Lloydalists Weekly Round-Up (Featuring The Fear)

As Lloydalists resumes its weekly “Flashback Fridays” (Harry Lloyd-style) on Twitter (find us @Lloydalists; we revisit a role, character, and/or photo-shoot Harry’s done in the past every Friday and love others’ contribution and suggestions), we also thought it best to do a round-up of the most recent Harry-related news.  Now that The Fear is only a few days away from its UK-television premiere, the interviews, articles, and advertisements have been seeping out of the woodwork and oozing into our hot-little-hands.  Here, we serve them up for you!

 

  Gripping stuff (the mini-series and Matty Beckett’s (Harry Lloyd) clench on his drug-lord-/Alzheimer’s-fighting father (Peter Mullan). Image ©Channel 4/The Fear (2012), as posted on Harry-Lloyd Tumblr.

 

“And I Could Kill Everyone”: The Latest on The Fear

In a very recent interview for Channel 4, and still sporting slicked hair and slim-cut clothing while on-set, Harry discussed his character of what the station is calling “the cool and calm” (“Harry”) Matty Beckett in the following way: “of the two [Beckett sons], he’s the sensible, business-minded, logical, seemingly-intelligent one”  in comparison to the “wild” and “instinctive” older brother played by Paul Nicholls (qtd. in “Harry”).  In the same interview, Harry also explains Matty’s involvement in fending off “twin” horrors—his father’s Alzheimer’s disease and the Albanian mob.  Regarding the latter, and despite younger-Beckett-boy Matty’s “sensible” nature, Lloyd’s character seems very well-poised to get properly nitty and properly gritty.

 

Intense gesticulations are integral to great acting. Or, rather, to explaining great acting. Image ©Channel 4  (2012)

 

Regarding what may be, perhaps, a flaw in Matty’s character is his disconnection from his father’s disease.  Matty, according to Lloyd, takes a cold, if not callous tact and “doesn’t take it personally” (Lloyd, in “Harry”).  He “writes it off,” and—making useful gesticulations, Harry explains Matty as a logical, if not overly-pedantic mind, someone “who just has to get to the next step” (qtd. in “Harry”).

Harry also talked a bit about his preparation and process for the role, revealing that reading and preparing a script never adequately prepares him for what is to be discovered when he’s actually in the scene, acting it out (“Harry”).  “It does get very emotional,” Harry admitted, talking about shooting his scenes with the Dad (Peter Mullan) who’s just not there and how he “has to drag him back” (“Harry”).  Overly-preparing for such high-expression moments cannot and should not be over-rehearsed: “You kind of find it on the day, I found” (Lloyd, in “Harry”).

Other salient bits from the interview include his highlight-moments of working with his fellow actors and, for lack of a better phrase, playing family with his onscreen family.  Harry discusses the “little bits” and “big chunks” of the irregular shooting schedule (he watched The Olympic Games on a miniature t.v. during takes), and reveals that “the most fun…is my first bit of driving-acting!” (Lloyd, in “Harry”).  Citing that his frequent period-piece acting does not often require “a mobile phone and a car,” Harry says it’s “very exciting, still, for me” to continue evolving in his sundry roles, as well as as an actor (“Harry”).

 

Harry, mid-interview, not exactly looking too convincing as a serious, mob-fighting tough-guy.  Graffiti backgrounds add much-needed street-cred. Image ©Channel 4 (2012)

 

In The Fear, Episode One, be sure to look out for Harry, driving away from Albanians in a pricey Mercedes, and—while he likely will look horrified and stressed in the scene—more certainly feeling pretty darn content to have been able to be part of such a mini-series and to have had the pleasure to inhabit the role of Matty Beckett, not to mention the freedom to drive down a country road for real, as a job, in the aforementioned car, and “I could kill everyone” (Lloyd, in “Harry”).

 

Thankfully, his driving skills must be at least half as good as his acting: everyone in the car survived even if “it was terrifying!” (“Harry”).  Maybe not too much—the laugh at the end of that admittance gives him away.

 

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO of the entire Channel 4 interview with Harry Lloyd.

 

Would you trust this guy with your Mercedes? Or to drive your getaway car?! Image ©Channel 4 (2012)

 

On His-Own-Method-Acting, On-the-Road Antics, and Champion Hula-Hoopers

Another recent, print interview with Harry comes courtesy of The Shortlist. Interviewer Jimi Famurewa learns about how Harry went from preparing for the role of dragon-obsessed, “blond-wigged git” Viserys Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones (2011) to that of “a drug lord’s son” in The Fear (2012).  Go to THESHORTLIST.COM to read more about Harry’s research, methods, and style when it comes to acting.  Read on for his thoughts on his now-well-known relation to Charles Dickens; and read further to learn about his United States Jack Kerouac/Neal Cassady and Company-esque road-trip.  Other memorable moments: The Doctor Who gossip, trademark blonde wigs, and the suggestion of, he laughingly reveals, that “if the [acting] work dries up then I can go on the circuit and record some audiobooks” based on Dickens’ novels (Famurewa).

Matty Beckett crosses the set...keep walking, Harry; cars may not be safe under your control. Image ©Channel 4 (2012)

 

 

Unworldly, Aesthetic Pleasures

Meanwhile, check-out some of the masterpiece work behind The Fear advertisements and that teaser-trailer we talked about in the last The Fear post.  A step-by-step TAYLOR JAMES CREATIVE PRODUCTION STUDIO video shows how the creative concept was orchestrated (Taylor James).  Working with Kevin Griffin to create the “rather unworldly theme of the crime series” (Taylor James), the ads and t.v. spots combine Griffin's photography with CGI effects. 

Paul Nicholls, Peter Mullan, and Harry Lloyd stand strong despite the weightiness of The Fear. Image ©Taylor James Creative Production Studio (2012)

 

As a reminder, The Fear will air on the UK’s Channel 4 for four consecutive nights, Monday December 3^rd through the 6^th, at 10 p.m.  With all-eyes watching, including perhaps the proud ones of Bristol residents, since The Fear was filmed almost entirely on-location there this summer (“Bristol”), we can’t wait to hear the fan reaction!

 

 

See you Monday, Matty! Image ©Channel 4/The Fear (2012), as posted on The Short List (2012)

Works Cited & Referenced

“Bristol on Screen.” Bristol.gov.uk. 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/business-bristol/bristol-screen>.

Famurewa, Jimi. “Film & TV: Harry Lloyd.” ShortList.com. 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://m.shortlist.com/entertainment/tv/harry-lloyd >.

“Harry Lloyd Interview.” Channel4.com. Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fear/articles/harry-lloyd-interview>.

Photo: Harry Lloyd and Peter Mullan from The Fear (2012). “Harry-Lloyd.” Harry-Lloyd.Tumblr.com. 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://harry-lloyd.tumblr.com/post/36814206550>.

Taylor James—Creative Production Studio. “Print/Channel 4 “The Fear.” Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.taylorjames.com/the-fear?thumb=7728>.

 

 

~Written & Posted by C, with Research from K~

The Only Thing We Have to Fear

We at Lloydalists are in a state of apprehension, stuck in a hard place between excitement at the soon-to-debut BBC Channel 4 miniseries The Fear (which premieres on Monday, December 3, 2012 at 10 p.m.) and the sad truth that, as Americans, we won’t be able to see it.  At least, not in the foreseeable future.

To reappropriate some famous words from United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address (albeit not to cheapen them or their profundity of connotations), the only thing we have to fear is The Fear itself not making its way to the other side of the pond.

 

Above: Screen-cap from The Fear teaser-trailer, released in late-November 2012. Apparently, the center cannot hold; all things fall apart. Image: ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

Curtis Brown Actors, the acting-section of the larger Literary and Talent Agency that represents Harry, has been surprisingly silent about The Fear in comparison to many of the other news outlets and even random fans who have happened to stumble upon a shooting-location for the dramatic small-screen work.  At one point in the past few weeks, Harry’s SHOWREEL on the Curtis Brown Agency’s website was updated to include what appears to be one or two snippets of The Fear, but if it were not for our ever-vigilant eyes, now so accustomed to scouring the internet on a daily basis in order to rustle up any new news about The Fear or Harry in general, we wouldn’t have thought to check for an update on his professional page without being signaled to do so.

 

Yesterday, however, the company graced its Twitter feed (and allowed us to feast our eyes on something other than leftover North American Thanksgiving turkey, gravy, and pumpkin pie) with a sneak-peek-esque photo featuring our very own Harry.  Take a look:

 

Curtis Brown Actors tweeted this image, above, on November 24, 2012, with the following caption: “Here is an exciting glimpse of Harry Lloyd in upcoming Channel 4 drama The Fear.” All the more exciting because our Harry Lloyd drought seems to be a borderline diluvia of late—no complaints. ©Curtis Brown Agency (2012)

 

In addition to the sumptuous treat above, which has received Harry’s agency’s seal of approval, two The Fear trailers, HERE and HERE, TOO , have also been released, and Channel4.com has updated its website to include a main page with various tabs offering sundry details on the four-part drama.

 

Don’t-Mess-With-the-Family Drama

From the moment The Fear was first announced, we knew that it would be a striking “mob-family drama,” but not in the expected sense.  There are dealings with the “mob.”  And there are dealings with “family.”  But these two coexisting worlds are a far-cry from The Godfather (1972) that gave new meaning to the Italian-American mob-family-business and spawned such pop-culture favorites as The Sopranos (1999-2007).  Even early stories about The Fear stressed that family tensions would flair when Richie Beckett’s (Peter Mullan) sons simultaneously attempt to control an actual mob invasion and their father’s “erratic and extreme behaviour,” which “only inflames the situation” (Hunt).  It is Richie’s sons and his wife Jo (Anastasia Hille) left to pick up the pieces of both a family business and the patriarchal mind.

 

What we can consequently glean thus far, in addition to what we have already commented upon on the Lloydalists blog, is that Harry’s role of younger son to Richie Beckett seems poised to be the tender-hearted and optimistic member of the family. When the threat of the Albanian mob tiptoes too close to the Beckett terrain, and Richie begins to grow unsettled, it’s Matty who “believes they can do business with them [the Albanians],” while older brother Cal (Paul Nicholls) “is intent on asserting the Beckett family’s power” (“The Fear: Series 1, Episode 1”). Perhaps we can expect brotherly tensions to flare up, in addition to the already-to-be-expected hazards of a mob series.  Plus, there is the element of Richie’s Alzheimer’s disease, which certainly elevates The Fear beyond the stereotypical guts-and-glory crime pieces of this type. Says Peter Mullan of his character’s dilemma, “in some respects it brings the family closer together—but obviously in other respects it rips them apart because his nature is to fight things” (“Peter Mullan”). Fighting outwardly and internally, Richie’s behavior “becomes more and more violent and unpredictable. That obviously pushes the family away” (“Peter Mullan”).  To just what extent all the pushing, pulling, and punching goes will be seen, of course, when The Fear debuts.

 

Harry Lloyd, as sometimes-soft, sometimes-slick, and sometimes-strong Matty Beckett. ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

In the first trailer released for the series, we first spot Harry’s Matty as a slick-suit-and-hair-type whose soft, “Dad…dad?” nudging, more than interrogating, tone are cross-cut with shots of the zombied-out Richie.  Matty does not even look up, into his father’s face or at the camera: could the youngest son feel threatened by his father’s inner-demons and dementia, or could Matty have secrets of his own about to spill forth?  A brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment later, and we Lloydalists believe we’ve spotted Harry’s Matty protecting his father and ushering him away from the opposing, menacing-looking mob team, his silver-suited-back towards the camera.

Later, Matty is shown in a slightly-more-commanding light, walking his father backward down a hallway and towards what appears to be the family’s stairs. His tone and voice, slightly edged, are now clearly questioning: “you can’t remember, can you?”

Slick-hair seriousness: Matty interrogates his father Richie (Peter Mullan) at home. ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

The second trailer, a 40-second “teaser” type spot focusing on Richie’s internal monologue, shows our protagonist on a pier (likely in Worthing, which is set to stand-in for Brighton), the camera swirling around him as both sons, looking alarmed and impatient, call plaintively to him, attempting to get through to him while telling one another to “shut up” while begging, “Dad, look at me.”  This brief spot is clearly a hyperbolized version of the storyline, a small snippet of dramatic acting set up as microcosmic of the entire internal-meets-external milieu of The Fear.  Here, the Beckett boys stand glaring and in some cases screaming at their father on a collapsing pier, as Richie continues his internal thoughts and the camera sweeps out over the ocean, showing us gaudy, carnival-esque words of “The Fear” slung atop the pier, our three figures becoming smaller and smaller as if poised to be swallowed by what looms all around: fear (we cannot escape it), turmoil (represented by the sea), and fragmentation (marked by the truncated and quickly-breaking platform rising out of the water).

 

It’s a brilliant, if not almost literarily poetic, take on the story.

 

Cal Beckett (Paul Nicholls) and younger brother Matty (Lloyd) try to get answers from their self-consumed-in-thought father (Mullan) in an eerie and cleverly-orchestrated hyperbolized teaser trailer. ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

The link between both the full-length trailer and the shorter symbolic adaptation of the storyline is the shared tagline.  Both television spots end with the voiceover of, “the criminal mind is a fragile thing,” and we cannot help to wonder what constitutes “criminal.” As the trailer displays, everyone involved in the thickening plot seems prepared for some sort of eerie descent, metaphorically represented as Richie, in the longer trailer, physically attempts to make his way up the family stairs but always seems detained somehow.  The upward climb—out of physical terror; out of one’s own treacherous mind—never looked so dastardly.

The Beckett Brothers try to talk sense to Dad. “The Fear” hangs, literally, thick and heavy (if not ostentatiously lurid) in the air around them. ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

Tidbits and Links

For more of the latest tidbits regarding The Fear that have trickled in since we last wrote about it on our blog, see the following:

Peter Mullan sheds his latest insights on the new miniseries.

Crime Time Preview’s inner-look at The Fear, with some great photos included.

 

More of our original blog entries on The Fear:

July 25, 2012

July 26, 2012

September 17, 2012

 

Nicholls, Mullan, and Lloyd inhabit a world of varying shades of grey (inwardly and outwardly) in The Fear (2012). ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

One observation—and it could be nothing, but, then again, it could be something worthy of food for thought, if not a decent nibble—is that Channel4.com has the mini-series labeled not just as four-episodes but also by series (or “season,” as we say in the U.S.A.).  In other words, the station’s website presents The Fear in such a way that another series (season) is fathomable.  Does that mean more Harry?  If so, sign us up!  And even if not—the gripping work by director Michael Samuels and writer Richard Cottan has us already clamoring for more before seeing anything more than the trailer, the engaging teaser, or the few select photos.

 

 

Final Thoughts and Hopes

While The Fear is very much a psychomachiac inner-struggle revolving around Mullan’s Beckett, it’s the repercussions that interest us, the ways in which one man’s mental downward (and perhaps inward) spiral begins to affect the people and the world around him. As aficionados of literature and film—well-crafted stories and character-studies—we are wholly engaged by the premise of The Fear, which makes the wait to see if (if we ever may) all the worst. A synopsis of the miniseries stresses that Richie’s personal traumas threaten “to engulf him, his family and his legacy” (“The Fear: Series 1, Episode 1”).

 

As we Administrators and Co-Founders at Lloydalists, not to mention some of our readers, remain in our agitated state, wondering of the reality of The Fear and how the storyline and action progresses as we feel trapped on the “wrong side of the pond,” we hope that those Lloydalists abroad will share their thoughts, reactions, and opinions of the dramatic series as each episode debuts.  Thank you in advance!

 

As a final reminder to those of you who are fortunate enough to be in the United Kingdom and have Channel 4: The Fear (a 60-minute-per-episode drama) airs over four consecutive nights, beginning Monday, December 3^rd, at 10 p.m.

 

 

Will the boys ever talk sense to dear old dad?  Stay tuned to find out. ©Channel4/BBC (2012)

 

Works Cited & Consulted

 

Channel4. “The Fear—Brand New—Channel 4.” YouTube.com. 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8YZfsYj6R4&feature=BFa&list=HL1353767110>.

Curtis Brown Actors. “CBGActors.” Twitter Feed. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <https://twitter.com/CBGActors/status/272030555493785600/photo/1>.

“The Fear: About.” Channel4.com. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fear>.

“The Fear: Series 1, Episode 1.” Channel4.com. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fear/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1>.

“The Fear: Trailer.” Channel4.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fear/articles/the-fear-full-trail>.

“Harry Lloyd: View Showreel.” Curtis Brown: Literary and Talent Agency. CurtisBrown.co.uk. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/harry-lloyd//works/>.

Hunt, Debs. “Principal Photography Begins on New C4 Drama ‘The Fear.’” InsideMediaTrack.com. 26 July 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://insidemediatrack.com/2012/07/26/principal-photography-begins-on-new-c4-drama-the-fear/>.

Jarossi, Robin. “The Fear Starring Peter Mullan Ch4 PREVIEW.” CrimeTimePreview.com. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.crimetimepreview.com/2012/11/the-fear-starring-peter-mullan-ch4.html >.

“Peter Mullan Discusses The Fear.” Channel4.com. 11 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/peter-mullan-discusses-the-fear>.

“TV Crews Choose Worthing Pier for Filming.” WorthingHerald.co.uk. 29 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.worthingherald.co.uk/news/local/tv-crews-choose-worthing-pier-for-filming-1-4313768 >.

 

~Researched by C & K; Written and Posted by C~

How He Spent His Summer (2012 Edition)

Earlier this year, Harry Lloyd was performing at London’s Old Vic Theatre as Duke Ferdinand, the scoundrel-ly brother to Eve Best’s eponymous figure in The Duchess of Malfi.  As his stage engagement drew towards an end on June 9^th—and he took stock of his “slightly controversial beard,” as he called his unusual yet becoming facial hair at the time (Lloyd, in Berlinger)—he reflected on how he hoped to spend his upcoming (and now mostly-passed) summer. In late-May 2012, interviewer Max Berlinger reported that Lloyd “hopes to visit America over the summer, particularly the West Coast” (Berlinger).

With the latest news about The Fear, however, it may just be that Harry did not get his summer travels wish, and the U.S.A. was not graced with his presence.  Just as it was announced the other day that read-throughs of The Fear script had begun, it’s now been confirmed that principal photography (in Brighton) for the mini-series has definitely begun as well (Martin, “BCD…Begins”).  

Earlier today, Lloydalists came across the “new official synopsis” of The Fear, which was cited by Cult Box:

Pursuing his dream of rebuilding Brighton's derelict West Pier, Richie Beckett's hard-earned respectability is threatened by two new enemies: An invading Albanian mafia and an aggressive form of early onset dementia. Struggling to contain the invasion, sons Matty (Harry Lloyd) and Cal (Paul Nicholls) need a peacemaker, but Richie's erratic and extreme behavior only inflames the situation.

As his sons and wife Jo (Anastasia Hille) deal with the fall-out of his worsening condition, we see further and further into Richie's decaying mind. In desperation, Richie turns to old adversary Seb (Richard E. Grant)for answers. But with his short term memory fading, Richie's dark past bleeds into the present, revealing unresolved traumas that echo the chaos that now surrounds him.

What emerges is a spiraling battle to resist an implacable enemy, acted out on the streets of Brighton and inside the head of Richie Beckett. (Martin, “BCD…Begins”)

Indeed, the more tidbits unearthed about The Fear, the more eager we are to plunge ourselves into this “spiraling” world of criminal, social, familial, and psychic turmoil.

Instead of spending his summertime on the U.S.’s sunny West Coast, then, Harry will undoubtedly be preoccupying himself the rest of the summer and part of the fall researching for his role as a crime-boss’s son, preparing to face “ruthless new rivals” to the Beckett family’s legacy (Martin, “BCD…Coming”).  He’ll be playing peacemaker to Peter Mullan’s “erratic and increasingly extreme behaviour” and helping to answer the question Will Martin poises: “Can Richie and his family survive when his mind and world start imploding?” (Martin, “BCD…Coming”).

Even if much of Harry’s work has been slow to reach us lately, we seem poised for a flood of his work—and immersive work, too—in the coming months, if not year at least.  Certainly, it’s been a rather busy time for Harry, even if a lot of the “fuss” has been about waiting for pictures and shows he’s already filmed to be released.  His turn in The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part I (2012) came and went.  Although Great Expectations (2011) debuted abroad late last year, fans in America (and likely elsewhere) only got our greedy eyes on the BBC’s latest Charles Dickens adaptation this year.  We—and Harry—now wait for the completed Dreck (2012) and the post-production Closer to the Moon (2013) to come to theatres.

Works Cited

Berlinger, Max. “Hot List 2012: Harry Lloyd.” Out.com. 22 May 2012. Web. 26 July 2012. <http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/hot-list-2012/2012/05/22/harry-lloyd>.

Martin, Will. “Brighton Crime Drama ‘The Fear’ Begins Filming. Cult Box. Cultbox.co.uk. 26 July 2012. Web. <http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/4301-brighton-crime-drama-the-fear-begins-filming>.

---------------. “Brighton Crime Drama ‘The Fear’ Coming to Channel 4.” Cult Box. Cultbox.co.uk. 14 May 2012. Web. 26 July 2012. <http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/3737-brighton-crime-drama-the-fear-coming-to-channel-4>.

~ Researched, Reported, and Written by K & C ~

The Fear Update: Harry's "Matty Beckett" May Help Dad Handle a Triple-Threat

Yesterday, we reported that Harry Lloyd will take a turn in a contemporary mafia-crime-drama on the UK’s Channel 4 later this year. (See entry here).

We’ve just learned that not only will Peter Mullan’s family patriarch of Richie Beckett be dealing with the Albanian mafia, but he is also hoping to “revamp the city’s West Pier” while battling the crime wave and dealing with “early-onset dementia” (“Richard Nails”).  This intense triple-threat of crime-fighting, city-cleaning, and mental-grappling should make for a wholly-poignant, gripping dramatic miniseries and, no doubt, the presence of Beckett’s sons will become more pivotal, as he relies on them to assist him in these personal, professional, and social horrors.  In short, The Fear may prove an even more definitive, nuanced role for Harry Lloyd than previously imagined.

An online French article confirms for us Harry’s character’s name as “Matty Beckett”; Paul Nicholls, brother to Harry’s Matty, will play “Cal Beckett” (Wittman).  Translating Carine Wittman’s article (roughly) into English reveals that Wittman mentions that Richie Beckett will slowly lose his dominating position in the local crime-lord arena and begin to put his family in a very dangerous position, eventually taking advance from Richard E. Grant’s character “Seb,” even though the two are rivals (Wittman; translation C’s).  Another report from this morning mentions that Seb will be a plastic surgeon “whose seedy past gets him involved with the crime boss” (Eames).  Meanwhile, Richie’s sons will attempt to “attempt to prevent a terrible end to their mafia family” (Wittman; translation C’s).

Singling out Harry Lloyd towards the end of the article, Wittman makes a very promising suggestion. “The career of Harry Lloyd is definitely launched,” she stresses, adding that following his turn in Game of Thrones (2011) came a role in Great Expectations (2011) and recently, a part in 2012's The Hollow Crown, which “has met with some success on BBC Two” (Wittman; translation C’s).

I don’t know about you all, but I’m still eagerly awaiting the moment that The Fear slides into place on Harry’s The Internet Movie Database page. For some reason, a role doesn’t quite feel “real” until that magic moment of the inclusion on that page.

Works Cited

Eames, Tom. “Richard E. Grant Joins Channel 4 Drama ‘The Fear.’” Digital Spy. Digitalspy.co.uk. 26 July 2012. Web. <http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a395425/richard-e-grant-joins-channel-4-drama-the-fear.html?rss>.

“Richard Nails Role in New C4 Crime Drama.” The Sun. TheSun.co.uk. 26 July 2012. Web. <http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/4454076/Richard-E-Grant-has-nabbed-a-starring-role-in-new-Channel-4-drama-The-Fear.html>.

Wittman, Carine. “Channel 4 annonce la distribution de The Fear.” d'A-suivre.org. a-suivre.org. 26 July 2012. Web. <http://www.a-suivre.org/annuseries/filinfo/une_info_annuserie_index.php?id=3504>.

~Written & Posted by C ~

Fears Alleviated? Harry's New Role in Four-Part Miniseries The Fear (late-2012)

Pardon us if you were awoken by the sounds of ear-shatteringly excited squeals early this morning.  Before you groan in annoyance and reach for the earplugs, allow us to explain.

We are happy to announce news of an upcoming Harry Lloyd project, reports of which have been slowly turning-up through the vapors of the internet.  Although we do not know very much at the moment, it’s enough to make us quite thrilled to hear about Harry’s newest opportunity.  And while we wait for more specifics to trickle out into the open, we can tell you the following (and from where such things were gleaned):

Drama Publicity Manager at C4 Alex Wells tweeted on July 25, 2012 the following: “The Fear script read through. Peter Mullan IN. THE. ROOM!” (Wells). The post was followed by an Instagram photo of The Fear script.

Subsequently, Drama On 4 retweeted the post, as well as contributed its own stream of telltale news.  “Peter Mullan plays Brighton crime boss turned entrepreneur, Richie Beckett in brand new drama The Fear...also starring.....” the first, suspenseful tweet read (Drama On 4).  It was followed swiftly with the continuation: “.....Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones) Paul Nichols [sic] (The Passion), Anastasia Hille (Snow White and the Huntsman) AND” “.....AND Richard E. Grant (The Crimson Petal and the White). Excited? We are” (Drama On 4).

They can count Lloydalists among the excited, too.

A bit later, Drama On 4 explained that The Fear would be a “new four part drama starring Peter Mullan, Harry Lloyd, Paul Nicholls and Richard E. Grant [that] comes to @DramaOn4 later this year” (Drama On 4). Channel 4 is a British television station with a variety of programming; The Fear would fit within its “drama” offerings.

Earlier today, Yahoo UK reported the following:

Richard E Grant is to star in a new Channel 4 drama about the criminal underworld set in Brighton.

The cast of The Fear will be headed by Peter Mullan - who won acclaim in the movie Tyrannosaur - playing a crime boss-turned-entrepreneur.

The four-part series also sees former EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls and Harry Lloyd - who appeared in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Great Expectations - playing his sons.

Peter portrays Richie Beckett whose past in the crime world is masked by a new-found respectability as he tries to revamp the city's West Pier. But his world is thrown into turmoil due to the impact of the Albanian mafia and aggressive early-onset dementia.

Richard plays a plastic surgeon who himself has a dark past which is intertwined with Beckett and his wife Jo (Anastasia Hille).

The hour-long episodes were written by Richard Cottan, who worked on BBC crime drama Wallander, and will be filmed around Brighton. (Press Association)

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Mullan would star in The Fear (Laing) but only now has the rest of the cast been named. What is more, the vague reference to “later this year” tweeted by Channel 4 workers can be worked out to mean November/December 2012, as originally slated (Laing).

From what was said of the roles of the two Becket sons prior to the casting announcement, we may get to see Lloyd in a more physically-active role than ever before—should things really get ruthless.  Initial reports, after all, revealed that in The Fear, Mullan’s “character Richie Becket's family firm, now run by his two sons, has to deal with a ruthless new rival gang of Albanians. In volatile circumstances, the erratic, extreme behaviour of Becket threatens to inflame the situation” (Laing).

The Beckett Boys

(left) To deal with new rival gangs and maintain the family business, Harry may have to lose the black-tie look (and the facial hair, here reflecting his role in The Duchess of Malfi from earlier this year). Image: Lloyd at the Olivier Stage Awards, April 15, 2012. Source: Georgia. Harry Lloyd Source. 25 April 2012. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://harry-lloyd.com/harry-at-the-olivier-broadway-awards-2012 >.

(center) Actor Peter Mullan will head the cast of The Fear, as well as head the Beckett family.  Harry Lloyd and Paul Nicholls are slated to play his sons. (Mullan is shown here at the London Premiere of Tyrannosaur, at The BFI Southbank, in October 2011). Image Source: Dave Hogan/Getty Images Europe.

(right) Thirty-three year-old actor Paul Nicholls will play Mullan’s son and brother to Harry Lloyd. Image Source: © The Sun/News Group Newspapers Limited. <http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/showbiz/tv/907486/Paul-I-was-speechless.html?print=yes>.

In the end, if there were any fears that we would end 2012 without seeing much more of Harry Lloyd, it would seem that these qualms are alleviated.  Although The Internet Movie Database hasn’t confirmed the presence of The Fear on 2012’s radar, nor the cast of the miniseries, Peter Mullan’s Wikipedia page (“Peter Mullan”) and various UK news sources (see “Works Cited & Consulted,” below) seem to be circulating the story fast enough to ensure us that The Fear will be a reality.  This “drama about a criminal underworld” may be just the thing to help get Harry out of the more recent crop of costume and period roles, as well as give him something a bit more earthy, gritty, and street-savvy into which to sink his acting chops.  Playing one of two sons to Mullan may mean that Harry is relegated to the backdrop on occasion or even folded into a general presence (albeit perhaps of edginess, brutality, and tenacity?) along with his brother, but we can hope that the four hours’ worth of miniseries will have plenty for us Lloydalists to sink our teeth into.

We will continue to keep you updated on developments regarding The Fear and, of course, any other Harry Lloyd-related news, as it turns up!  And if you have any leads, stories, or ideas you’d like to share, please email us at Lloydalists@gmail.com.  Also, for more up-to-the-minute news and fun, find us on Twitter: @Lloydalists.

Some Tweets started it all…above, some of the Twitter-sphere’s news (from Drama On 4) about The Fear from July 25, 2012.

Works Cited & Consulted

“Channel 4 Info.” Channel4.com. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://www.channel4.com/info/>.

Drama On 4 (@dramaon4) Twitter Feed. Web. 25 July 2012. <https://twitter.com/DramaOn4>.

Laing, Greg. “Channel 4 Reveals 2012/13 Drama Lineup: John Simm, Gabriel Byrne, More.” Digital Spy. DigitalSpy.co.uk. 13 July 2012. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a393317/channel-4-reveals-201213-drama-lineup-john-simm-gabriel-byrne-more.html?utm_source=twt&utm_medium=snets&utm_campaign=twitter>.

“Peter Mullan.” Wikipedia.com. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mullen>.

Press Association. “Grant to Appear in C4 Crime Drama.” Yahoo UK. UK.News.Yahoo.com. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://uk.news.yahoo.com/grant-appear-c4-crime-drama-111458122.html>.

“Richard E. Grant Stars in New Channel 4 Brighton Crime Drama.” The Argus. TheArgus.co.uk. Web. 25 July 2012. <http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9836299.Richard_E_Grant_stars_in_new_Channel_4_Brighton_crime_drama/?ref=nt>.

Wells, Alex G. ‏(@AlexGWells) Twitter Feed. Web. 25 July 2012.  <https://twitter.com/AlexGWells>.

~Researched, Written, and Posted by K & C~