00:00You're like, okay, I think I've got her, and she's going in this direction, and this is how she'd behave.
00:03And all of a sudden, he's like, no, she's going to shoot.
00:06And you're like, what? Why is she doing that?
00:08Guys, Black Doves, season two, congratulations on this show.
00:11Thank you very much.
00:12Love this show. This is an addictive show.
00:14I was like the Leonardo DiCaprio meme in the first series when you were up there.
00:18I think Pines and Needles are like Vicky Park, getting your Christmas trees.
00:22Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:23Oh, yeah, no, no, yeah.
00:24It must be good to commit to something that's dead good.
00:28It's fun when you're excited to come back, and you go like, these are such strange characters.
00:35What on earth is Joe Barton going to make them do next, you know?
00:40And who is he going to introduce? Like, Ambika's character.
00:44I mean, I think it's very rare to work on a show where all of the characters are so weird
00:49and amazing.
00:50So, yeah, it's just, yeah, it's exciting to see what he's going to blow up.
00:54I'd go out on a limb and say that I think this show has the best pound-for-pound female
00:59characters on TV,
01:00because every one of them, I think, could have their own show.
01:04Spin-off.
01:05Oh, now we're talking.
01:06It's a whole universe.
01:07It's like the Marvillette universe.
01:09Cinematic universe.
01:10But they're all, like, because they're all really funny.
01:12They're all quite dark.
01:13They're all quite troubled, but, like, really interesting.
01:16And I think you don't realise how unique that is for all the characters to be like that
01:21until you're actually seeing it on screen.
01:23Do you feel that, like, when you're making something?
01:25Do you feel like, oh, this is different, or this feels...
01:27Well, I remember when we were, like, shooting that scene where we were all in that big old van
01:33at the end of episode five.
01:35With f***ers.
01:36With f***ers.
01:36And I remember Sarah just saying, like, this show is just, like, full of female anti-heroes.
01:42Yeah.
01:42Like, and it's just so true.
01:44Like, this show is just all about the female anti-heroes.
01:47Yeah.
01:47But I almost, I don't think of it...
01:49I'd be interested to know what Joe says about this, but, like, I almost just don't even think
01:54he thinks about, like, writing for women.
01:56No, I don't think he does.
01:56Do you know what I mean?
01:57No.
01:57He's just created really interesting, complex, strange, weirdo characters.
02:03Yeah.
02:04And I think there's a world in which you could have a version of this show
02:06where everyone feels a little bit homogenous.
02:08Like, to invite, or to, like, to bring in, like, a new, young female assassin,
02:13and you've already got Eleanor and Williams, but to make her so distinctive from them,
02:16like, that's a real achievement and, I think, a testament to Joe's creativity
02:20and his writing and his character building.
02:22I think he also just likes interesting, weird people.
02:25Yeah.
02:26You know, so I think he wants to put as many of them on screen as possible
02:29because he's kind of going, oh, what are you going to do?
02:32And what are you going to say?
02:33And what, you know, so it's almost like, it's almost like he hears the voice,
02:36and then these people kind of come out of it, you know, and it's great.
02:40I love that.
02:40I love that there aren't any characters that are just sort of one-dimensional.
02:44You know, they've all, they're all kind of like, oh, God, where are you going to go?
02:47And what are you going to do next?
02:48Yeah, I think in a lot of shows, there are certain characters
02:50that kind of move the plot along for some reason.
02:52You're there for this reason.
02:54You're filling in this hole.
02:55But it just feels like everybody has such a kind of frenetic energy.
03:00Yeah.
03:00You could be like fighting and killing people and talking about something really mundane.
03:03And it's not just one character that does that.
03:05It's like everybody has that about them.
03:07Yeah.
03:07Kirill, as someone who's kind of worked predominantly in film for a long time,
03:11how much of a luxury is it to like stick with a character, develop it over time?
03:14And do you feel maybe more precious or protective over Helen
03:18than you have done about previous characters you only inhabit for a short period?
03:21I really love Helen.
03:23And I think, you know, in order to do something where you'd want to do like more than one season
03:27or more than one, it's got to be a character that is interesting enough to sustain that.
03:32And again, I think that she's so morally ambiguous.
03:36She's, I think she's a baddie, actually, although she seems to be the goodie, you know.
03:40So, I mean, so again, she's just curious enough that I think that I kind of love going back to
03:46her
03:46to be like, what on earth is she going to do?
03:48And because of the way Joe writes it, it's not finished before we start.
03:52And he rewrites it the whole time.
03:55So things change as you're going.
03:56So you think that you're like, okay, I think I've got her and she's going in this direction
04:00and this is how she'd behave.
04:01And all of a sudden he's like, no, she's going to shoot.
04:03And you're like, what?
04:04Why is she doing that?
04:06And then you have to kind of post-rationalize, okay, now she's the person that would do this.
04:09How is that?
04:10You know, how is that the same person?
04:12So it's like, it's constantly a fascinating thing to work on.
04:16I think all the characters are kind of subversive in a way.
04:18And I think your character in particular, if you were a character in another person's show,
04:22like a side character in another person's show, you could see how she could be the baddie.
04:26There's someone who's doing something very immoral.
04:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:29But she's got her own reasons for it.
04:30But you're only seeing it from like the hero's perspective out here.
04:33I mean, which is what's really interesting because you're like, well, the Sam character is a mass murderer.
04:37I mean, they're all mass murderers actually.
04:39You know, so you're sort of like, these are all horrific people and yet we're looking at them from their
04:44point of view
04:45and they don't see themselves necessarily as horrific people.
04:48So again, that kind of, it just makes it an interesting proposition, doesn't it?
04:52And it's kind of juicy.
04:53So you can just picture hanging out with all of them?
04:55I don't think I'd like hanging out with any of them.
04:57No, but like, they all have like such good chat, do you know what I mean?
05:00They do, but you'd be quite frightened that they might kill you.
05:02Yeah, but you could have a drink with them and the banter would be good, I think.
05:04The banter would be good.
05:05Yeah, I think that's what's specific about it.
05:08I think Layla and like, Elie and Gabrielle, like those people I'd love to go for a drink with.
05:10Wait, didn't your fights, your scene with the dart in the bar.
05:15Yeah, the peanut.
05:16And you actually, sorry, the peanut.
05:17And you actually managed to get the peanut.
05:19You threw it in, didn't you?
05:19And I spit it in.
05:21Yeah.
05:21That was real.
05:22Yeah, she did it.
05:23Well, maybe, I don't know what the take, I don't know if that was real.
05:26But you did manage it.
05:26There was a take in which I did it.
05:28Yeah.
05:28Like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man one when he catches all that stuff.
05:31Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:31There'll be like a bunch of the outtakes of that.
05:32But finally, a quick word on Ben.
05:34I love me some Ben, we're sure.
05:35I was amazed that you guys didn't know each other before the first season because your
05:39kind of chemistry was so relaxed and cool.
05:42And I think people want to know, have you guys like hit it off camera?
05:45I know you guys had worked together as well before.
05:47Yeah.
05:47Is this friendship real now?
05:48Does he call you up and call you darling and stuff?
05:50Oh, yeah, no, we do.
05:50Like we text, there's a lot of texting.
05:52There's not so much calling.
05:53Does anybody call?
05:54Do you chat on the phone anymore?
05:55Oh, no.
05:55I don't chat on the phone.
05:57No, I hate the voicemail.
05:57I don't like the voicemail.
05:58Oh, I voicemail Ben quite a lot, I feel like.
06:00I get text messages.
06:01I got lots of pictures from his last film.
06:05I got one.
06:06Top secret.
06:07Top secret.
06:08I won't say anything else.
06:09I will ask about that for series three.
06:12Guys, absolute pleasure.
06:13Really love the show.
06:14Can't wait to, I'm like three or four episodes into this series and I hope you all survive.
06:18I just gave you a spoiler then.
06:20Sorry about that.
06:21Don't listen to the interview or watch it.
06:23I'm going to watch this.
06:24At least that's in the dark scene.
06:25What's that?
06:26Yeah.
06:27All right, guys, take care of yourselves.
06:28Thank you very much.
06:28Thank you so much.
