Mitchell Robertson on That Explosive ‘Half Man’ Episode: ‘It’s Huge’

[The following story contains major spoilers from Half Man‘s third episode.]

It’s safe to say things got explosive in the latest episode of Half Man.

Richard Gadd — who last month spilled all in The Hollywood Reporter‘s digital cover story — is tackling rage and repression in his Baby Reindeer follow-up. The show follows two wildly different men, Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell), bonded by trauma and co-dependence across the course of 30 years.

Airing weekly on Thursdays on the BBC (U.K.) and HBO (U.S.), the first three episodes have been led by Gadd and Bell’s young counterparts, Scottish breakout stars Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson. They are doing a stellar job at setting the scene for what makes Ruben and Niall’s relationship so twisted in the current day — for example, that frightful moment in episode two, which saw Campbell’s Ruben viciously beat Niall’s university beau Alby (Bilal Hasna) until he was unconscious.

In the most recent installment, we watch the fallout of his crime: Alby, who was put into a coma by Ruben and left with permanent facial scarring, is pressing charges. Ruben pleads with Niall (Robertson) to lie on the stand and say it all started when Alby groped him. He believes the justice system’s homophobia will spare him prison. Neve McIntosh, playing Niall’s mother, Lori, also implores her son to bat for Ruben — unbeknownst to Ruben, his mother (and Lori’s partner) is sick with cancer. Niall, still paralyzed with fear over the thought of Ruben discovering that he’s gay, is forced to choose between his family and his morality.

He opts for the latter. On the stand, he tells the courtroom that Alby never groped anyone. Campbell channels something primal in Ruben’s frenzied fit of anger in the moments after; he launches himself at Niall, who can only watch on with doe-eyed dread. “It’s huge for Niall at that point,” Robertson tells The Hollywood Reporter, “because, in a way, he’s choosing himself, and he’s choosing truth.”

Below, Robertson catches up with THR about the fallout of that episode. He also discusses how he boarded Half Man, what was the most difficult scene to film, and what Niall’s decision means for Ruben and their relationship in the episodes to come: “It really leaves them in a place where it feels like there’s no coming back from it.”

Talk to me about how Half Man came up for you and maybe what your initial reaction was reading a script like this.

It came up just in the classic [way], I got sent the audition through. And then when I first read the script I loved it, really loved it. It was so, so full and so rich. I was just really drawn to the softness and gentleness of Niall. And to have that in a Scottish protagonist is really unique. I was really excited by that. There [are] a couple of parallels between me and Niall a little bit — not in the things that he goes through. I haven’t been through [them], but I could see versions of my younger self in small parts of Niall, particularly in episode one. Being a male from the west of Scotland who’s a little bit more gentle in nature. I know what that feels like. So I could really relate to him in some ways, and then just the relationship that he has with Ruben is so nuanced and complicated. And as an actor, that’s really exciting, because they go through really huge moments together and really big intense things, and that’s the kind of stuff that excites you: the idea of getting to play. The scripts were amazing to read.

What conversations did you have with Richard about Niall, and also with Jamie when it came to matching up your performances?

Me and Jamie spoke a little bit at the beginning of the process, when me and Stuart were in prep. I had a Zoom call with Jamie, and we spoke a little bit about the inner workings of Niall and how that manifests and his relationship with Ruben. In terms of the approach, I truly didn’t really know how I was going to do it. It was a lot of me doing it and hoping it works, and then Jamie — credit to him — doing all the work to find those mannerisms and mimic that. So I can’t really take much credit for that — just how much Jamie was able to continue that character on.

I did a lot of work with the director, Alex [Brodski]. And Richard was great at leaving us to that. And then when we got onto set, Richard would obviously help with little moments that he maybe thought we could develop further. He was great in that sense. But, you know, with Niall, I really, really did feel a strong sense that I got him. I hope this doesn’t come across as cocky or anything, but I didn’t feel I needed much guidance in that sense. But of course, me and Stuart would have needed guidance in terms of the scene and the nuances of it and where it changes, and how the relationship is shifting. [But] in terms of the characters, I get them. And I think a lot of people can relate to this, that feeling of maybe feeling like a part of you is wrong. We can all carry shame, and that very specific experience of him growing up in that part of the west of Scotland, with that socio-economic background — I get it.

Had you met Stuart before this? What work went into building that relationship?

I first met Stuart at the chemistry read, which was right at the end of the audition process. I didn’t know him before, he didn’t know me. We’d actually never heard of each other either, which is funny, because [we’re] young Scottish actors.

In terms of building that chemistry, we’ve been talking a little bit about it, and I’m still trying to work it out a little bit. But I’m almost coming to the conclusion that maybe it just has to be there, or it’s not [there]. I don’t really know if it’s something you can build, but maybe it’s something you can like develop further. But I guess also the casting team and Richard and the director, Alex, must have seen in the audition that that chemistry was there, and we clicked straight from the off as well. As soon as we met at the chemistry read, we really did click. And we really are close mates. So I guess it was something that was maybe just there. I don’t know if we did build it or work on it. I don’t know if we did do that. I think we just clicked as two people, became mates and then just kept developing that friendship as [Half Man] went on.

What does that title Half Man mean to you?

What comes into my head when you say that is I think a really strong theme of the show is shame, and I think maybe there’s more men than we think that are dealing with shame and don’t know how to deal with it, because we’re maybe not really taught how to deal with it. It’s a really intense emotion, and it’s an emotion that’s not really spoke about a lot. And so then the title Half Man, I guess, plays into that a little bit.

Niall’s sexual repression is a main plot point in Half Man. I wanted to ask you about that shame he carries, how it plays out in your three episodes and how it sets the tone for what’s to come.

Yeah. It’s really that shame that he has grows and grows and grows throughout the three episodes. And the thing with Niall as well is that he really lacks a lot of safety in himself and a lot of autonomy. I don’t know if he has enough examples in his life to tell him that that version of himself could be okay. I mean, in his head, it’s the worst. If people were to find out, for him, that would be the worst thing that could happen to him, which is a really sad thing. But it just goes to show how big those walls can be in our heads, that we build up for ourselves. Even though Niall’s mum is with a woman, he still can’t really seem to be fully on board with this version of himself. He internalizes it, and the heaviness [of that] then sits on his shoulders.

There is a host of heavy subject matter in this series — including in the grueling scenes we see in the build-up to Ruben’s courtroom outburst in episode three. What precautions were taken on set to make it feel like a comfortable place?

Yeah, we had a great intimacy team, a great stunt team. Everyone was really passionate about the show, and everyone really cared about the show. And I do think that kind of inevitably transpires into everyone having this real sense of care for each other. So everyone was great with that stuff. Me and Stuart were constantly supporting each other in that way, which was really important.

In episode three, we see that Niall refuses to take the stand and lie about Alby groping Ruben, effectively sending Ruben to prison. It must have been so intense to film. What’s the significance of that moment, and where does it leave Ruben and Niall’s relationship?

It’s huge for Niall at that point because, in a way, he’s choosing himself, and he’s choosing truth. It leaves [the relationship] in a place that kind of feels like the end, and it is in some ways — for [mine] and Stuart’s version of those characters. But it really feels like a strong moment for Niall, that he chose to do that, but then the other edge of that sword is also you kind of don’t want him to do it. Maybe some people might feel like that’s why it’s interesting as well. The audience might be a little bit split, because they might want him to lie for Ruben, but it really leaves them in a place where it feels like there’s no coming back from it. And obviously, we see where that goes in [episodes] four, five and six.

How daunting it feels to be part of something that you know a lot of people are going to watch?

Even with this stuff, talking to press and being in different places, it’s just tricky to actually fully be aware of it, maybe until it happens. There’s a sense I have just now of it not really feeling fully real because it is crazy. It’s proper pinch-me moments, quite a lot of the time. But I feel a lot of gratitude. I feel a lot of pride. I feel a lot of love for it. Truly, I really love the show, and I really just feel a lot of pride that I’m a part of it, which is a nice feeling to have.

What do you find challenging about being in such a big show that has so many eyeballs on it?

I don’t feel nervous. I don’t feel overwhelmed or anything at the moment. Obviously, things can change, but like I say, I don’t feel nerves in the sense that I’m so proud of it that I just really want people to watch it. I’m more excited for people to watch it than I am nervous about it. Even at the screening that we had in London, I wasn’t nervous for people to watch it. I was more nervous for the Q&A after!

Was this challenging material for you as an actor and why?

Yeah, for sure, it’s challenging: physically, emotionally. It was challenging in terms of stamina as well. [By] the end of it, I kind of go through every emotion that’s in the book. It was challenging but rewarding. Parts of it were enjoyable. It really was a little bit of everything. And I know that’s a cop-out answer. But it’s true.

What was the most difficult scene to film?

The scene that, I would say, felt the most real, was the court scene. Being in that space with all the eyes on you, in such a vast room, with the scene being so long, it [felt] almost like a play. Because you’re not cutting. I really felt it, standing in that dock, everyone looking at me being grilled. It was really hard. Your body doesn’t really know the difference, that it’s not real. Your mind might know that, but your body doesn’t. But again, even though I could really feel that in the moment, there was something exciting about it.

What were the overarching lessons learned for you being part of a show like this?

Oh, so many, so many. And truly, I do mean that. It’s a mix of the people that you’re working with being at such a high level, the scripts being at such a high level, the amount of challenging scenes to shoot —you’re inevitably just learning and developing every day. I really do feel like I came out of the process miles better [as an] actor than I went in. And in some ways, I learned loads just about me. Playing a character like Niall, who’s so internal and has so much conflict with himself and trying to work that out so intensely for months, it’s really hard to finish that process and then not look inward at you as well. As the show ended, it started a bit of a journey within myself as well, which is maybe one of the biggest things I took away from it.

Does it make you want viewers to come away with any kind of message?

Because the theme of shame for me is so prominent throughout it, one of the things that I do hope people take away is maybe we can look a bit deeper with our young men. Maybe we should lead with a little more gentleness with them at times, because I think shame or pain inside of young guys manifests in different ways. Ruben chooses violence, Niall chooses to retreat, and it feels like both of them maybe need an arm around them quite early on in their lives, and neither of them really get it, and then we see where that leads.

How fun was it getting to shoot in Scotland, as a Scottish actor?

It was beautiful. Everyone was so passionate. Everyone was so happy to have this unique Scottish show and to be working on it. Everyone was really passionate about the characters as well. We actually filmed a lot of the show in a place called Cumbernauld, which is where I’m from. [It was] a really full-circle moment for me being back. I never thought that I would leave Cumbernauld to then go back there to shoot an HBO-BBC show. There was actually one day we were shooting, and Stuart had this joke that when we were filming in Cumbernauld, everyone was gonna be shouting my name, because they would all know me. And there was actually one day where we were just about to go for a take, and I heard someone shout “Mitchell!” and it was my cousin’s wife’s brother at his door, giving me a wave.

Half Man is airing weekly on Thursdays on the BBC and HBO.