Lennie James is back with the emotional journey through one man’s decades-long search for self-acceptance and love inMr Loverman. James, best known for the likes of Guy Ritchie’sSnatch, the Zoe Saldaña-ledColombianaand playingMorgan inThe Walking Deaduniverse, is both the star and executive producer of the BritBox series, playing Barrington Jedidiah “Barry” Walker, a 74-year-old Antiguan who has lived in London for over 50 years after a troubling event, where he would marry his wife, Carmel, and form a family with two daughters and a teenage grandson.
However, unbeknownst to the rest of his family,Mr Lovermanbegins with Barry preparing to finally bring his marriage to a close in order to spend the rest of his life with his secret lover, Morris, who has also been a close friend of the family throughout the years. With Barry’s descendants also in the midst of their own turmoils, and Carmel preparing for the death of her elderly father, he again finds himself contemplating how much his happiness matters over his family’s security. Alongside James, the ensembleMr Lovermancast includesCarnival Row’s Ariyon Bakare,Wicked’s Sharon D Clarke,Get Millie Back’s Tamara Lawrence andSmall Axe’s Sharlene Whyte.
In honor of the show’s North American premiere on BritBox,ScreenRantinterviewed Lennie James to discussMr Loverman. The executive producer/star reflects on how the show sought to authentically translate the characters, story and culture from its emotional source material, as well as developing the close dynamic with Bakare, and why Barry decides now is the time to break away from his family to be with Morris. James also weighed in on his potentialWalking Deadfuture, shared some insight into his007 First Lightcharacter and his thoughts on joining the live-action franchise, and what to expect from hisMayor of Kingstownseason 4 debut.
James & His Team Wanted To Capture The “Huge Amount Of Love And Humor” Of The Book
They Were Also Dedicated To Authentically Depicting Mr Loverman’s Caribbean Culture Celebration
While James has a celebrated history in the world of television,Mr Lovermanmarks a unique project for the BAFTA winner as he’s not only starring, but also an executive producer on the project, a title he’s only previously held once with the dramatic thrillerSave Me, on which he was also the creator and primary writer. When he was approached with the opportunity to be part of the series, an adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s 2013 novel,James felt it was a “no-brainer” to want to star in the show, praising its “fantastic” source material for being “written with a huge amount of love and humor”.
“I was trying to describe this to someone the other day,” James recalled, “the humor of Mr Loverman works because through the center of the novel is a very serious spine, which is the breakup of a 50-year-old marriage, and on top of that are some really complicated, nuanced characters, of which Barry is a kind of very good example of the characters in the book that Bernardine has created. But Carmel, his wife, is no less complex or nuanced. And the same with Morris, and Barry’s daughters, and his grandson. Bernadine gave us a lot to work with, and she gave us a lot to invest in.”
You very rarely, in your career, get offered the chance to bring to life a character as complex as Barry, so why Barry attracted me is a no-brainer.
With the novel also being a “celebration of a generation of West Indian immigrants” known as “the Windrush generation”, James recognized the importance of capturing this culture in an authentic way,particularly as he’s felt “the stories told about them have become kind of rote”. As the star explained, most stories exploring this generation have been “about the difficulties they faced when they first landed in the UK”, something he does acknowledge is “an important part” of their history and “their acclimatization to the UK”, but that “it’s not the only story”.
James went on to explain howMr Lovermanis, instead, “a story about a generation of people that we’ve come to know exists in the UK”, thoughtells “a slightly different version of that story”. “Firstly, we tell the story, Barry and Morris and Carmel are in their mid-70s when this story is told, and it’s a love story between two old Caribbean men, at its heart,” James detailed. “That’s kind of unique and rare, and just felt so precious, and we wanted to do justice to that story in the way that Bernadine did in her novel.”
One element that was important for James and the rest of the show’s team to nail was Barry’s Antiguan accent, for which the star explained having “a lot of help” from the show’s vocal coach. The main goal James kept in his mind as he worked to authentically capture Barry’s voice was remembering that while “the Antiguan accent is quite like the Jamaican accent”, it’s still ultimately different,describing it as being “such an expressive” and “beautiful accent to create a character around”.
James also found that one of the show’s earliest key scenes, in which Barry prepares to tell Carmel the truth about Morris, only to be disrupted by her church friends joining her at home, as being one of the biggest highlights for how the cast “was having so much fun” celebrating their culture and “recreating a Sunday lunch in the voices of our parents”. He went on to describe how it was also one of the biggest tests of their authenticity, as they were “trying to hold on to what the accent gives your character”, as well as “what pace it means” and “that your character moves at”.
What was really good about that was that for almost all of us around that table, we had known each other for 25-30 years, if not more. But for most of us, it was the first time we’ve gotten to work with each other. So, it was a weird kind of reunion that actually enhanced the story, because in the story, those people sat around the table are people who have known each other for the vast majority of their lives. So, we kind of got that for nothing.
James & Ariyon Bakare Took Intimacy Training To Find Barry & Morris' Connection
“…[We] Just Needed To Get To A Place Where We Trusted Each Other.”
With much of the show’s runtime focusing on the heartfelt dynamic and decades-long relationship between Barry and Morris, it was important for James and Bakare to “get to a place where we trusted each other” duringMr Loverman’s production. Though acknowledging that “quite a lot of the history is documented in the novel”, and subsequently “translated in the television series” byThe Outlawsalum Nathaniel Pierce,they still turned to an intimacy coach to work on “our physical relationship, and how were publicly together, and how we were privately together”.
“Our relationship was kind of forged out of a friendship that grew between myself and Ariyon, because we got on, we had a laugh, we trusted each other,” James warmly recalled. “Anything we did as Barry and Morris just seemed to work. We didn’t overthink it, we didn’t overtalk it, we did a dance class together to feel how we were physically in each other’s company, how we touched each other, how we kissed each other, how we held each other, how we spoke to each other.”
While also recalling how they “knew we always had the novel to fall back on if we needed more information”,James went on to praise director Hong Khaou for helping further guide Barry and Morris' relationship. Describing Khaou as being “a beautifully gentle, yet strong director”, James expressed that Khaou was also “at the heart of building that relationship” and “serving up that love story”.
James Has His Own Take On Why Barry Is Now Leaving Carmel
“…It Is The Fundamental Question Of The Piece…”
As explored in both the novel and TV series, Barry and Morris' relationship is one that is even older than that of his and Carmel’s, raising the question of why, in the present-day storyline ofMr Loverman, he decides now is the time to leave her. James, who acknowledges such as being “the fundamental question of the piece”,ultimately feels that “there is no huge, big event that is forcing his hand”, as the character “is not dying” nor are there any other dramatic goings-on to motivate his decision.
That being said, the rationale that he took with him in playing Barry and his decision is “Carmel slapping Barry” inMr Loverman’s premiere, clarifying it wasn’t because of the slap, but more that “Barry knows what comes next, if he stays in the marriage”. As James went on to explain, given the couple have “gotten to a point where we’re slapping each other”,his character “knows what comes next” and how it would “destroy what little they have”, and even amplifies his “ultimate fear of losing the love of his kids and his grandson”.
“Barry and Carmel still sleep in the same bed together after at least 50 years of marriage, and in a marriage that, for the most part, has been unhappy,” James expressed. “I think the children brought them great happiness, but when their children left home, they were back to it being the two of them, and what was wrong between them became amplified. So, I think the slap signals it’s time to end it, but, if this makes any sense, it isn’t because of the slap. This slap is an indication of the choices Barry has about what he does about tomorrow.”
He Got An Emotional Send-Off Two Years Ago
Looking beyond the series,The Walking Deaduniverse continues to grow, with franchise boss Scott M. Gimple recently confirming there are many new stories in the works for it. With this in mind, and his character’s still-alive status in the universe, the question still remains about whether Morgan will return in a newshow, particularly after getting emotional closure for the deaths of his wife and son inFear the Walking Dead’s final seasonand setting off to return to Alexandria.
Acknowledging he does “get asked that question on a regular basis,“James confirmed “I haven’t heard anything” about his potential return in theWalking Deadfranchise. However, the star did also laugh as he noted “the truth of the situation is, if I had heard anything, I wouldn’t tell you”, while still punctuating his response that “in all honesty, I haven’t heard anything”.
Greenway Is A “Big Part” Of Bond’s Quest In 007 First Light
James Would Also Love To Cross Over Into The Franchise’s Live-Action Storytelling
One notable franchise title James does have on the horizon isthat of007 First Light, IO Interactive’s upcoming adaptation of theJames Bondseries, which dropped its first trailer during Sony’s State of Play in June, revealing the BAFTA winner to be playing a high-ranking member in MI6. After being asked about similarities between his character, John Greenway, and Ralph Fiennes' Gareth Mallory inSkyfall,James does confirm that “to a great or less extent” they share similar arcs, beginning as bureaucratic speed bumps for Bond before later becoming an ally for him.
As he went on to reveal, Greenway is also “an ex-00 who has been tasked with re-energizing” and “reinstating the 00 program”, which leads to him gathering “a group of candidates” to become new agents for MI6, “of which James Bond is one of them”. From there,James' character will be “a kind of guide through the game”, which features “acted scenes that help the player figure out what they’ve got to do” during Bond’s missions and being “a big part” of the character’s origin story within the agency.
While IO Interactive have already confirmed their hopes to develop a trilogy off of007 First Light, much in the way of their most recentHitmangames, the upcoming title also comes ahead of Amazon MGM’s relaunching of the live-action franchise following Daniel Craig’s retirement from the role. With Greenway being a part of the character’s origin story in the game, the opportunity for James to cross over intothe nextJames Bondmovieis there,and the star certainly feels “the idea of being involved in aBondthing would be great"as an Englishman, comparing it to potentially being involved in theDoctor Whofranchise.
I’m always interested in good parts, regardless of what genre or where they’re at. And I really enjoyed my time doing the game, and acting through those scenes with Patty Gibson, who played Bond. They’ve got the franchise now, Amazon, and I’m sure they’re going to come up with many iterations of things to do with Bond, so we’ll wait and see.
James' Mayor Of Kingstown Season 4 Arrival Will Be Full Of Tension
“…It’s A Kind Of Triangle Between Bunny, Frank And Mike.”
As we came near the end of our conversation, we looked ahead toJames' upcoming role inMayor of Kingstownseason 4, in which he’s set to play a Detroit gangster named Frank Moses. When asked for more insight into the character, the BAFTA winner praised Moses as being “one of those characters that really interest me”,while also going on to preview that his involvement will create “a kind of triangle between Bunny, Frank and Mike”.
“He’s a Detroit gangster who’s come to Kingstown to fill the gap that’s left by the departing Russians, basically, and he’s going to be working with and against Mike to make his way into Kingstown,” James shared. “And to find out how successful he is or isn’t in his relationships with both Bunny and Mike, you’ll have to watch and see. I think that’s about as much as I can say about where Frank operates, and who he operates between. But being on the set and with the guys onKingstownwas a huge amount of fun. It’s a good place to go to work. I had a good time.”
All eight episodes ofMr Lovermanare available to stream on BritBox now!
Mr Loverman
Cast
Mr Loverman, set for release in 2024, adapts Bernadine Evaristo’s poignant narrative of Barry, a charismatic man concealing a personal truth. As misconceptions arise within his marriage, the story unfurls themes of self-discovery and authenticity.
