Half Man | Preview (BBC One)
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The original six-episode drama from the multi award-winning Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Against The Law). Filming wrapped last year in and around Glasgow, and episodes will be released weekly from April 24th at 6am on BBC iPlayer, with BBC One and BBC Scotland transmissions following within the week. Half Man will make its US debut on HBO and HBO Max on April 23rd.
Gadd and BAFTA award-winning actor Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers, Rocket Man) star as ‘brothers’ Ruben and Niall respectively. Today’s first look reveals the surprise reunion between Ruben and Niall after years of estrangement, leading to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives over the course of the series.
Spanning almost 40 years from the 1980s to the present day, Mitchell Robertson (Curfew, Mayflies) and Stuart Campbell (SAS Rogue Heroes, The Winter King) play Niall (Robertson) and Ruben (Campbell) in their younger years.
Half Man explores the highs and lows of Ruben and Niall’s relationship, from meeting them as troubled teenagers to witnessing their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. The series will capture the wild energy of a changing city – a changing world, even – and plumb the depths of what it means to be a man.
Previously announced as starring in the series are Neve McIntosh (Tin Star, Chemistry of Death) as Niall’s mother Lori, and Marianne McIvor (Screw, The Nest) as Ruben’s mother Maura. Rounding out the cast for Half Man are Charlie De Melo (Rivals), Bilal Hasna (The Agency), Julie Cullen (Traces), Amy Manson (The Nevers), Philippine Velge (The Serpent Queen), Stuart McQuarrie (The Rig), Piers Ewart (The Primrose Railway Children), Scot Greenan (T2 Trainspotting), and newcomers Charlotte Blackwood and Calum Manchip.
Richard Gadd, creator, writer and executive producer, says: “I am delighted to confirm I will be playing Ruben in the newly crowned Half Man for the BBC / HBO alongside the incomparable Jamie Bell. When I wrote the show, I did it with him in mind, never thinking for a second we would manage to land him...
"So I could not be happier for everything that has come to pass in getting him on board. He is one of the greatest actors of his generation and I am so looking forward to seeing what he does with the role. Thanks to all the staff at the BBC, HBO, and Mam Tor Productions for making it all happen. I cannot wait to work with you all in the months ahead.”
Jamie Bell says: “I’m so excited to join this incredible creative team. Richard has once again crafted something poignant and singular. I’m honored to have been asked to bring this to life with him.”
Tally Garner & Morven Reid from Mam Tor Productions say: “We are thrilled that the extraordinary talent that is Richard Gadd has agreed to play Ruben in Half Man, and are overjoyed to have found the perfect Niall in the exquisite Jamie Bell. We cannot wait to see these incredible actors spar, as they bring these complex, charismatic and mercurial men to life."
Half Man begins Friday 24th April on BBC iPlayer.
