Jack
Played by Aneurin Barnard
Arwel’s son and arrogant new brewery boss Jack is played by Aneurin Barnard. Aneurin’s most recent work includes Barkskins, as well as the likes of Dunkirk, The Personal History of David Copperfield, War & Peace and The Goldfinch.
What was it like to be back in Wales filming?
It was very special for me to be back in Wales filming again. I have lived away from Wales for well over a decade now, so any chance I get to be back in my home country working is very special and personal to me. It’s something I hope to do a lot more of, as I love the creatives and crews that we have in Wales.
Your character Jack is the antagonist in the series. How do you approach playing a role like that?
Jack is a very complex character, who could just be seen as a one-dimensional antagonist in the drama. But for me to approach playing him, I had to find the vulnerability and fragility within this young damaged man, hidden deep beneath the pretence of a strong tough bloke with a cocky, selfish, ‘I’m bigger and better than you’ attitude. It was important for me to find what makes an unpleasant character like Jack tick. Asking the questions of why is he that way, or what made him this way? Does he care at all for anyone, or even himself? What makes him feel better or worse? What is he hiding? For me the key to playing Jack was dancing with his vulnerability. Seeing where we could show and hide that within the drama.
What attracted you to the role?
I was attracted to the role firstly because I felt like I hadn’t played someone like Jack before, but my upbringing in Wales shadows a lot of the world the characters were living in. Jack for me felt more than what was on the page, I felt like I could bring him to life and enjoy doing so. The scripts were captivating and the whole creative team, from our writer Pete, producers, designers and actors, felt like a production I wanted to be a part of. Of course supporting Welsh TV is important to me also.
What are the main challenges of playing the ‘baddie’?
The main challenges of playing a baddie in a drama like The Pact are, NOT playing the baddie. You have to play the reality and truth of how some people make good choices and some make bad and how they deal with the consequences leads to their demise or rebirth as a better person. The challenge creatively is also trying to get the audience to like you enough, so that you can then take them anywhere you want to, making them question whether they should like you or hate you, feel sorry for you or feel hurt by you. It’s the same challenge as playing a good or bad person. It’s trying to make them believe you and get lost in the story. As a baddie you almost want to try to make them like you more than the good guys, trying to make them understand your rationalisation, then leading them astray.
What was it like working with the rest of the cast?
The cast and whole team were fantastic. We were working in very new difficult circumstances with Covid, but pulled each other along. We needed one another to really get through the horrid situation we have all been compromised by. That brings a lot of concentration and focus to the production, as we were all trying to do what we love doing in some of the hardest conditions. It feels like we achieved something just by getting all the filming done under the pressures that were imposed on all of us. I was very lucky to work with such great talented kind people.
