The third episode of This City is Ours airs tonight at 9pm – although if you are like me you will have already binged watched the series on BBC iPlayer.
For those wanting to know about the two lead actors bringing this mob crime drama, set in Liverpool alive, read on.
This City is Ours is the story of Michael (James Nelson-Joyce), a man who for all of his adult life has been involved in organised crime…but for the first time in his life, Michael is in love. For the first time in his life, he sees beyond the day-to-day, he sees a future: something to win and something to lose – Diana (Hannah Onslow).
This City is Ours tells the story of Michael and Diana’s love affair, set against the disintegration of Michael’s crime gang.
For years, together with his friend Ronnie (Sean Bean), Michael has successfully been bringing cocaine into the City and beyond, directly from Columbia; but when a shipment goes missing, then he knows their Kingdom is under attack.
(Image: BBC/Left Bank Pictures/James Stack) Sean BeanREAD MORE: BBC This City Is Ours: Full cast list and when it’s on TV
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This City explores what happens when Ronnie’s son Jamie (Jack McMullen) decides he wants to inherit their kingdom and that there is no longer a place for Michael at the table. Both Michael and Jamie have bold ideas to modernise the gang and they will battle for control of it. But Michael’s biggest battle will be to save the woman he loves and the child he has always wanted.
This is a story about family and love destroyed and corrupted by ambition, pride and greed. It’s a story about power: what we will do to secure and keep it.
It is created and written by Stephen Butchard.
Sean Bean plays Ronnie Phelan
What was the experience of filming This City is Ours like for you?
It was one of the most enjoyable series I have been involved with, and I know people say that at the end of working on a particular project, but I can genuinely say I personally did not want it to end. I walked away from the set really upset. I remember feeling this genuine sense of loss, but obviously I had a sense of great satisfaction because this was mould-breaking television.
I’m convinced it will become a classic piece of drama. It is very well written and structured, everything you see in episode one resonates in the whole series through to episode eight. All the characters are so well defined it was a joy to work on and be a part of.
Many of the cast had worked together before filming. Was this a major plus factor from day one for you?
There was great camaraderie, individually and collectively. I have been fortunate to work with some of the lads before, and (writer) Stephen Butchard is someone I hugely respect and admire.
I can promise fans of crime dramas that this series takes it to another level. That is what appealed to me when I first read the scripts. By page nine I knew I wanted to be Ronnie. He is someone eyeing up retirement, just as a rival gang organisation are preparing to attack.
This is a story about a family on the verge of being destroyed by ambition, pride and greed. There has not been anything like it before and I’m very pleased that I have been a part of it. I want it to have a long future – everyone involved in it deserves success.
There was another star you want to pay tribute to – an old friend of sorts?
Liverpool, the city itself, is always a joy to visit and work in. It is a special place and has been good to me and it has a special place in my heart. The people welcome you with open arms and that makes things so much easier for any production crew. They are respectful that you have a job to do and let you get on with it.
They are proud to have you in their city, using their home as a location is recognition of its appeal. They are also grateful that the city’s economy benefits from being one of the most used places to film.
The city looks brilliant on film, from the waterfront to Chinatown, and across to the Wirral, where Ronnie lives. This City is Ours is a great title in many ways because it is defiant and triumphant.
Was there a buzz on the first day of filming?
Having a happy cast and crew in place is a sure sign you are all feeling the same thing, and yes, there was a buzz.
Jack McMullen, who plays my son Jamie, is a real talent and I can see great things ahead for him in the future. He is a very thoughtful, hard-working actor who takes his job seriously, as does James Nelson-Joyce, who I have worked with before. James plays my best friend Michael Kavanagh. And then there’s the talented Hannah Onslow as his partner Diana, and Julie Graham as my wife, Elaine.
The producers deserve special praise for assembling a wide-ranging, talented cast that shines in every way.
A drama needs some relief from the tensions. Does humour have a big part to play in the series?
It is set in Liverpool, which is renowned for its sense of humour. It has a lot to do with how people say things. The humour isn’t obvious – a remark here or there or a put down, too. They are naturally funny people who are sharp witted.
With someone like Stephen (Butchard), with his track record, you could see where things were going in episode one and anticipating what would come to fruition.
The language of the gangsters is very much to the point and to make something humorous is where the skill of the writers comes in and the art of the actors to deliver it.
There is an ongoing theme in the series of the need for change. Would you agree the series is about repercussions?
When I first received the script my immediate reaction was I have got to be in this. It is brutal – but it is very real. I knew I could contribute something to the character of Ronnie. I could picture him and this was by only page nine.
In a short space of time, leafing through the first episode, I could see it was profound, funny, shocking and sinister, but very real. I read the rest of the pages and was hooked.
Ronnie contemplates retirement as a drug lord and this is the catalyst for his son to see about his job, while his own friend Michael wants out too. The main motivation for Michael’s change is that he has fallen in love and wants to be a dad above all else.
The title hints at so many things. This City is Ours looks at possession, ownership, control and defiance. All these scenarios mean taking drastic actions and they have repercussions. They are trapped by their own successes of overseeing drug territories and the constant corruption of power that inevitably surround it.
Which do you prefer – good guy or baddie?
I like the crime genre. Series such as Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty. The BBC do them well. I found this to be different, because it is not from the police point of view, but from the villains’ perspective, and we get to know why they do what they do. It is not gratuitous violence, the storylines are better than that.
I’m sure viewers find the villains more interesting than the good guys. They are certainly interesting to play, and I have played my fair share. I do like silences and pauses. Someone once wrote that my many silences, where I said nothing, spoke volumes. They did not realise that those were moments where I was just trying hard to remember my lines!
If you had to sum up this city is ours in three words, what would they be?
Unique. Exciting. New.
Unique – because it stands out in a strong field. Exciting – because you will be on the edge of your seat. New – because the storytelling is so fresh.
At the end of the day, it’s a love story – but not your normal romance, it’s a brand new love story for now. People watching are going to love it, too.
(Image: Image: BBC/Left Bank Pictures/James Stack)
James Nelson takes on the role of Michael Kavanagh
You have been in some of the most critically-acclaimed TV dramas of recent years. Do you have a gut instinct when it comes to a script you are sent? What did your gut tell you about This City is Ours?
I knew I wanted to be in it straight away. I can honestly say it’s been an honour, and I’m not using that word lightly. I felt privileged to be offered a part in something that I really wanted to be a part of. And I really wanted to do it justice.
It’s got everything – loyalty, friendship, shock value, and the surprising key theme throughout of real love all set against a very real crime world.
I play Michael Kavanagh, who works for and with drug lord Ronnie Phelan, played by Sean Bean. They are life-long friends, but for the first time in his life, Michael falls in love – it’s never happened to him before now and that leads to him thinking about a crime-free future.
The dilemma is a life-changing one, whether he will he take over from Ronnie or not. Ronnie is hinting about retiring, and his son Jamie (Jack McMullen) wants the crown. There is a power struggle between Michael and Jamie, who have their own distinct plans. Real conflict.
You’ve played a number of unlikeable characters – violent men with no saving graces. Is Michael Kavanagh, despite being a hard man, a departure from these out and out villains?
Some of the people I have played are out and out nasty characters, but Michael has so many layers.
The complex character of Michael is someone I knew I could work on. I think viewers will like him and probably feel guilty about it after some of the things he has done.
He’s fallen in love for the first time, and he likes it. He wants it to work and needs it to work.
The truth is he wants to change, and the driving force is that he can see the bigger picture with a better life, but he has to weigh up the pros and the cons.
You say you enjoy surprising people, and that playing nasty characters is the flip side of you. Friends and colleagues say you are not remotely like some of the people you have played – is that accurate?
Yeah, I am the complete opposite. You won’t find a more sensitive person than me – so that’s a compliment when people meet me out and about and expect to see this horrible person.
It is proof that I am hopefully doing a decent job in playing characters, sometimes so far removed from me – an actor from Liverpool.
I do enjoy seeing people’s reaction when they expect to see this hard man in front of them.
I often go out walking down the street with my two little chihuahua dogs and people stop me and say hello. I really am one of the nicest people you could ever meet.
What was it about this drama that ticked your boxes? Was there any special elements that sold it to you?
I like cliffhangers – I want to be kept in anticipation. When we were discussing scripts with fellow cast members, it was always the same with all of us – we were all wondering what would happen next. A guessing game between us all.
We would predict scenes, but we were often way out with the story’s twists and turns. That’s bound to be good for viewers. After all, we are in it, and if we didn’t know what was coming next, then the audience certainly won’t. We would sit there, shake our heads, smile, and say at the same time, ‘Well, we didn’t see that coming.’
Are there aspects of Michael in your personality. Anything that you tapped into?
I am someone who learns by his mistakes and then acts upon it. We all make wrong decisions, and there are times when you have to rely on instinct.
I’m able to deal with embarrassments and laugh at myself – we all need that. We all need to put things and situations in perspective.
Michael has to make the biggest decision of his life and he knows the repercussions – he knows he could sink or swim. What could be this massive security could also be a liability. He is focused, and I have become focussed over the years with the help of a lot of people.
Are you a risk taker?
I took risks at school that led me to where I am now. I wanted to impress my school teacher, and it worked out because she encouraged me to do drama. I could be myself in acting.
I remember doing a monologue about someone losing their dog. I grew in confidence and that confidence helped me at the Italia Conti drama school in London, which was good for me and opened many doors.
Do you believe in fate – is your destiny mapped out for you?
It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. Meeting inspirational people has without doubt inspired me along the way.
It was tough at the start of my acting career because I had to find the money to attend auditions. I did a lot of those – you keep at it. I have known Jack McMullen, who plays Jamie, for more than 10 years. He knows all about that side of acting, too.
We first met when we started a football team on Whatsapp for actors and musicians who were out of work. It was an 11-a-side team for friendly matches – so we had plenty of players.
It’s so good to look back on those days, two Scouse actors in London, and to see where we are now.
Everyone has praised the scripts. Are you a fan of your fellow Liverpudlian, Stephen Butchard?
Stephen knows what he wants from his characters and what he wants them to do. Our craft is to convey that. He writes so well on any subject – you can see early on what shapes the characters.
What motivates these people actually motivates Stephen to produce first-class scripts. Quality runs throughout his pages.
Liverpool is renowned for a breadth of creative talent from writers to actors, directors and producers. Has it played a big part in your success to date?
It’s the best city in the world, and it is home.
Growing up I admired Jamie Carragher, and I wanted to be Liverpool FC captain. And there are actors like Stephen Graham, who is one of those people I look up to in life. He is all about encouragement. Stephen likes to pass on advice. He is a massive inspiration and I have been fortunate to work with him. He told me once that he’s always just a phone call away.
I know he’ll watch and support This City is Ours, and I look forward to hearing what he thinks about it. I want viewers to join us from episode one and stay with us. It will be worth the ride.
