British actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, which included losing “a lot of weight”.
The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, will follow rebel Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) as he takes control of the SAS and attempts to prove the regiment is still essential to the war after the former leader David Stirling (Connor) is captured.
Connor, 28, said his problem-solving nature was “descending into madness” in his cell, “thirsty and malnourished.”
The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: “I lost a lot of weight for this series.”
“When I read the scripts I knew I was going to have to do it and that was a big challenge because it’s something I hadn’t done before.”
“I felt like I had to do that to get to this place, I had to try to live as much like David as I could.”
British actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, which included losing “a lot of weight” (pictured in 2022).
The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, will follow rebel Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell right) as he takes control of the SAS and attempts to prove that the regiment is still essential to the war after that former leader David Stirling (Connor center) is captured
And he added: ‘To feel the hunger of ‘I have to get out of here’. “I didn’t realize how helpful losing weight was going to be for a project like this, but it was really helpful.”
The new series is based in Sicily but was filmed over 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland.
Connor said that, like his character, he had to accept “missing out on all the fun” as his co-stars were “filming in wonderful conditions and I was in a cave.”
The prison locations included an old World War II barracks and his performance involved “a lot of crawling on my hands and knees” with “a couple of rats that I had the great privilege of working with on some scenes.”
He said: “It was challenging to film at times, but in the end it has been a great joy and honour.” Meanwhile, Jack, 34, described it as “the best job in the world”.
The British actor said: “You have to dig deep into this job, you deal with it.”
‘It’s an ambitious story and to achieve it you have to hold on and keep going, which is good because it has to be difficult; If it were too easy, then it wouldn’t be such an enjoyable drama to watch.’
“I think anything that contains SAS will not be teacups, robes and slippers, and everything will be nice.”
Connor, 28, said his problem-solving nature was “descending into madness” in his cell, “thirsty and malnourished” (pictured in 2022).
The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: “I lost a lot of weight for this series” (pictured from season two).
He added: “Reading the scripts, I knew I was going to have to do it and that was a big challenge as it’s something I hadn’t done before” (Connor and Sofia Boutella pictured in 2022).
The Lady Chatterley’s Lover star said it was “a relief” to discover the cast would be reprising their roles in the drama, and described Knight’s script as “excellent”.
The new series will also feature new characters, including Bohemian Rhapsody actor Gwilym Lee, who plays diplomat Bill Stirling, who comes aboard to save the regiment while his younger brother, David, is a prisoner of war.
He said: “I loved being hugged, it’s a really special job.”
“It can be tricky coming up with a second series with a really established cast of actors and a great crew, as you worry about ruffled feathers or forming a clique, but there was none of that at all.”
The star added: “It was open arms from day one.”
The Crown star Dominic West, who reprises his role as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Wrangel Clarke in the series, said he had not seen Lee since acting alongside him in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello a decade ago.
The new series is based in Sicily, but was filmed over 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland (Gwilym Lee and Jack O’Connell appear in the second series).
The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes will air on BBC One from 9pm on January 1 (pictured LR Gwilym Lee, Jack O’Connell and Connor Swindells).
Adapted from Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, the series offers a dramatized account of how the SAS was formed during the Second World War, after having access to secret SAS files.
Knight said: “The fact is that the true story of the SAS is a better piece of drama than anyone in fiction could invent.”
“The characters are incredible but, in most cases in the series, they are real.”
The first series concluded in December 2022. The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes will air on BBC One from 9pm on January 1.