'I love filming in the North': Leeds actor Matthew Lewis on his new psychological drama The Fortune
The Leeds actor is starring in a new Channel 5 series 📺
Leeds-born actor Matthew Lewis said he has relished the opportunity to film in the North - as he stars in new four-part psychological drama series.
The Fortune sees Poldark actress Eleanor Tomlinson take on the role as cafe worker Amanda Blakefield, whose life appears happy and settled with her husband Jimmy, played by Lewis, and their son Luke.
But when Amanda unexpectedly inherits a vast fortune from a man she has never met, or even heard of, her world begins to unravel. Drawn into the mysterious world of the Worrall family, Amanda soon discovers that Martin Worrall sits at the centre of a dynasty haunted by long-buried secrets.
The Channel 5 series, which was filmed in Hartlepool, also stars All Creatures Great and Small actor Callum Woodhouse as Martin’s vengeful son, Anthony.
Harry Potter star Lewis, 36, says the series explores the complicated impact money can have on ordinary people.
“It’s in the title, The Fortune, after all,” he explained.
“A lot of people who you’d consider financially ‘normal’ are struggling right now. Everyone’s trying to figure out how to navigate things and find their footing.
“So if someone suddenly dropped a huge amount of money into your lap, it’s interesting to think about how that would change not only you, but also the people around you. Again, I thought that was another really compelling psychological aspect of the story, and something that feels very relevant today.”
He adds: “I think with some of the themes we bring into it, not just social media, but mobile phones and modern relationships, we’re all being bombarded from so many different directions these days. People are struggling to figure out what they can trust, and there’s this element of paranoia constantly bleeding into our daily lives.
“I thought that was a really interesting thing that we’re all collectively dealing with right now. So watching Eleanor’s character go through this process of asking, ‘Who can I trust?’ really drew me in when I was reading the script.
“That’s definitely something I responded to, and something I really liked about the story.”
Lewis, who grew up in Leeds, also spoke warmly about filming closer to home.
“Being a northerner myself, I absolutely love any opportunity to film in the North,” he said.
“The regions often get the rough end of the deal in a lot of ways, but I’ve actually been very fortunate in my career. I left Leeds more than 10 years ago, but I’ve still had opportunities to work back up North.”
Tomlinson, 34, says she was drawn to Amanda because, before the inheritance, she was genuinely content with her life.
“Amanda is happy with her life, she’s happy with her lot, and I think that’s pretty rare in television,” she explains.
“Quite often, you get characters who are constantly striving for something else, or where something is missing in their lives. But Amanda is genuinely content, and that’s what made her interesting to me.
“Then suddenly, all this money lands in her lap. She’s also grown up with this sadness in her life: she doesn’t know her father, and now her mum is struggling with dementia, so she’s unable to ask the questions she may always have wanted answers to. I think Amanda carries that sadness with her.
“At the same time, she doesn’t want her life to change. She doesn’t want to risk what she already has.
“So I really related to her in that sense. She’s happy, she doesn’t feel like she needs more, and I thought that made her a really interesting character.”
Woodhouse, 32, who is best known for his period drama roles, says he relished the opportunity to play a villain for the first time.
“There were so many firsts for me. Obviously, staying with my parents and filming in places I grew up visiting was a huge draw, but also being able to do something set in the modern day was really exciting,” says the Durham-born actor.
“I’ve largely done period pieces, the Thirties and Forties, and I’ve pretty much only ever played posh boys with an RP accent. They’ve always been really nice characters as well. So doing something modern, in my own accent, and playing a bit of a villain was really new for me.
“It was also quite challenging. I almost had to relearn how to act in my own accent, because it had been about 11 years and I just hadn’t used it on screen. I’d sort of forgotten how to do it properly.”
The Fortune airs on Channel 5 on Tuesday, June 2.