Exclusive: Q&A with ‘White Lies’ actor Brendon Daniels
Brendon Daniels on playing Forty Bell on ‘White Lies’ in an exclusive interview at the Cape Town screening.
The SAPeople website sat down with actor Brendon Daniels at the screening of M-Net’s international co-production White Lies, where he stars as Forty Bell, an honourable detective.
The screening was held at The Forum Embassy Hill, Constantia in Cape Town on Friday, 1 March.
BRENDON DANIELS STARS AS FORTY BELL ON ‘WHITE LIES’
Formerly a detective with The Hawks, Forty Bell was demoted after bungling a high-profile murder investigation.
He thereafter suffered an emotional breakdown and lapsed into drinking and gambling.
Edie Hansen (played by Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer) was the person who publicly exposed his errors which led to a bitter feud between the two.
Q&A WITH THE ‘WHITE LIES’ STAR
What can viewers expect from your character?
Forty Bell is a detective. He is questioning not necessarily life choices, but the ideology that is set out way in the beginning. So, he finds himself in a family set up, and having to portray the role of a father as well and how that has an effect on the work he has to do. So, you’ll find that Forty Bell is conflicted in that sense but at the same time he is also very much about what it is that he stands for and the integrity he has.
Forty has an emotional breakdown. What was it like for you to play that deep role?
I think it all starts off with a good script. And then if the creative team around you plays on the particular truth of a particular team. It’s very easy to get there, yes you have to do the work. But a lot is being discovered in the moment. You gotta do yourself a favour by throwing everything that it is you think about a particular character and letting it happen organically in the moment.
Like I said if the script is strong enough, it will take the audience to that.
What was your favourite scene to shoot?
There were many, but for the character itself and for the arc of the character, when the audience gets the sense that he is going to be okay and his family is going to be okay. There is a very particular moment in the TV series when you see that shift happening. You see the light dawning on to particular character, and you find that he is now content.
What was your favourite place to shoot at?
Actually yes you do get to see more affluent areas and you get shoot in the areas that are referred to as how the other half lives. But once again it comes down to the autencity to the character’s surroundings. And I felt the whole environment, because it was removed from the storyline in such a way that it was not the “who done it” aspect, but the home – where he could hang up his jacket and have a meal with his family.
That was shot in Bellville.
Who is your favourite character, outside of your own in White Lies?
The Morgan character, the security guard. It’s almost like the fly on the wall, he almost becomes the audience, he sees everything around him just as the audience is seeing, almost becomes the audience the eyes for the audience. Because he is not from this world, he just so happens to look after the people in it.