Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street investigates knife crime in Wednesday’s episode (November 22) as new villain Mason Radcliffe threatens Liam Connor.
In emotional scenes, school bully Mason and his friends humiliate Liam by cornering him on the street and pelting him with trash.
When Mason takes photos of Liam’s ordeal, the horrified student grabs the phone from his tormentor. The situation then gets worse when Mason pulls out a knife and threatens Liam.
Digital Spy We recently met with Luca Toolan, who plays Mason, for a while. special Chat about the story and what happens next.
Mason and Liam’s story is about to take a dark turn. How did you feel about taking this on?
“It’s such a privilege and challenge. Knife crime is an incredibly common issue, so I think it’s an important story that needs to be told, and there’s also pressure to get it right. You don’t want to mess it up, but that’s what we did.” From what I’ve seen so far.
“Having such an important topic to explore motivated all of us to do it right. I think that shows in how much work we put into these scenes, how much time the producers gave us for rehearsals, and also just talking to different people about it. I experienced it.”
When you auditioned for Corrie, did you know the extent of the story you would be taking on?
“The way it works in auditions is that my agent will send me the first brief, which usually includes a paragraph detailing what the character is about. So I knew Mason was going to be at fault from the very beginning, but I didn’t do that. I know the extent of it, otherwise there would be knife crime.”
What was it like filming the scene where Mason and his gang corner and humiliate Liam?
“That scene was really interesting. Corrie gave us time to rehearse with a fight director. Penny Shales, who directed those episodes, was amazing, along with 1st Assistant Director Dayle Evans-Kar. We had that space to play with her.”
“The day of the shoot was great because me and Charlie [Wrenshall, who plays Liam] We really have great confidence. This meant we could go to the dark place we needed for these scenes, but also feel comfortable and not worry.
“It was pretty dark. There were times when we decided not to talk to each other before the scene; we stayed in character because Charlie needed to reach such a high point emotionally.
“There’s a garbage bag in the scene that keeps tearing, so we had to take takes over and over again. Me and Charlie had to keep elevating ourselves to a level where my character was screaming and her character was crying. Then they’d say: ‘Cut! Go again.”
“By the way, shooting this scene was so special and I felt a really good connection and trust with Charlie. It was a tough day but we were all hugging at the end.”
Do you think fans will be shocked when Mason pulls the knife?
“I think they’re going to be shocked because the story moves pretty quickly. Mason’s been on the screen for a month or two and he’s already swinging his knife; he’s gone from 0 to 100 very quickly.”
“It shows what an unstable character Mason is. There’s a point in the scene where you don’t know whether Mason is going to stab Liam or not. It builds to that level and hopefully creates a really interesting scene and character.”
Later this week, Peter Barlow confronts Mason and Dylan. What was it like filming that scene with Chris Gascoyne, who plays Peter?
“It was classic! Even though I didn’t talk to Chris much because we only shot a few scenes together, he really impressed me and Liam [McCheyne, who plays Dylan] under your wings. He talked to us about acting and recommended books to us; it was great. It was an honor to watch what he did.
“In the scene, Peter opens the door. I’ve been watching Corrie all my life, so it was a surreal moment. You could see the anger in his eyes and he was saying: ‘Okay, this is how it’s been done!’ “It was very special and I learned a lot. It was great to see Chris in action.”
Is Mason afraid of Peter?
“I think Mason is afraid of Peter but acts like he’s not. He’s the classic fake bad guy. When he’s up against someone with a backbone, a real adult who can kick his ass, he’s going to be scared.” But he makes it clear. He never wants to show any vulnerability.”
Should Mason be worried about turning on Liam’s stepfather Gary, who has killed people in the past?
“Of course he should! Gary would absolutely destroy Mason. I don’t know what Mason is trying to do by attacking Liam! He should definitely be worried but I don’t think he knows how capable Gary is at causing destruction.”
“Mason is a naive man and thinks he is the big man. When or if he starts, I think you will see a frightened Mason.”
How’s your time on the show going so far?
“It’s hard not to settle into a place like Corrie. As cliché as it sounds, they really make you feel welcome. It feels like a family because you work with the same people every day, it’s a warm family environment.”
“I was understandably very nervous for the first month. Now two or three months later it’s becoming a bit more normal and everything is great now.”
Do you enjoy playing the bad guy?
“It’s more fun to play the bad guy in this instance because my off-screen relationship with Liam and Charlie is very close. It’s a very loud trio, so they’re always picking on me and telling me off. Especially since I’m the new kid and they’re the seasoned one. So it’s kind of like it works!
“Off-screen, these two will take the mickey out of me, but as soon as they say ‘action,’ that’s when I turn the tables. Because of that dynamic, I really enjoyed it and there’s a lot of trust between us.”
“I never leave the set feeling bad because at the end of the day we’re all hugging and so tight.”
How do fans react to you?
“Of course people give you stick, but I think that means you’re doing a good job. “The more fans dislike the character, the more you tick the boxes that are required.
“It wasn’t too bad in real life. The worst thing I got was a few death glares in stores. Sometimes people can’t distinguish between the character and the actor, but I think that’s part and parcel of the job. I can’t sit here and expect people to be nice to me while I’m playing a terrible, terrible person on screen.”
Did Corrie’s team give you advice on how to deal with this?
“Even before we started filming, the press office sat me down and gave me a lot of advice, so I was prepared. Corrie is a unique show with a huge fan base who are incredibly passionate. Sometimes that passion spills over into putting the bad guy on stage, but those fans It shows that they care about the series and are invested in it.
“The support Corrie gave me was amazing because they warned me and we sat and chatted for an hour going through each scenario, how to deal with it and how to stay safe.”
Will this story of bullying continue for a long time?
“Corrie said the film will probably take at least another couple of months, which is really nice because it gives the three of us some time to get into the characters and develop as actors.
“We will see a different side to the characters involved. The longer the story, the better, because it means you’ll have more to play with.”
The story explores how Liam’s bullying ordeal follows him on his phone and social media. Do you think it’s important to show this?
“Of course, because there’s an element of Corrie that hasn’t been explored before. It’s so pervasive; social media consumes all our lives and that’s not going to change.
“If we show that Liam is also being bullied online, people will be able to relate to that and see a character going through similar things to them. “If they then see the support links given by Corrie or the cast, hopefully that can help.
“That’s what you want to do when you’re raising awareness of these issues, especially on a show like Corrie. First of all, the most important thing is actually making an impact and helping people.”
Coronation Street It airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Read more Coronation Street Spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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