Tom Hanson interview
How have you found filming Series 3 of Brassic?
It's been hard in the sense that in order to be as safe as possible COVID-wise, pretty much all of us relocated full-time to Manchester. So, we uprooted our lives and luckily, my girlfriend and my cats came with me, which made a world of difference. It's been an intense experience, but I wonder if that might lend itself to the show, because it's been the only thing in any of our heads really. But the fact that we can say that we made a TV show during all of this, I think is amazing. It's historic, I think.
Did it bring you closer as a team?
There was an element of everyone being in the trenches together a bit. I mean, on this show, we might as well be filming in trenches because it's muddy fields and wind and horizontal rain, that's the aesthetics, you know what I mean? But it definitely galvanises you and I think this year particularly has bonded us all in a way that the other seasons haven't, just because of the nature of. They say that the people you work with become your family, but I mean, in this case they really were, because we didn't see anyone else. We couldn't see anyone else. I was really proud of how much everyone committed to getting this series filmed.
What did you think when you got the scripts for this series?
I think Joe and Danny have done it again. It's more extravagant, it's funnier too, I think that because they know us now so well and know our capabilities and what we're good at and what would be funny if we did certain things, Danny writes for us personally. So it feels like a tailored suit in a way, if that makes sense. It all just fits perfectly with each character. But I do think the two of them sat down and said, "All right, let's see what we can get away with now? I know, let's put 11 people on a tiny boat on the Irish sea." And then we did it!
Have you worked out yet how many of the stories are actually a real part of Joe's life?
Do you know what? I'm not sure. He can joke and be quite coy about telling us what's true and what's not, because he doesn't want to incriminate himself! But yeah, I think maybe there was something with a bull at one point. I mean, a lot of the farm stuff is real, I think, because Joe worked on a farm for a while. But Joe likes to say, "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story." So I think, yeah, there are some elements of truth, but a good bit of artistic license. The fun is working out where the line is!
Do you have a stand out story this series?
Wait until you see the bull story! They decide to steal a bull because it has move star semen which they think they can extract, shall we say, and sell. Oh my God! I mean, they got a hose and fired it at us. It was so rank! We've got these tiny little Tupperware boxes to try and catch it. Oh my God, it's vile. But it was amazing that we got Felicity Montagu in that episode to play Leslie, she is a comic icon. I mean, especially for me, she's worked with Julia Davis, who I'm a huge fan of, and she was obviously Lynn in Alan Partridge. So that was awesome. But the bull itself was called Nairobi and we never experienced that side of its personality, shall we say, but it was amazing to have it on set.
Were you pleased that all the lads were involved in this scene, not just Cardi?
Well, do you know what? That's the one time that I didn't pull the short straw in the whole series, because otherwise it's always me, either he looses his trousers or gets stung by a bee or has to wrestle in mud, or has to be completely naked in a pig pen surrounded by real pigs, all of which happened within about three episodes of each other. So, yeah, it's good I got to share the horrors with Ryan this time! The good thing about having Tommo is that you kind of know if there's any kinky shit, it's always going to be Ryan that has to deal with it. I'll never be the one in the gimp mask, luckily!
What was it like being naked in a pig pen?!
I mean, there's only so much acting that you need to do when you're on an actual working farm, actually naked, actually sitting on a hay bale surrounded by actual pigs in an actual pig pen. So all the fear that you see on my face, and the maybe slightly miserable look on my face, it's all real. But do you know, it's worth it for the laugh, you know that it's going to be funny, so the discomfort at the time is only temporary. I have to run out past these pigs and I didn't have anything on. I was like, "Are they going to go for me?" And the guys were like, "No, just be quick about it." So, I just ping it past, it's the fastest I've ever seen Cardi move!
All the other lads also get naked this series, did anyone think about asking for a body double?
Well, the thing about working with Joe Gilgun is that you won't find out until the day. So, we weren't all meant to be naked, we were all meant to be in boxer shorts, but on the day he thought it'd be funnier if we weren't. So we weren't! I can only stay in a certain level of good nick because I'm playing an idiot who likes eating, but the other boys, especially Damien, are ripped to shreds. So I think he's definitely like, "No, this is my moment, baby!" There's certainly that kind of blitz spirit element about it.
Cardi has a spectacular run in with a load of bees, what was it like wearing the prosthetics as he reacted to the stings on his face?
Oh my God! That was the toughest period because for two and a half days I had no vision out of my left eye because it had a huge prosthetic on it. I heard that when Jim Carrey was preparing for the Grinch, he underwent torture training to know how to bear all those prosthetics. I sort of thought, "Oh yeah, I can see why he did that," because all you want to do after hour seven of having a massive prosthetic pressing into your eye is just tear the thing off!
Was it a nightmare to put on?
It takes like an hour to put on. There were different levels of prosthetics. So there was a 20%, 50%, 70% and then 100% as the reaction to the stings intensifies. It's so bizarre because it's like having the heel of your palm pressed into your eye, not so hard that it's uncomfortable, but just enough pressure for it to gradually annoy you. So yeah, it was a test, but again I mean, it's another thing to tick off the bucket list, I've never worn prosthetics for a job before. I feel like the experiences I have in one series of Brassic might take another actor ten jobs to fulfil, it's crazy!
This series, more than ever before, shows how devoted they are to each other. How do you feel about that element of their friendship?
I think that's what grounds the show, right? I think that if the characters didn't have that level of love for each other, then it would just be a kind of flippant comedy about a bunch of reprobates. But it's those elements of trust and honesty and helping each other and protecting each other that give it its heart I think. Also, I think all the characters are in that funny stage of their lives where it's not like your 20s where you can still have a bit of fun, they're all early 30s and they're starting to grow up and realise they have responsibilities.
Fans can expect another clash between the gang and McCann...
Yeah, between him and Carl Slater, they don't make it easy for us. McCann is a thorn, but there are a couple of other thorns that you wouldn't expect and a couple of betrayals that you wouldn't expect. McCann is just as much of a horrible sleazebag as you'd think he'd be though. McCann is always lurking around in the background like the grim reaper.
How's Cardi's relationship this series?
They are doing really good. I got a lot more stuff with Bronagh this series, which was lovely, because me and Bronagh are so fond of each other in real life. So it was great to do stuff with her, and also her being even more a part of the gang than she was before. They are so loved up. They're very, very happy with their lot, I think.
Do you think Cardi would like to have kids?
Yeah, I reckon he would. I mean, I've talked to Danny about this, he was like, "Do you think they'll have a kid?" And I'm like, "You write it. I don't write it!" But yeah, having a little baby running around would be hilarious. I mean, the kid would get taken away by Social Services, for sure, but I'd love them to have a kid. I actually think he would be an amazing dad. All of the childishness would turn into him being so attentive and lovely. I'd really like that to happen. I think it would add a dynamic to it that we haven't had yet with him.
What sort of reaction do you get about Cardi?
I get a lot of like, "Where's the pigeon? Where's Nigel?" I get a bit of that. Interestingly, when I play Cardi I'm quite disguised, I wear a lot of hats and I clothes that I wouldn't normally wear, so in everyday life, I think I've only been recognised maybe once or twice. If I'm with the other boys, I'll get recognised. But I did actually have a funny thing with Ryan last season, we went to a bar and we ordered a cocktail and this couple came up to us and said to him, "Oh my God, do you play Tommo?" And he was like, "Yeah,I do." So then they handed me their phone to take a picture. But do you know what? I would so much rather it was that way. I mean, it could just be that my performance isn't very memorable, which is also fine, but I quite like the anonymity of it all. But people on social media are very nice and complimentary. It seems that the die-hard core of Brassic fans are amazing. I never thought there would be a kind of fandom around anything that I was involved with. But there's this community of people who have bonded over their love of the show. There's a woman in America who's number plate is like B-R-4-5-I-C, that's nuts. Although, there was one tweet actually, which stays with me because it made me laugh a lot. This bloke said, "I love Brassic but I've never hated a character more than I hate Cardi." And I thought, "Oh my God, he went out of his way to do that." How can you hate Cardi?!
Brassic has been a huge success, you must be proud of what you've all achieved?
Yeah, for sure. I wish that Joe was on social media so that he could see the response, because I think he's the one who puts the most on the line for this. You know what I mean? He's the one who's in every single day. It's his imagination and his life that is the basis for this show. I feel like I'm, in the grand scheme of things, a relatively small cog in this machine. I feel very proud for Joe, because I know this is his entire universe. He's like, "If people don't like this show, it means that my life is boring." So there's a lot more on the line for him, but because we all know that, we all do give 110% all the time because it's so personal to our friend and that's important to honour him and to honour his story.
What do you think the future of Brassic looks like?
I think the idea of a film has been floated. That would be amazing. To be honest, I think we'll keep doing the show until they allow us to do an episode in Spain! We all really want to film abroad, we're always asking for that to happen. We got North Wales this year. That was the furthest we went. So, somewhere hot would be better! We keep saying we want to see them all in Benidorm, just imagine the chaos they could cause.