Brendan Brady (Emmett J. Scanlan)
First of all, congratulations on your British Soap Award wins! What's your reaction to winning the prizes for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Villain of the Year'?
"To win both a public and industry category going shoulder to shoulder with great shows and great actors who are equally deserving of the awards is slightly embarrassing, but utterly flattering. I owe a lot to Kieron and Bronagh, with whom the vast majority of my work has been with. You're only as good as the team around you and these guys make me look like I know what I'm doing. Our viewing figures are dwarfed in comparison to the big boys, so to get the nod for 'Villain of the Year' is David and Goliath stuff. To the panel, I salute you. Getting the nod from these veterans of the industry is like getting approval from your parents, which growing up for me was few and far between - I was a nightmare… To Britain, I thank you for welcoming me into your home with open arms - duly noted, never forgotten."
We'll soon see Brendan joining the spa and spending time with Noah. What's going through his mind?
"Brendan's a very territorial animal - he doesn't like anybody else coming in on his turf. So Noah's come into Stephen's life, but in Brendan's eyes, Stephen belongs to him. The fact that Stephen would spend time with another guy and be happier isn't something that Brendan is going to accept lightly. He's a king manipulator, he likes to toy with people and so he decides to take on Noah in his own turf by joining the spa. Once he's done that, Brendan starts trying to seduce him. Brendan is trying to reclaim the prize. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are, Brendan can get you no matter what - I think that's the point that he wants to prove as a completely irrational human being!"
What was it like to film the Brendan and Noah scenes?
"It was so much fun to shoot. I've seen some of it in the edit - it gets really dark and there's some great scenes. With the boxing scenes, it almost has a Rocky and Footloose feel to it. God knows why Footloose comes into my head, but it just does - it's got that comical, camp value to it as well. It's also a seductive few episodes as Brendan is playing the game, and it's fascinating to see someone like Noah - who despises the ground that Brendan walks on - slowly but surely realising that he has feelings for him, no matter how strange they are. I think that's because of Brendan's confidence and arrogance of knowing that he's in control, as that can be quite an attractive quality in some ways. Brendan is trying to turn Noah to the dark side."
Is this all a plot to win Ste back?
"I'm not sure whether Brendan is planning to win Stephen back so they can have a normal relationship, so to speak, as I don't think there's anything normal about Brendan - it's not the way he rolls. But he sees Stephen as a person that he cares for, a person that he's killed for - and in doing so, he's shown his love for him in that way, however different or perverse his love may be. What turns Brendan on most of all is power and manipulation, so if he can't have Stephen, he's going to make sure that nobody else can have him. Whether he wants to get back with Stephen is another question altogether, but he thinks he owns Stephen and that's quite frightening due to the type of individual that he is."
There's often some debate about whether Ste and Brendan's story is a domestic violence storyline or whether it's now become a love storyline. What are your thoughts?
"It's an incredibly complex relationship and it can't be pigeon-holed. When you try to classify something as a love story or a domestic violence case, you're putting it into your own personal perceptions of how society should be and what reality is. The real reality is that there is such thing as a love story where people hit each other, so it's both those worlds combined. People can try to rationalise things that aren't politically correct, because it doesn't fit with their way of thinking, but Brendan is what he is. Look at Hannibal Lecter - people always try to psychoanalyse him to see why he kills people and what triggers it, when the fact is that he kills people because he likes to do it! People can't accept that, but the most frightening thing to accept is that it is what it is. Is it a love story, is it a domestic violence story? It's both, in my opinion."
The domestic violence aspect of the storyline disappeared for a while but has been revisited recently. Are you glad about that?
"I think it's really important. I think sometimes in soap you can hit into a storyline but not give it time to breathe and germinate. It has a gestation period and you need to allow that to grow over the coming months. It's so easy to just forget about things and throw them under the carpet. So I think it's really important that Brendan once again lashed out, because this is who he is. At the end of the day, Brendan is a dangerously caged animal who's fighting with his demons. When he learns to dance with those demons, that's when he becomes a person to be reckoned with. I don't think we should forget who Brendan is and what he's capable of."
Mixed in with that, we do sometimes see a lighter side to Brendan…
"Yeah, Brendan's a contradiction in terms because he's also a loyal father and a loving brother. He loves Cheryl and he also loves Stephen, but in a strange way. Brendan has those human, quirky qualities that sometimes make him funny and that people can relate to, but then he'll do something left of field and people will ask, 'Why do I like this guy? What just happened?' Actually, it's more that people think, 'He does this kind of thing, and yet I still like him'. It gets people thinking about their feelings about a character as complex as Brendan, and then when you get people questioning themselves, that's when you get into dangerous, unchartered and uncomfortable territory, but it's something that hard-hitting TV needs to explore more often."
Brendan has built up such a big fanbase. Has the reaction differed from what you expected when you took on the role?
"When I went in for the audition, I realised that Brendan was a messed-up, mashed-up character and to play someone like that takes me completely out of my comfort zone. That's what turns me on as an actor and makes me hungry every time I step on set. I had no idea that it was going to take the path that it has - to be honest, I never even gave it a second thought as the viewer reaction is out of my control. I just try to go in, play the truth of the scene and push it a little bit further each time. The fact that people have related to the performance is a fantastic feeling for any actor. The people on Digital Spy have been ridiculously kind to me in ways that I don't deserve. I remember the first time I was told that there were always people talking on there about Brendan Brady and Stephen Hay's relationship, and that's fascinating for me. I hope I'm giving them what they want, because I'm sure as hell enjoying it!"
Brendan was originally supposed to stick around for six or seven months, but did you always have a feeling that he could be there for longer?
"Well, I'm very much a moment-by-moment type of person. I originally got a six-month contract and it started on May 19 last year, for scenes that wouldn't go to air until August. But to me, contracts are only as strong as the actor who comes in to play the scenes every day. It's like Premiership League football players - they can sign a five-year contract and leave in the summer, so there's no security in a contract and I like that, I embrace that. It forces you to bring your A-game to set every day and forces you to deliver. I'd been filming for four weeks when I was told that I'd be staying for longer, and I was floored by that. I'm not one for assumptions as we don't know what's going to happen, but I thought that I'd come in, cause trouble and get killed off. But staying for longer helped to develop my character even further and that's what I want. I want to take Brendan full-circle on a character arc, and I've been allowed to do that in spades."
In your last interview with us, you said that you wanted Brendan to be the most hated man in Britain…
"I did want Brendan to be the most hated man in Britain and I was going to make sure of that, but in an ironic twist of fate, the viewers started liking him! I embrace both, as there's a fine line between love and hate and it can flip either way."
Last December seemed to be a turning point for Brendan as we saw a different side to him and heard about his history with Danny Houston and Vinnie's death for the first time. Was that always planned or was there a conscious decision to do something different with the character?
"I think you play it by ear a lot of the time and the writers and the producers may see something on screen and say, 'That's interesting - let's explore why Brendan is the way he is'. I've had lots of people come in from Brendan's past - you learn the backstory as you go along, and then incorporate it into your way of thinking. It's a compliment more than anything that they want to invest their time into giving me a backstory, which I'll then revel in. I've been spoiled. If you really want to invest more time in the character, it has to go down different avenues, and I love that."
The character of Brendan Brady and his relationship with Ste was all masterminded by Paul Marquess. Is the new boss Gareth Philips as passionate about the storyline?
"I hope so! He's reassured me that he is equally as passionate. Paul Marquess is a beautiful man and I owe my career in England to him. I came in for that audition, he cast me straight away and he was the one who invented Brendan Brady - this dark, twisted man. Paul did superb things here at Hollyoaks. Now Gareth's come in and he's also a beautiful man who I've had many conversations with. He's given me future storylines and assured me that there's going to be an interesting time ahead for Brendan. There's going to be a lot of things happening and that's very comforting. He's given it a lot of thought."
What's next for Brendan?
"Brendan's main fear was people finding out about his homosexuality, but now that secret's out, he has no fear. So what happens to a crazy, sociopathic man who has no fear? He becomes a different breed of animal. He has absolutely nothing to lose. I'm very interested to see what Brendan does next and myself, Gareth and the writers are all singing off the same hymn sheet. I'm hoping that it will take a path of its own and that if you thought Brendan was bad now, he'll just be Satan incarnate in the next few months. If you thought he was bad now, watch out. It's very exciting to think what could happen at the close of this year, but I never have any expectations. Hopefully we can all create some crazy storylines together."
Brendan and Amy's tea-drinking scene seems to have gone down as one of the most memorable! Will they be meeting up again soon?
"I would love it! I remember we were rehearsing that scene and I asked for a cup of tea and a saucer, as I just felt that he should have them. The thing that made that scene work was that it was so close to people finding out about him, so he was borderline psychotic. I think people reacted to that scene the way they did because it was given time to breathe. So many times in soap, your best scenes end up on the cutting room floor because they have to fit so much into 22 and a half minutes. But they let that scene breathe with the pregnant pauses and the tension.
"I actually remember when I watched it back, I thought, 'Oh no, I think I might have gone a little bit too far with that' - I didn't give the trust to what I'd done. But the response to that scene was breath-taking - even [executive producer] Tony Wood came up to me in the corridor and told me that he loved it, and that's a massive compliment as he invests so much time into this company and watches all of the episodes. Will there be any more of those crazy scenes? I don't know, everyone should just write in and ask for them. I personally will ask for them! It's worth taking risks and it's great when you have directors who trust you enough to add in your own quirks."
We've recently heard about a movie you starred in called Charlie Casanova, which you won the 'Best Actor' prize for at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris. What's the film about?
"Charlie Casanova was a movie that I shot just before I came here. It was the best script I've ever read, by a genius of a man called Terry McMahon, who wrote and directed it. We shot it in 12 days - the cheapest film ever made and it's been killing it all over the place. It's about another sociopath who makes all of his decisions based on the draw of a card. Anything from pushing you off a cliff or making you a cup of tea, he completely abdicates all responsibility. He's more cowardly than Brendan Brady, but ten times more dangerous. It's a hard-hitting, very Marmite kind of script - you either love it or you hate it. But no matter what, you walk out of there feeling something."
How long do you see yourself staying at Hollyoaks for?
"I have no idea what the future holds with me and 'Oaks. I can tell you right now that I'm very much a moment-by-moment type of guy. I think I'm still on my honeymoon period at Hollyoaks and I've been here for a year now. I love the people, I love working on set and I'm very interested to see where Brendan is going to go… You never know what the future holds."