Interview by Josh Newis-Smith for In Style, 23rd April 2018
The Terror puts the drama into dramatic and it’s star, Adam Nagaitis is in the thick of the action.
Ridley Scott is back and boy does he have a terrific tale to tell with The Terror; focusing on the British Royal Navy’s perilous voyage into chilling unchartered territory to trace a route between the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific. As recourses run low and the conditions become increasingly chilling the crew find themselves not only battling the unknown but each other. Take it from us: it’s really, REALLY good and the perfect filler as we await the return of Game of Thrones.
Taking the reigns of The Terror as one of the key protagonists, Adam Nagaitis (Suffragette) stars alongside some serious acting greats namely, Jared Harris (George VI in The Crown) and Ciaran Hinds (Harry Potter, GOT and Justice League). However Adam not only holds his own, his portrayal of petty officer, Cornelius Hickey, is a scene stealing star turn. In Adam’s hands the calculating social climber who seeks to threaten the crew from within whilst they face mysterious forces outside appears on the screen with more layers than an onion.
Our Fashion and Celebrity Director, Josh Newis-Smith met the man who is set to become one of our own acting greats to find out more about the man of the hour…
The Terror’s larger than life sets took Adam’s breath away…
“The thing that everyone was most impressed by were the sets – they built a replica of The Terror with three full decks and it was built to scale of the actual ship. There was a little bit of extra room for cameras but we were so overwhelmed by that on the very first day. My first scene was with Jared Harris, so I was thrown right in at the deep end with that. I remember going down to the producers afterwards and they were super nice and supportive and they didn’t fire me as I was just thinking, ‘I definitely messed that up!’ First days are always hard on set because you have so many expectations flying around and you need to warm up that’s for sure! God it was also really hard to maneuver around the sets in the freezing cold with all the fake snow – you would be filming a take and it was melt on your face.”
The cast is almighty as the ship itself…
“I learnt a lot by acting with and watching Jared – just the ability he has to lead a cast is pretty impressive. I spent a lot of time with Paul Ready – a couple of my favorite scenes are with him – and learnt a lot from him too as he’s so specific. It’s difficult to pin down one person who I learnt the most from, as everyone in it is actually so good. You soak it up – I learnt a lot from the scale of the production and I almost underestimated how much actually goes into these projects.”
The cast is male heavy but there was no time for lads on tour antics…
“Everyone was very professional and on top of their game so there was little time for ladishness! It was a very male dominated set but because everyone was there with the same task in mind it didn’t deteriorate into crazy debauchery – it as a very professional place to be. It wasn’t like lads on tour – as far as I saw – it was more akin to a very large family with a very large task to do. Everyone was just exhausted.”
‘The Terror’ is akin to ‘Game of Thrones’ meets ‘Victoria’…
“Trying to sell this show in a simplistic way is tricky because every review I have read stated that by the time you get to the end you find it hard to categorize the show. It touches on classical film references like, The Thing, there’s a bit of Alien then there’s also this feeling of expedition and adventure so there’s a Game of Thrones or Victoria vibe to it as well. Commander is something I am reminded of when I watch it, too. The Terror is horror but also an adventure and it’s very character driven so it isn’t about making you jump scared.”
Playing a navy officer is affecting Adam’s personal style…
“I am a big fan of navy blue now *laughs* but there’s a really cool costume piece which I tried to steal. I am still trying to track it down…”
Don’t worry Huns, unlike his character he’s super nice really…
“I play a lot of villainous characters or antagonistic characters you could say that tend to have a lot of desire for murder and evil behavior. But just so everyone knows I am not actually like that, I am super nice and super friendly – which may surprise people!”
Adam won’t go overboard for a character but will go that extra mile…
“I wouldn’t say I am a method actor but I go as far as I can with a character without risking my own life. The most important thing as an actor is to make it true to you and the only real way to do that is to spend your time going as far as you can go. I like to keep myself to myself a lot on set or when working full stop as to keep the energy going if I can. If you stay isolated and able to keep secrets inside your head you will keep the performance alive.”
His best piece of advice is…
“To value your own opinion of yourself and not to do what is necessarily expected of you so you can keep people guessing. Just be confident, let go and let things come to you, too.”
This article was originally posted on InStyle.co.uk but has since been deleted. It has been recovered and reposted here for posterity.
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