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Line of Duty star Craig Parkinson delves into his new ‘asexual’ villain role: ‘I was slightly terrified’

Craig Parkinson
Craig Parkinson plays the unreadable Dr Lee in Intergalactic (Picture: Sky)

Line of Duty star Craig Parkinson was ‘terrified’ about embodying his new ‘asexual’ character Dr Lee in Sky sci-fi drama Intergalactic.

The futuristic prison break series imagines life ‘off-earth’, as fearless pilot Ash Harper (Savannah Steyn) is banished to a distant prison colony after being wrongly convicted of a crime

Speaking at a press event, the actor confessed he was scared of playing such a ‘clinical’ control freak but was more than up for facing his fear head on.

He said: ‘I must admit I was slightly terrified of taking on this role because it is so complex. I sat down with [director] Kieron Hawkes and spoke about where the character could go and what my initial thoughts were.

‘We came to the same conclusion that the character was almost Lynchian in the way he holds himself. He’s quite asexual in a way, and his physicality something I was interested in developing.

‘He’s got such a fantastic mind but he’s quite clinical. You never see him physically interact with anybody and he seems to be wanting complete control of everything.

Sky original prison break drama, Intergalactic which imagines life ???off-earth???. The eight-part series is produced by Moonage Pictures and Motion Content Group, in association with Tiger Aspect for Sky Studios. Written by award-winning showrunner, Julie Gearey (Prisoners??? Wives, Cuffs, Secret Diary of a Call Girl), the series tells the story of fearless young cop and galactic pilot, Ash Harper (Steyn), who has her glittering career ripped away from her after being wrongly convicted of a treasonous crime and exiled to a distant prison colony. But on the way there, Ash???s fellow convicts stage a mutiny and seize control of their prison transfer ship. With the flight crew dead, mob leader Tula Quik (Duncan-Brewster), is intent on reaching the free world ??? Arcadia ??? with her gang; and Ash is the only pilot who can get them there. Ash is forced to join them on the run towards a distant galaxy and an uncertain future. From the fringes of outer space to the depths of human emotion, Intergalactic is a drama set in space, but with its feet firmly on the ground. Intergalactic was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky and Cameron Roach, Sky???s Director of Drama at Sky Studios. Paul Gilbert and Serena Thompson are the executive producers for Sky Studios. The series is executive produced by showrunner Julie Gearey, director Kieron Hawkes (Fortitude, Power, Strike), Iona Vrolyk for Tiger Aspect Productions and Frith Tiplady for Moonage Pictures. Will Gould and Matthew Read for Moonage Pictures and Richard Foster and Tony Moulsdale for Motion Content Group are also executive producers. The series producer is Nick Pitt (Black Mirror, Misfits). NBCUniversal Global Distribution is leading the distribution with Motion Content Group on behalf of Sky Studios.
The sci-fi drama follows pilot Ash as she is wrongly sent to a high-security prison colony (Picture: Sky)

‘That was something slightly scary and I always think it’s good to be quite scared.’

Craig also spoke about getting his head around the high concept of the show, as well as hanging out in ‘beautiful but disconcerting’ outer space settings – which left him in danger of losing his lunch at one point.

‘I dipped my toe in the genre-bending stuff with Misfits but this is quite full on,’ he explained about immersing himself in Intergalactic’s universe.

‘It’s set in the future but I don’t think we need to put it firmly in the science-fiction category. It’s so much more than that, and it’s so exciting that it’s a female-led ensemble on UK telly. I think the timing is right.’

He continued: ‘Dr Lee’s lab had all these mirrored floors and we had to wear shoe covers because you couldn’t mess it, you look down and you’re in a mirror. It was a bit woozy. I started to feel a bit sick at one point!’

Intergalactic starts on Sky One and NOW on April 30.

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