IN CONVERSATION WITH OLLIE MCNULTY

interview by JANA LETONJA

Rising actor Ollie McNulty takes the lead in the third series of the BBC’s multi-BAFTA-winning prison drama Time, starring as young offender Peter alongside David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran. Remarkably, Ollie landed the role after responding to an open casting call on Instagram, prompting him to leave his Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Liverpool and take a leap into acting. Ahead of the series’ anticipated mid-October release, we caught up with Ollie about that extraordinary change of direction, stepping into Peter’s world and finding himself at the heart of one of British television’s most acclaimed dramas.

Your route into Time is pretty extraordinary. How did you first come across the open casting call, and what made you decide to go for it?
I followed loads of casting directors and casting call accounts on Instagram and fit the brief for this one. It didn’t specify the show at the time, but I thought there’s nothing to lose by just sending something in.

Before this, you were studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Liverpool. Had acting always been something you wanted to pursue, or did this opportunity come completely out of the blue?
It wasn’t completely out of the blue, but it definitely wasn’t something I always wanted to pursue either. I joined the drama society because I had an itch to give it a go, so being in a different city for university felt like the perfect time to try. Then after performing on stage, I knew I had to do it full time. I planned on going the drama school route, hoping to land a good job maybe in the next 5 years. I never knew it would come so soon.

What do you remember about making that first audition tape? Did you have any sense that it might change your life?
The first tape wasn’t even acting. It was just a minute long video telling the camera about yourself. It was something I wasn’t used to doing at the time so felt a bit awkward. I didn’t think that it would change my life so much.

At what point did you realise you were genuinely in contention for the lead role, and what was going through your head?
After the first 5 rounds, including the tapes, of auditioning, I didn’t hear anything for over a month. And then got a last minute call to do 4 more of Peter’s scenes with Paul, the director. It was only a couple weeks away from shooting so I knew it must’ve been down to just a few of us. I just remember trying to keep my thoughts all about the character and his scenes, rather than getting distracted or carried away with the idea of booking the role.

How would you introduce Peter to viewers without giving anything away?
His parents were drug addicts who were never really around for him. For most of his childhood, he never felt loved or cared for until his auntie took him in to live with his cousin, Toby. Him and Toby were like brothers. Toby always had Peter’s back. Peter always had Toby’s back. When Toby stopped going to school, Peter quickly followed. And when Toby got involved in dealing, Peter also got involved. 

He fell for Izzy, a bright and popular student, and couldn’t believe that she liked him too. She became pregnant and they decided to keep the baby. But her dad made it hard for him to see her and the baby so he continued to get into trouble with Toby and his friends.

Time has a reputation for being emotionally uncompromising. What was your first reaction when you read the scripts for this series?
I’d watched the first two series so I had an idea what I was in for. And it was all that I expected and more. There’s so many layers to the characters that most of them aren’t just good or bad. In the intense scenes, just reading it got my heart beating out of my chest.

The characters and situations felt so raw and real, and I could feel the research that went into it. It was obvious that it wasn’t something only made for entertainment, but because these stories needed to be told.

How did you prepare to play a young offender and make Peter feel like a real teenager rather than simply someone defined by the fact that he is in prison?
Understanding his situation and how he grew up. Doing a lot of research. Documentaries that take a look inside prisons. Consuming the content that he’d consume. Lying in the cell and looking at the pictures of his girlfriend and baby, imaging the longing he feels to be with them. That want for connection is something most of us can relate to.

Because this is such a heavy drama, what was the atmosphere like once the cameras stopped rolling? Were you able to switch off from Peter easily?
Yes. Maybe it would be harder if I just went back alone to my room every night, but we were all good friends so if you wanted to switch off, you could just message the group chat and one of the lads will be around. We loved playing cards, going to the cinema and out for meals.

The previous series of Time have been hugely acclaimed and won multiple BAFTAs. Did joining a show with that reputation create extra pressure, or did you try not to think about it?
Everyone knows how lucky they are to be there, but I’d only feel the pressure during prep which was good because it drove me to work harder. Once you’re on set, all the work is done. There’s no point feeling the pressure at that point. That’s when I could really enjoy stepping into Peter’s shoes.

What do you hope viewers understand or feel after spending these episodes with Peter and the other young people in the institution?
I hope that audiences feel fully engaged and affected by the show, like they are inside a real prison with the characters. And understand that people on both sides of the prison system feel the same emotions and want the same things that we do on the outside.

When you look back at the Instagram casting call that started all of this, does it feel surreal to think how different your life might have been if you’d simply scrolled past it?
Definitely yes. It’s hard to fathom it really. I always remind myself how lucky I am.

Has making Time confirmed that acting is where you want your future to be, and what would you love to do next?
Yes, 100%. Being in an imaginary world in front of the camera or on stage is my happy place. I’m hoping for a wide variety in the future, so something the polar opposite of Peter would be fun. Maybe a spoilt, mouthy aristocrat or someone completely unhinged and not fully human. Jacob Elordi’s Frankenstein looked pretty cool.

TEAM CREDITS:
photography DAVID REISS
styling SARAH ROSE HARRISON
hair CHARLIE CULLEN