The Baptiste star tells RadioTimes.com that he found the series two twist “quite difficult” to process as an actor.
The second series of BBC One’s Baptiste reached a dramatic conclusion last night, with Julien Baptiste just about surviving a dust up with Andras Juszt and foiling the far-right terrorist’s plot to attack a refugee centre.
Arguably the most shocking plot twist of the series, however, was the reveal that Will Chambers, who was believed to have been kidnapped by Juszt’s terrorist group, had been radicalised by Gomorrah prior to his abduction and was actually helping Juszt, along with his brother Alex.
While the episode was tough for fans to watch, Baptiste star Conrad Khan has revealed that it was even harder to act in, telling RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that he found Will’s extreme views “conflicting and confusing” as the actor portraying him.
“I found that quite difficult and that was something I spoke to Hong [Khaou] the director for, for quite a while because it was conflicting on a personal level.
“Because, myself, my heritage is Pakistani and German as well, so to play a character who is politically far-right was conflicting and confusing for me on a personal level.
“To separate myself from that and get within the mindset of this character was something that I worked through with the director for quite a while, but it was tricky.
“And it’s not something a personal narrative that I’ve ever worked through before.”
While series two marked Julien Baptiste’s last outing, Tchéky Karyo said last year that he’d like to play the Baptiste again in the future.
“You know, it depends. For the moment, we may, we may not, who knows? It’s not really decided but it’s a good character, it’s always an amazing distribution,” he told RadioTimes.com during a set visit in November. “They do great work, you see all the actors I’ve been working with – it’s fantastic.”
Baptiste series 2 is available now on DVD, alongside the complete series 1 and 2 box set. Check out our Baptiste series two review, take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage or browse our TV Guide to find out what else is on television this week.