BEDLAM - COLLIDER: Theo James Talks BEDLAM and UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING
by Christina Radish
September 30th, 2011
The BBC America supernatural drama Bedlam, premiering on October 1st, follows the 20-something residents of Bedlam Heights, a stylish new apartment building that is tainted by abuse, suffering and death. As the direct descendent of those who ran the asylum for generations, prior to its current use as luxury residences, Kate (Charlotte Salt) lives with Ryan (Will Young) and Molly (Ashley Madekwe), and it is her task to fill the remaining vacant apartments. When Kate’s adopted cousin Jed (Theo James) unexpectedly arrives, after messages to save her send him back into her life, his checkered past and mental health issues become increasingly difficult to hide, as he sees ghosts and visions from the past. Once he begins to uncover the terrifying secrets of Bedlam Heights, he must also attempt to retain his fragile sanity and keep his friends alive.
During a recent interview to promote the series’ debut in America, actor Theo James talked about exploring such dark aspects of a character, determining the physical effect that the ghosts would have, how he doesn’t really believe in ghosts himself, and what it was like to film in a location where some very horrific murders actually happened. He also talked about his role in Underworld: Awakening (out in theaters in January 2012) and the cool fights he got to do in the film...
... Q: How much of your character’s backstory was given to you?
JAMES: "We had discussions about a skeleton framework of it, but it was really important for me to know exactly what had happened to him. With a character like this, in a sexy, 20-something, supernatural drama, you need to find the realism. I wanted to make sure I knew every element of his journey, because he’s a fairly normal, masculine guy, but I wanted to find the origins of that and how that happened. When did this start? At what age? How did he end up being called insane? I figured he would have been diagnosed young. He has visions. They probably seemed something like paranoid schizophrenia. He was put in and out of mental institutions because he seems sane, but then he has these fits.
As a result, he has had various jobs that he couldn’t hold down for very long because things happen, and that changes his personal relationships. As a result, he’s quite a lonely, solitary man and can’t really trust people. By the same token, when you see him now, he’s gotten to a place where he knows that the only way of having a vaguely reasonable, normal life is to basically deny what he sees. But, I think he knows in himself that it’s truth..."
Bedlam premieres on BBC America Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 10/9C, and moves to its regular time slot at 9/8C on Saturday, October 8, 2011.
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