film. But then, we got to have that amazing chat in the alleyway. I loved working with Andrea [Bisset]. It was incredible. She’s an amazing actress. We were really on the same page that day. That scene was really special. All three of us – me, Kirk and Andrea – were all weighing in. It was probably the most memorable day.
Robert Aramayo Was As Thankful To Have Maxine Peake by His Side on ‘I Swear’ As John Davidson Was To Have Dottie Enter His Life
“It’s a massive turning point in his life.”
I love the relationship between John and Dottie. She really is such an angel of a person, in the world and to John, specifically. What was it like to have Maxine Peake there? How important was she to you throughout this, both as a scene partner and fellow actor, but also just to have that character alongside you?
ARAMAYO: For both John and me, Maxine just has this natural warmth that she brings, as a person and as an actor. She’s a joy to work with, and she’s a legend as well. She’s done such incredible things in her career. I feel really thankful to have worked with her. And for John, it’s a massive turning point in his life when she says to him, “Don’t apologize. You don’t need to apologize here.” That moment is really eye-opening for him and quite shocking, and it takes him a minute to adjust to it. That was a big moment for him.
Another stand-out moment in the movie is when John meets up with his mother again at the end of the film and involuntarily points out how she treated him when he reminds her of how she had him face the fireplace. How did you feel about that scene? What was that like to shoot, and for them to share that hug?
ARAMAYO: I have to say that working with Shirley Henderson was such a gift. She’s so wonderful. She’s an amazing actor. That scene was really important for both of us, and obviously for Kirk and for the film. We spoke about it a lot, me and Shirley. It’s a really important scene. I think one really interesting moment is when he says, “I couldn’t have coped with it.” For everyone, the knowledge of Tourette’s was so low. Obviously, it’s increased a lot by that point and even today, but there’s still more that we need to learn. I’m really glad that Kirk included that moment because I think it’s important for that relationship.
Robert Aramayo Loves Bringing Elrond to Life in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
“I love that character and I love the way Tolkien wrote him.”
I love that you can do a deep character study like I Swear, and then also be a part of one of the most epic TV series ever made with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. One of the things we do know officially about Season 3 of Rings of Power is that it’s jumping forward several years from Season 2. What was that like for you, as an actor?
ARAMAYO: Oh, I don’t know what I can say. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say. I will say that playing Elrond on the show is a wonderful thing. I love that character and I love the way Tolkien wrote him. I feel really passionate about being involved with it.
Is there a sense of comfort with having a character to go back to each season, no matter what you go off to make in between?
ARAMAYO: Sometimes it’s really exciting, and sometimes it’s challenging. It’s just like anything, really. It’s a really different kind of challenge. I’ve only ever done it with Elrond. It’s great because I’m getting to grow older with Elrond.
Do you know what you’re doing next? Do you want to do a comedy at this point?
ARAMYAO: Right now, I’m talking about I Swear, and I’m really excited to get it out in the U.S. I just finished a play (Guess How Much I Love You?) that I was doing in London, that was my first play. And then, I don’t know. We’ll see.
- Release Date
-
September 22, 2025
- Runtime
-
121 minutes
- Director
-
Kirk Jones
I Swear is now playing in theaters.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login