Ìý
"I moved back up to a little village near Harrogate in Yorkshire for
a number of reasons last year. I enjoyed my time in London but I started
getting this hankering for some peace and quiet, fresh air and some
greenery," he says.
Ìý
"I wanted to buy my first home but didn't want to buy in London and
my father's death at the beginning of last year spurred me on to move
back home and make sure mum was okay, had support and knew I was around
for her."
Ìý
It also meant that he could finally pursue his love of walking and
birds of prey - a passion he developed inspired by a school project
years previously.
Ìý
"I've loved birds of prey ever since I was at school and have always
wanted to get into falconry," he says.
Ìý
"I love their majesty, power and grace and there is a falconry quite
close to where I live so I will probably go there to train; although
ideally I should be galloping across the moors on a big steed with my
big glove, my falcon and the wind in my hair… a very romantic image.
Ìý
"I love my big stomps through the Dales," he adds, "but I don't
see that as a hobby, it is just something I love doing."
Ìý
Ìý
"You need to get your popcorn in early as I get killed right at the
start - otherwise you miss me," he laughs.
Ìý
"I do, however, appear in photographs and flashbacks throughout the
film."
Ìý
Moving back to Yorkshire also means that Speer can at long last pick
up his guitar and saxophone, which he's owned for three years, but due
to work commitments he just hasn't had time for lessons.
Ìý
It also gives him an opportunity to follow his favourite football team.
Ìý
"I support Leeds who, it has to be said, have had a traumatic three
years - but I remain loyal to them," he claims.
Ìý
"With a marriage you can get a divorce but with a football team you
are stuck with them for life - but that's okay and they'll be back on
form soon."
Ìý
Speer was also a fan of Messiah and when the script arrived he didn't
think twice about accepting the part of Jack Price.
Ìý
"All of the Messiahs to date have been beautifully written, very dark
and intense, and I just knew that this script was a great one and it
clearly has good pedigree as well with Ken and Neil.
Ìý
"It was a great cast of people with high quality scripts so it
wasn't a difficult choice, really."
Ìý
Jack Price is a Detective Sergeant working in CID who is friendly with
Red and his team.
Ìý
After the suicide of his eldest daughter Isabel - a university student
- Jack's life and marriage begin to fall apart.
Ìý
"Isabel commits suicide three weeks prior to the start of the first
episode but Jack doesn't deal with it at all and suffers from incredible
guilt, as all parents do when they lose a child, particularly to suicide…
He feels a huge sense of inadequacy and failure," he says.
Ìý
"He turns to drink and finds it incredibly hard to communicate with
his wife Rachel, (played by Helen McCrory), who is the Chief Pathologist
in the mortuary.
Ìý
"The relationship between Jack and Rachel is tenuous and strained,"
he observes. "These two people are dealing with their grief in different
ways and Rachel needs Jack to look after his two remaining children
and her but he can't.
Ìý
"They have moments of closeness but Jack's doubts about Isabel's
death pushes them apart."
Ìý
Following the string of murders that are happening with alarming regularity,
Jack becomes convinced that the chief suspect in the murder investigation
actually murdered his daughter Isabel.
Ìý
When a link is made between Isabel's university and the horrific death
of a fellow student, Jack becomes obsessed and dogmatic with his theory.
Ìý
"He has a desperate need to blame Isabel's death on someone else in
order to make it easier to deal with… a need to not feel that guilt
or sense of failure," he says.
Ìý
When researching the role, Speer found he had to dig deep within himself
to find the grief that sudden and tragic death can bring.
Ìý
"I spoke to a friend of the family whose son had committed suicide,
but it was so very sensitive and deeply personal that I really didn't
want to intrude.
Ìý
"Because I don't have children myself it is very hard to imagine
what it is like to lose a child and the thought of losing a child through
suicide is incomprehensible.
Ìý
"So I really did what most actors do and just plunged into my
imagination to come up with anything that could link me to that degree
of pain.
Ìý
"With dad's death, because he had been ill for a long time, it was
a relief when he went and I was able to remember him as fit and vibrant
instead of not having any quality of life.
Ìý
"So whilst I was deeply saddened I really felt he had been set
free and it was better to remember him like that.
Ìý
"Like all the other characters in Messiah, Jack's journey is a really
painful one. Everyone goes through their own hell in order to come out
the other side, just as Dante wrote in The Inferno," he observes.
Ìý
He does confess to not having read the whole text and despite delving
into it here and there during his research he wished for some helpful
aides.
Ìý
"I could have been doing with one of those handy Brodie's notes on
Dante that we used to have at school," he laughs, "but unfortunately
I couldn't find one."
Ìý
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