Theo James (Downton Abbey) stars as Jed Harper in Bedlam, Sky Living’s new paranormal drama, which begins on Monday 7th February.
The six-part series is set around Bedlam Heights, a newly converted apartment building on the edge of a British metropolis. The high quality apartments offer stylish 21st century living, but behind the facade lie unimaginable horrors. This former pre-Victorian asylum is haunted by the ghosts of its dark and violent past.
Watch the trailer…
Jed Harper is a troubled man. He sees things other people can’t see; strange things, visions, ghosts. Jed is torn between his experiences of the supernatural and being told that he’s just going mad. He has been in and out of mental institutions throughout his teenage years and early 20s, which has always isolated him and set him apart from people.
What attracted you to Bedlam?
“I was immediately drawn to the character Jed. He’s a flawed but essentially upright person, forced to go to some dark places in order to understand the truth. The scripts themselves had me hooked when I first encountered them. The series uses an interesting mixture of genre; from straight thriller to supernatural horror. The result is a strong, fast paced narrative.”
Do you think Bedlam is going to scare people when they see it?
“Hopefully it’ll be unsettling in places (that’s putting it mildly!) It depends on how thick skinned you are I suppose. But many of the themes encountered during the series play on those which are endemic to human fear; being buried alive, drowning, insanity. It can be pretty dark at times. I suppose that’s the essence of horror.”
Can you tell us about your character, Jed?
“Jed’s complexities are essentially born of two elements of trauma. The first is the loss of his parents and the second is his visions and ability to see parts of the supernatural world. As a result, he’s spent most of his life in and out of mental care struggling to come to terms with these problems. He’s been thrown out of school and found it impossible to maintain a job or a relationship. Yet when we meet him in the first episode, Jed is perhaps the most together he’s ever been.
“He’s starting to control the visions and has learnt from past mistakes. For now, he’s driven by a strange sense of duty to help people. Jed’s a bit of a loner and always keeps a distance from the real intensity of a relationship because, more often than not, something happens to get in the way.”
Do you and Jed have any similarities?
“Yes, you always bring elements of yourself to a character but he likes to wear tighter t-shirts than I do!”
Can you describe his relationships with Kate and Ryan?
“It takes a while for Jed to fully trust Ryan but he does eventually. They’re quite different people inherently but it works. Ryan’s effected by his own personal problems, such as the death of his brother, which acts to strengthen their friendship. They complement each other as mates.
“Kate and Jed have known each other since childhood. They have a strong connection, born of mutual attraction and understanding. But their relationship is a potent one; neither of them fully trusts the other and thus they are often at logger heads.”
Did you find it difficult filming the scenes where Jed has visions?
“The bath scene was difficult. Having a fit under water was interesting!”
Are you a fan of ghost stories or scary films?
“I’m not interested in the hardcore gore but I’m a fan of The Exorcist, The Ring (original and more recent.) I found the first Blair Witch film pretty disturbing.”
Have you ever had any spooky experiences?
“I don’t particularly believe in ghosts.”
Ryan, Kate and Molly are good friends of Jed in the show. How did you all get on during filming?
“Luckily they are all nice people.”
Is it true you tried to scare some of the cast during filming?
“I sat in a cupboard in the make-up trailer for about 20 minutes so I could jump out at Charlotte. I managed it in the end!”