Interview with Mark Bonnar (Gary Carmichael)
What could have brought Dr. Yvonne Carmichael, a law-abiding wife and mother, an eminent scientist, into a dock at the Old Bailey about to be exposed in a highly damaging and compromising lie?
Published: 4 January 2017
It’s immensely rewarding to get your teeth into stuff like that because in a sense you almost feel like you’re playing catch up - you’re always searching for the truth of the situation or the moment.
How did you first become aware of Apple Tree Yard?
I first became aware of the show when I got a call from my agent. They said they’re sending over four episodes to read over the weekend. Within 10 pages I was completely hooked and raced through them because it’s an amazing script. It’s properly gripping and takes you places you never imagined you would go when it starts off. It’s subtle and it’s economic, it doesn’t patronise the viewer or us, it leaves a lot up to you to do, economically written, in the best way. The characters are very well drawn, the relationships are very well drawn and grown up and not patronizing at all.
Who is Gary?
Gary is a scientist. He has his own lab and team, so high up in that world. He’s been married to Yvonne for a long time. He is a good guy; he’s a middle aged man with all the joys that middle age brings to men.
His family is complicated like all families are. Gary and Yvonne have a daughter who they are very proud of and a son who has mental health issues. He’s recently moved out of the family home and gone up to Manchester so that’s a bit wrench for both of them. Yvonne dotes on him and is very protective of him. Gary is but less so.
Gary’s going through hell in the show. Does that bring a challenge?
It’s very challenging. Both of them are put through the wringer in different ways. When any script comes along you look at the journey the character goes on and if that’s exciting, then you want to be a part of it. This definitely ticked all the boxes, even though he’s quite different from anything I’ve played before, in that he’s quite quiet and doesn’t like a fuss. He’s a man of science and not given to over-egging any part of his emotional life. That quite appealed to me, the fact that I hadn’t played anything quite like that before.
Tell me a bit about Gary and Yvonne’s marriage, what kind of marriage have they got?
Gary and Yvonne’s marriage is like many other marriages in that it’s, yes enduring, yes loving, but has reached a place of staleness that neither of them can a) communicate and/or b) figure out how to get out of.
They have two grown up kids, one of who will be a successful scientist, the other of whom is a bit lost. They love them both very much to varying degrees.
Tell me about Emily, seeing her in action?
Emily Watson… Emily Watson… she is remarkable. For the first few days, I would have to remind myself not to watch what she was doing and be in the scene with her, because she’s very good, and you do get a little bit hypnotized by what she’s doing and forget that you’re actually working. She’s brilliant, lovely and friendly and we had a great time.
It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from grown up things. Is it something people enjoy getting their teeth into or does it make it harder?
It’s immensely rewarding to get your teeth into stuff like that because in a sense you almost feel like you’re playing catch up - you’re always searching for the truth of the situation or the moment. We were very respectful of each other and what was required to get there, because you have to put yourself through a wee bit.
Gary obviously isn’t aware of everything that is going on. How does he respond when events start to unfold?
As things start to unfold with regards to what Yvonne has done (or not done) and what she has been subjected to, the only thing Gary can do initially is to be of practical help. He hunts down and employs Jaz played by Adeel (Akhtar) to be our lawyer, who is recommended by somebody as a very good one.
As far as their relationship goes, that’s a real work in progress because there is a whole other series of things to deal with in terms of Costley and deception and lies. Where do you go from there? How do you deal with that? That’s a long term project.
