Jason Flemyng thinks Lennie James needs to step back before starting work on a third season of ‘Save Me’.
The 53-year-old actor – who played Tam in both the 2018 series of the dark Sky Atlantic drama and this year’s follow-up – admitted while the show’s creator, writer and leading man already has "some really nice ideas" for another run, it’s an emotionally draining project.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I don’t think the pressure on Lennie is filming it, I think it’s writing it.
"I think for series three, he’s got some ideas. He’s got the icing of the cake, but he’s got no cake yet. He’s got some really nice ideas, but he needs to find the core of it.
"It’s a personal story to Lennie… It’s not just logistical, there’s emotion to it. I think it emotionally cost him, so I don’t know how keen he is to dive back into that pool of pain."
Although Jason admitted both series were a blast to work on – particularly as he was reunited with the likes of Stephen Graham and Susan Lynch – he admitted there was some pressure when it came to acting with Lennie on material he’s written.
He quipped: "You just spend an extra 10 percent of time learning the lines, because you go ‘I can’t f**k up the lines because he wrote it!’
"So yeah, you know what the pressure is mate? It’s not letting him down. That’s all it is. You just wanna serve him, because obviously everyone got the job on a phone call.
"Everyone was called up and just asked ‘Can you do this for me? I’d really appreciate it.’ It was all on a phone call, so you want to make sure that that trust was backed up."
When it came to his own role as Tam, Jason was always up for reprising the part for a second season, and he wasn’t going to be making big demands for series two.
He added: "We were just chuffed to go back to work with each other.
"Without being too self affected, it’s a little gig for me, do you know what I mean? In a sense of, I’ve got a dress and makeup but it’s not a great push. That character’s probably closer to me than anything I’ve ever played.
"It’s a definite cog in a machine. The weight on me was light – which suited me the first series. I was a busy boy, but the second season I just said, ‘Len, give me a bigger dress budget and a few more lines and I’ll be happy.’ "
‘Save Me Too’ is available now on digital now and on DVD alongside ‘Save Me 1 & 2 Box Set’ from 22 June.