Aaron Heffernan interview
What was it like coming back to film series three of Brassic?
It was great to come back but it was a shaky start because none of us could have known we'd be in the middle of a global pandemic! We weren't sure if we were going to get to even do it so it was just joyous news when we found out that filming could go ahead. It was like coming home to the Manchester family, I was delighted to get back with the gang.
What was your first reaction when you found out what the lads would be getting up to this time around?
I was just delighted to see more of the same Brassic trademark adventures, but also I was excited to see more character development for Ash, which was just so much fun to read and then to get to do as well. It feels like another elevation from what we saw in series one and two. It gets just a little bit more crazy, more ambitious, and then from series two to three, the same again, the bar is raised even higher. It's like Joe, Danny and the writers asked themselves, "How can we make this even more insane, but also keep it rooted in the heart of the show with the romance and with the friendship, and the family element of it?" I think we've achieved that. I hope we have, but it definitely has that Brassic heart we all know and love.
Joe has admitted that some of the stories are loosely based on his own life, did he give you a hint if any of the stories in this series are based in some truth?
Everything! Honestly, you'd be surprised at the amount that is based in truth! We would only find out when we're there doing it, on a farm somewhere, or in a shed somewhere, he'll say something like, "When we did this for real about six years ago ..." We are always like, "Wait, hang on! You did this for real? What are you talking about?" I don't want to give away too much, I'm obliged not to confess too much, but so much of it actually happened, and it's just mind boggling to think that even the stuff you think is wilder or stranger than fiction actually, in some element, has happened in Joe's life. I love the allure of not knowing where Joe's life ends and Brassic's story begins. I think that's the beauty of this show.
One scam this series sees the lads steal a bull to harvest its semen, what was that like to film?
Reading that in the group Zoom, socially distanced, read through was the funniest moment I think we've ever had in preparing for a new series! To film that as well was just absolutely hilarious. Sometimes with Brassic, it's only when you look back on what we've done and think, "Was I actually on my knees in the middle of the the day masturbating a fake bull into a pathetic bowl, really?" But look, that's the reality!
The ejaculation scene is classic Brassic!
Yeah, it was just hilarious to film! I wasn't too grossed out by it, because my character luckily gets to stand at the back of the animal while the explosion took place, so to speak. I got to watch everyone else get covered in this weird, milky material. It was fun for me because I didn't get covered in anything. That's a nice little part of my character, I guess, a lot of times when everyone else is in the thick of it, he's usually at the back, unless it involves fighting, of course!
Fans will also see all the lads forced to strip totally naked, what was that like to film?
It wasn't much of a departure for me because Ash has gotten a bit naked already in season two, and I think maybe in season one as well. I'm always getting my trousers off in some capacity! That's what I signed up for so it wasn't too much of a shock. It was actually good fun. There was a lawlessness to that day! We were committed to just wearing a robe for the day, and having socks in places that they're not usually worn, let's say. That was the atmosphere. There was a reckless abandonment to the whole situation. There were no accidental mishaps. I got lucky again because I was covered up, let's say, but the other lads had to just carry themselves, both literally and figuratively. It'll all become clear when people watch the episode!
Did you all hit the gym in preparation knowing you'd be flashing so much flesh?
Yeah, I think we were all going for it for the few weeks preceding that scene, a typical actorly thing to do, to be competitive with each other about diet and fitness routines! That always happens, and then it's a flicker of about three seconds on screen, but it's always worth it.
Who's got the best Brassic body?
It's got to be Aaron Heffernan. I think his body is just ridiculously good! No, Damien is just in outrageous shape this series, he's the typical hot dad really, but not with a dad bod, with the bod of a 20 year old Nike model. So my vote is going to be Maloney!
We're so used to seeing you running round the countryside, but this series sees you all take to the sea...
Well, look, as close as one can be to shooting Mission Impossible in Saint-Tropez on a yacht somewhere, that's how I felt in Conway, on the top of a little clinker, with the Brassic cast. That was, I think, my funnest week, because I got to be the assistant director on the cast boat. It wasn't big enough to have any crew onboard as well as the cast, so I had a little radio and I was getting instructions and directions given to me through the radio from the director on another boat. I became AD Aaron for about a week, and the power, I think I got drunk on power!
Ash is not quite Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible though, is he?
Far from it! Ash and Cardi get handcuffed to each other as part of a weird magic trick but Cardi has accidentally swallowed the key. I think, in an effort to create the mystique of the trick, he's actually swallowed the key wholeheartedly as opposed to just as part of the trick, so now we're waiting for, let's say, Cardi to 'pass' said key. That mixed with the rocking of the boat, and the madness of everything else going on in the episode makes for some gruesome, but ultimately hilarious, television!
You mentioned earlier that this series explores Ash's backstory and one episode sees him search for his real dad...
Yeah, I was just delighted to see that that was in there. We'll do a roundup at the end of a series, we're always suggesting things here and there, or Danny or Joe will be asking, "What do you think of this idea for the next series? There's another story for the next series here. What do you think of this?" Danny asked me if I had any ideas and I thought it could be an opportunity to explain Ash as being a mixed race boy in an otherwise white family in the traveling community. I thought that maybe we meet Ash's dad. So when I saw that Danny put it into the episode, it was incredible.
Why was that important for you to explore?
As a mixed race Irish actor in a UK show, playing an Irish traveler in a white family, it was just another layer to how great it is to get to play this guy. We find out where his side of his family comes from and explore that. I think especially with the year we've had, with race conversations becoming more frequent and more prevalent in the media, and also with friends and family, whatever it might be, it's incredible to shoot that this year of all years, just to have this story for me as an actor, but then as the character as well. It was unreal to see that he's got a black father, but he still loves his family. There's so much in that, that for me was, I think, a career highlight so far, for the mixed race voice to be heard and seen.
Brassic has a unique and natural way of exploring sensitive issues, doesn't it?
Exactly, and it's not preachy, it's not too earnest, but it's very heartfelt. It's full of soul, I think, and I think that's one great way to get certain messages across, that these are all real people, even though all this mad stuff is happening around them and they're criminals and Robin Hood kind of characters. There's still this element of just huge heart and friendship, family and love, whether that's race or family. Now finding who your parents are or where they've gone, or sexual assault or whatever it might be, there's always something else underlying, I think, with the Brassic narratives in each episode, just something that punches you in the gut for the emotion as well as the hilarity. To be a part of that, for me, I don't know if that will ever come again in my career, to have such input where you can suggest something, and then the next year you come back and it's a fully fledged narrative. That's just beyond comprehension how stimulating that is to get to do it.
You mention being mixed race yourself. Has that ever been an issue in your life or in your career?
I think for me, it's not been an issue. Growing up in Ireland in the '90s, I was one of actually a handful of mixed race or non-white Irish kids in my primary school, and then also in my secondary school. I always felt well surrounded, but there were always instances of racial slurs or ignorance, or naivety or whatever, you will always come across that in any country. I was always taught to use my difference as a special super power, I suppose, or your own special brand of uniqueness, as a plus. I've always had that attitude, that if I don't get cast in a period piece, in a traditional theatre in Ireland somewhere set in the 1900s, maybe I'll come and do a different type of play in London, that could be set in the same place but there's colourblind casting, or whatever it might be. There's always another avenue, I think. I've been lucky enough to keep working and not be hindered by any kind of bias, or even if it is there, I've always just kept going. Personally, I like to see any difference, like I'm sure many people do, as a bit of a super power. That's always been my tagline.
We get to meet someone called Pat this series, what can you tease about him?
Yeah, he's a family friend of Ash's family, and he's always been around since they were kids, friends with his parents, very close friends with Ash's mother, which creates some questions in Ash's head about that, what relation he might be to Pat? He's just a very, very interesting and exciting new character for Brassic. He's this incredible cross dressing, traveling, boxer, who's just hilarious, that's something for people to look forward to.
Sticking on the family scene, Ash's relative gets kidnapped but perhaps all is not quite as it seems...
Yeah, that's another great episode from the Brassic team. We go on the search for Ash's uncle, and he's been kidnapped, but there's, I think, five or six twists and turns in that one, and it's just a wild goose chase, basically. That's a complete adventure, that one, where we're just sprinting across the city trying to find my would be murdered uncle, only to figure out not all is as it seems.
Erin gets herself in serious trouble this series but the lads are ready to do whatever it takes to protect her...
Yeah, more than happy to move a dead body! I think there's a ride or die element to the gang, and they'll all put each other first and go on the frontline to save someone else's neck. I think that's also a lovely element of the show.
Is life on set as crazy as it is on camera?
Yeah. It's not much different on or off, to be honest! There's still great bonds with the rest of the crew. A lot of us were staying in the same building as well. We were in our own bubble and we were tested every day and that kind of thing, so just getting to work with people and be around people in the middle of a pandemic was a huge privilege, and that's something to be grateful for.
As you were all in a social bubble together, how did you entertain each other off camera?
There's been a lot of games nights. I feel like everyone's been on a bit of a health kick this time around, so there hasn't been as much booziness as there has been previously. That's partly owing to the fact that everywhere was closed, but also I think personally you reassessed at the start of the lockdown, "Okay, I'm going to try and maybe cut some things out". I gave up meat altogether. I gave up alcohol, all this namaste, get me on my yoga mat kind of lifestle! I put the weights down for the yoga mat. The social activities have been centred around Monopoly and Scrabble, which sounds wild, I know, but it was more exciting if you were actually there!
Who's the most competitive out of all of you lot? Anybody cheat on Monopoly like stealing from the bank?
You wouldn't think it, but Parth Thakerar, beautiful JJ in the show, he is actually very competitive. It's hilarious to watch because he's such a zen, chill man, but we were playing Monopoly and there's an undertone of, "I will fuck you up if you take my next building!" Michelle is very competitive too. You don't want to be playing a game with no rules, because then she'll get upset. There has to be rules. You have to be on the rules and play it properly. She's a good games master as well. She rules the roost very well. You want to play by the rules or get off the boat. Literally, we were playing on the boat and I think she ex- communicated a few people off the boat who didn't play by the rules.
What game were you playing on the boat?
We were Googling quizzes, so just general knowledge quizzes. Michelle is a great Quizmaster. She's also incredibly good at those kinds of games, but I know Mark, who came and stayed with us for a bit won a few games in the evening, which I'd say she was a little bit jealous of, because the two of them are just super competitive. They're just good at everything. It's almost a bit annoying. They're just so multi talented that it's frustrating! She's good at games as well as everything else in life.
What would you like to happen in the next outing of Brassic?
I don't know what's happening in series four, but it seems they're overrun with ideas, which is brilliant. I think I'll be doing more enforcing in the next series, so more fights and more brutishness, which I'm absolutely here for, because I love that side of my character as well, the soft hearted security officer of the group. Any more stunts and action I'm happy to do, as always.
What about a romance?
Another Ash romance would be nice. It's mentioned here and there, but yeah, an unexpected Ash romance, or a lovely young man from Manchester, or another Irish man. Who knows? It's something I would love to do more of, because there's a line here and there about how he's always swiping on Tinder looking for romance. I want to see what's next. Maybe a wedding? In Brassic weddings never seem to go to plan, so there could be some craziness involved in that. Can you imagine the stag do?
Maybe Ash gets married and there's a stag do abroad?
That's something I would love. A stag do in Dublin would be hilarious, but a stag do in Morocco would be even better!