'Taboo' is not a series for everyones liking. Tom Hardy has made this very clear. But does he care? As the main character, producer and creator of the original idea, he speaks with complete passion about his BBC series.
The show is about the adventures of James Delaney and how he seeks revenge for his fathers death, whilst meeting many enemies on the way. The storyline lines up a series full of controversy, betrayal, conspiracy, deep and dark themes and of course bloodshed. To find out more about the roots of this remarkable looking series, we recently spoke to Tom Hardy in Stockholm about all things 'Taboo', including his desire to make more seasons, the profitability of the series, what it was like working with his father, who came up with the original idea and why the show is called 'Taboo'.
What is the most enjoyable and challenging thing about shooting a time piece?
"I think it is to find the locations which are authentic and actually standing still today so the majority of Taboo is authentic to the period. It's about authentifcation and specificity in objects and design and to bring that period to life as best as possible, to immerse the audience and make the experience as if it was a really good ride that you can get on and transfer yourself back there to the time as best as we can possibly imagine but with as much specificity to facts as possible."
Is 'Taboo' like some sort of puzzle or is it supposed to be ambiguous and open to interpretation?
"Both, we know what we did. We know exactly what we did. From our point of view its a springboard to grow, its not just a character in a family but a conversation which is largely about psychoanalysis than spirituality and magic. Although it opens the door to ambiguity in many ways, the options that are outside for the portrayal of the human condition in a period of time. Although that period of time could easily be brought up to contemporary times with those who suffer from traumatic experiences."
"But the lack of any analysis during that period, which we luckily have nowadays thanks to the likes of Jung, Freud so on and so forth in psychoanalysis, we introduce the concept of post traumatic stress disorder and in the environment whereby the world was moving politically and sociopolitically in a way without the communication abilities that we have now. Our easy access to one another with our iPhones and technology today allows it the show to become a nice crucible in a melting pot to see how people socially, politically, and psychologically adapt to their environments in different time periods."
Will we be seeing more seasons in the future?
"We have created a very rich tapestry which is capable of being used as a springboard with the ability to launch and continue seasons of a story which starts in season one which could very easily stand alone as just eight episodes. Our mission statement was to create a period drama for television drawing as many assets as possible from the film world to create a piece which we thought was relevant and important today for how we would do a period drama with the contemporary assets that we have. We fulfilled that mission with the ability to move forward as we all desire because we love the show and we have created some characters that we really love. So yes, we have definitely thought about several seasons afterwards."
"For example, it will be interesting to watch my character James and Lorna, his step-mum, and how they develop. It's perfect because it could be like Bonnie and Clyde because as we go into the second season what we find is we have an autonomous female lead who is not attached to the leading male. They can become partners but it's not sexual. It's not romantic, it's autonomous."
"Will all the answers be there? No. But things will go on that will be questionable, but some will be answered."
How did you combine your role as an actor and producer?
"When I play James, I'm not just thinking about James and how he interacts, I am having to think of a whole different group of other characters. The likes of Chichester, Stuart Strange, Godfrey. They are all extensions of my heart and my mind because I am part of that team. So, I am also in their heads too during the development and writing stage. So, to prepare for James is very little to do with acting but more about developing an understanding of the world and interaction of the characters."
"It's not just me its a team sport and we all care and love all of the characters. That is why the team is so important because there is so many of them and we all care about them, they're all our little ducks."
"There's a lot of reference to lots of different classical literature, plays, books, characters and films that I have seen and I just wanted to condense and squeeze into one new person. It really is a team sport, it's not anybodies one idea, it was a collaboration."
"So how do you prepare for a character after all that? Do you just turn up and put a hat on and say the lines? Well, we have been thinking about this character for nine years, putting together the infrastructure and the design elements so by the time you repeat what the story is about, who the characters are and why for several years, when it comes to filming it is a bit of a shock to the system."
How did the creation of 'Taboo' come about and who's idea was it?
"We looked through lots and lots of classical texts that my father, "Chips", and Steven Knight get very geeky about which is brilliant, but it's not really my first port of call because I just pull faces and wear tights and make up for a living."
"It's very hard to say anything about the person behind the idea without sounding like someone is trying to claim ownership. It's a team, it's a great story and it's a great fertile ground to go forward with this team we have. This is just beginning and an awful lot of work goes into just eight hours worth of filming or even one or two lines."
"The creation process was that Tom went to his dad. His dad is a writer. His dad wrote a treatment. We sold the treatment. We took the treatment to Steve Knight and he wrote the treatment again and delivered the first two episodes based on the first two ports of call. So, Steve is the credited show runner. So, it's Steven's script, and in business we all know what that means. Me and "Chips" are not people who are going to get hired to write and eight part series for FX because we have no history."
What's it like working with someone like Steve Knight again?
"The thing about Steven Knight is that we speak a similar language, like with 'Peaky Blinder' and 'Locke'. I am invested entirely in Steve's work, I think it is beautiful. By going into an endeavour you want to maintain the essence and the heart of your piece. It's going to change and evolve constantly and I would rather it change and evolve by the penmanship of a man who I have huge respect for and love his work and who I know would protect my father and I's concept."
"Steve also has the precedent to walk us through because he has status within the industry and he comes with a certain amount of financial backing and trust from studios, as do I for acting. So between this we can then jostle to create the space for the voices to sing. So it is politics, and then it is art. Thats why its collaboration and its very hard to say, but it breaks down as Steve wrote the script himself."
Do you manage to keep your relationship with your father professional when working on 'Taboo'?
"Yes, absolutely. There's one thing, I'm kind of out of body with myself. I don't know whether thats because of traumas in my past, but I am capable of stepping outside of myself and working on something. The work is the priority for me and my father. When we go to work, we work on work. He is my father and I have natural protective instincts for him. I am his son and he has natural protective instincts for me. Simple as that. So if we spot that in each other we say now is not the time, we are doing business."
The character of James is quite an enigma, what would you say are his weaknesses?
"He has loads of weaknesses. The relationship with Zilpha is strange. For example, when he is sitting by the fireplace and going through rituals and travelling, he's not actually travelling. And at the same time Zilpha is thinking about him and we just put the camera in both of their bedrooms."
"If you didn't have a phone or Skype at the time, and you hadn't seen someone for ten years who you had strong feelings for and they came back and said they still liked you and then they suddenly left. Yet the problem is you don't have a phone and you can't leave and do something about it. You are going to be thinking about them before you go to bed realisitcally. So we just ran the camera in the same room at the same time and led the audience to think that maybe he has some sort of strange voodoo, but he doesn't. That's why when she says "I killed him like you told me to" he has no idea what she is on about and calls her crazy, but then the pot is calling the kettle black because they're all insane."
"I think what we are trying to do is create the vale of illusion of a human being in an extraordinary circumstance in a kind of melodrama and fantasy world which is grounded in the human condition, so it's playing with analysis by trying to contain that into a very solid period drama as opposed to being all romantic and sweet about it."
"Instead, it's more like ripping it all apart and having a look inside the engine. If we are going to do a period drama, we are going to put all of that in there. So as for the weaknesses they really are all over the place."
"That's what's nice about it, because it creates a character who is actually quite solid, who doesn't seem to do anything. He becomes this kind of legend when actually he is a very sensitive and damaged individual who doesn't speak much because he is just doing, because he is so damaged that he can just do and not talk his feelings."
As a producer, were you worried about the commercial success of the show?
"No, I am more worried about the investment of other people. For example, if you give me 10 million dollars, I want to make sure you get you your money back. The story is everything and I trust the team that I am involved with to pour their heart and soul into the ethos of the show, thats what matters. If people think it is terrible then that is quite personal but thats my taste and I have to swallow that."
"But of course I have to get you your money back and if it goes into profit then good but that kind of thing is not on the top of my list. If you do what you love doing, and you do that well, then everything will fit into place. So you may have a chance of a successful outcome financially. There are formulas that will almost guarantee your financial success."
"I could go tomorrow and dress up as a superhero wearing a rubber hat, fly into the sky and make someone 200 million dollars. That is not what we are doing. We had a very small amount, make sure we get that back but ultimately we are going to pour what we believe into it. And it could fail. That was the excitement of it. But it has to ring true to the passion that we put into it. So if people like it, that's a bonus. I already get to work with my father. It's a bonus."
"Luckily we have between 9 and 11 million viewers each week, which is awesome. So, the show cost about 10.4 million, if I asked for a dollar for everybody to watch the show every week for eight weeks, do the maths. I'm not broke. But that wasn't the point."
"We focus on the work because there will be good days and bad days. You make good decisions and bad decisions but I think if you start thinking about money you start missing the point."
Why is it called 'Taboo'?
"It just seemed like a relevant subject title because we are dealing with the dark side of the human condition by trying to unpack unsavory conversations. And part of that is the conversations that surround 'Taboo' are in fact taboo conversations."
"From incest to Oedipus complex analysis, post traumatic stress disorder, weaknesses that are all connected. Other themes such as inequality, racism, responsibility, accountability. Historically speaking we set it 200 years ago, so what were the perspectives towards transgender, transsexuality, towards race, towards feminism, towards massacres, towards genocide. Theres a lot of taboos isn't there?"
"I come from things like 'Mad Max', 'The Revenant', and even working on 'Stuart: A Life Backwards' and with Philip Seymour Hoffman in New York. That kind of world, there is a lot of addiction work in my work. So at the end of the day, stuff like this is going to go into my work."
"It's simple yet we cover so many bases, I think, without being dictatorial or having an opinion. I'm not telling you how to think, it's more like here you go, what do you think? Some people like it, some people not so much. Some people don't get it but some people really like it, and that's great."
