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After the world ends
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September 13, 2009
Imagine a world which has been devastated by a virus which wipes out most of the world's population and you're among the few survivors. What would you do? How would you cope in a brave new world where all traditional 21st century comforts - electricity, clean running water, advanced technology - have disappeared?
These are the questions asked of the band of people in Survivors, a thrilling new action adventure 6-part mini series written by Adrian Hodges. It is a re-imagining of the classic seventies BBC drama series and is based on the novel by Terry Nation.
Max Beesley is perhaps best known for his role in Mariah Carey's stinker, Glitter, is one of the stars of the series. Max hit the acting jackpot when writer Adrian Hodges decided to start from scratch with the character of Tom Price in his re-imagining of Survivors.
As Hodges puts it, Price's character is a "charming sociopath", which is another way of saying Price is a very, very dangerous man.
"Acting-wise, he gives me a kind of head-start in Survivors, because people are going to like watching him," says Max, who shot to fame as the lead in The History of Tom Jones, a foundling, the BBC's 1997 adaptation of Fielding's classic bawdy novel. "He's dark, he's mysterious - unfortunately, he's also psychopathic. There are a lot of possibilities to play with."
The audience first meet Price in prison as the virus strikes, and the circumstances of his escape leave them in no doubt about the kind of man he is. "He's serving a life sentence, and while the viewers know what he's capable of, the rest of the characters have no idea, at least not for a while," Max explains.
"I spoke to Adrian, who's a writer I respect immensely, we spoke about the character, and I told him it was something I really wanted to get my teeth into. What interests me is how a man like Price behaves - they go from 0-100mph, bang, just like that without any qualms or sense of morality holding them back. He's the sort of guy that, when push comes to shove, whereas you or I might have an argument with someone, he could quite easily kill them.
"I've done research into sociopaths, and they're all action and no introspection. Price is not at all inward-looking or self-aware, and that makes him a bit scary. The most extreme case I looked at was the American mafia hit-man Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski. He killed hundreds, did some really dark stuff, and yet he was very eloquent, seemed very together, and that's what is so terrifying."
Max (who was born near Manchester in north-west England) adds that the post-virus world in which Price finds himself doesn't necessarily bring out the best in him. "It's a fresh start for him, but only in the sense that he's now a free man."
The only thing that affects Price's equilibrium is being around women again after several years in jail, and he finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Anya (played by Zoe Tapper).
"He's certainly very interested in Anya so he obviously wants a relationship, which might be something he's not had much experience of in his life," says Max. "We decided that he'd been inside for about eight years, so he would be a bit weird around women, he wouldn't quite know how to handle them.
"Anya is someone who gets hold of his emotional psyche. Sociopaths are control freaks, and she intrigues him because he loses control of his emotions with her. So he wants some kind of emotional comfort, but I'm not sure what else because he doesn't want anything from anybody. He's very independent, very capable, but I wouldn't want to be him."
Max (whose credits also include Hotel Babylon and the medical drama Bodies) has vague memories of the original Survivors. He was , when the first series aired in 1975.
"I can remember little bits and pieces, people's faces and stuff, so my mom and dad must have watched it, but I'm sure I was more interested in sweets at the time."
Max is currently in Los Angeles editing his own film script for a 1960s-set Manchester crime drama called Mr Goodnight.
"I'm working on it with Gub Neal (Cracker, Prime Suspect), and planning to make it through my own company," he explains. "We're hoping to go into pre-production next year. I'm really pleased with the script; it's right up there in the top five things I'm most proud of."
That list also includes playing live with James Brown and Stevie Wonder. Max is also a talented percussionist and keyboardist who has written film scores and played with Paul Weller, Take That, Jamiroquai and Robbie Williams.
"I've not played properly since working with James Brown, which was a wonderful honour, just before he died," he says. "The most musical thing I've done recently is have a dream that I'd written a number one hit song
See Survivors from Tuesday at 8.30pm on BBC Entertainment.
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