Pennyworth Cast on the story of Dark Alfred Origin of Epix

From the executive producer / writer Bruno Heller and executive producer / director Danny Cannon, and based on the DC characters created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, the Epix drama series in 10 episodes Pennyworth Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), a former British SAS soldier in his twenties, who forms a security company and goes to work with Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) in the 1960s in London. Not yet Bruce's father, Thomas is a young billionaire from the east coast of the United States, who needs to be badisted by Alfred, especially by a mysterious organization, known as the Raven Society, and causing all kinds problems.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Jack Bannon, Ben Aldridge and Paloma Faith (who plays Bet Sykes, a sadistic movie with sharp tongue) spoke of the fun of exploring the origins of the characters that people already know, to get things moving a bit, to make sure that the border between good and evil is more blurred, the exaggerated darkness of the series, the dynamic between Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne, who had not been very familiar with the comics, and their hope that the series will please both as a drama and not as a series of comics.

Collider: It's an interesting show because we're learning a lot more about Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne, two characters we think we know, but we really do not know at all.

BEN ALDRIDGE: I think so. It's quite exciting to know that we play in the legend and the myth, and in the follow-up of these comics, and that we carry the fandom with us, but we start at the point of origin, which means that Bruno [Heller] has a huge room to maneuver to create what he wants, then we, as actors in these roles as well. It's pretty exciting.

JACK BANNON: Yes, it's very exciting. We know where all these characters end up, what some people might call restrictive, in the sense that they say, "Why do I want to watch 10 o'clock when I know where he's going to end?" let's finish, but we do not know how they got there. We play with history, so to speak. Even if there are descendants of Jack the Ripper, it's also the way they met and how they end up at the end. I do not think people expect what's going on.

Paloma, is it fun to come and be the one to make things happen?

PALOMA FAITH: I really like it a lot. Which is interesting in writing, and I have not really seen the previous one Batmanand what I really think is intelligent is that, in the context of the television show, you really have to explore the layers. Hundreds of people have played psychopaths. We examine what lies behind all this and the depth of being able to almost understand it. All human beings have certain characteristics that unite us and make us identical. As a person who likes to consider himself a good and moral person, I sometimes identify with Bet. I sometimes feel empathy for Bet. I like it a lot and it's good writing. I did a master's degree in theater and my clbad director told me: "The greatest art form can be enjoyed by the mind of a child, with a basic level of entertainment and fun, up to the deepest of the intellectual. This is how you evaluate a great art. And that's what this show is trying to do. It's fun to watch at one level. It's funny and exciting, but there are a lot of layers and you, as a spectator, choose the depth you want to go to. All characters have these layers, so it's up to you to choose what you get.

When that happened to you, did you know exactly what it was? How many did they tell you at first?

ALDRIDGE: We had the script, so we all had a clear idea of ​​the world they had created.

FAITH: But it was just this script.

BANNON: I do not think we know where to go, but beyond.

The atmosphere and the tone of the show are so defined. Have you been given an indication of this?

ALDRIDGE: There was a big part of the script that explained the world, so yes, to a certain extent. But visually, not so much.

FAITH: The darkness is exaggerated.

BANNON: It's fantastic. Since I'm in the movie, I do not think I'd get used to it until I watched Episode 1. It's really dark, funny, and 'mind.

ALDRIDGE: The way they went through the period is not just defined here. The music and everything that is evocative of this period, rather than ending up in the 60s. It seems that nothing is related to this. It's not really related to the period or the story, it uses different music depending on the location and anything can happen. We are licensed for everything that happens, which is trustworthy, and it's good to be inside because you do not know where it's going to go.

The longer you play this character, are there things that you have come to appreciate of his identity?

FAITH: Yeah. I told Bruno: "I'm worried because I think I like him." And he was like, "Good, great, I'm happy, because I'm happy too." She is evolving, and because of the process of working on this subject, I do not know the bow of my character, we do not know where it's going on, it's in the process of writing, it's not a finalized thing, we're exploring, and as we get to know each other on the set and build closer relationships, off camera and In camera, we feed all these characters who become what they are becoming, so when people talk about playing with these pre-existing characters, it's very natural, the process, it evolves itself. meaning that the lines between who we are and those with whom we play can become blurred.

ALDRIDGE: I already feel like that sometimes.

FAITH: I would say, "I do not know where he came from, but I felt absolutely obliged to kill someone's dog today." We all felt that way. There is this great existential question of "What are we all capable of doing? What can we be pushed to do? Alfred's character is very intelligent because we see him as a good man and we regard the other characters as a bad person, but they act intrinsically the same way. He kills people, but lets himself go and justifies him morally. As in all social construction, what is the difference between a soldier, a policeman and a terrorist? It is a very fuzzy line and the fear is strong.

ALDRIDGE: I think the show also does it as a whole. The comics and previous incarnations of movies have these two aspects of good and bad. In Pennyworthit's not as clear as that. It is not that there is a good and a bad party. The waters are more murky and muddy, and Bruno does a good job not just knowing who's good or bad.

Faith: He likes all the characters. He cares for everyone. There is a kindness behind each of them.

ALDRIDGE: Even the people we perceive as psychopaths.