Adeel Akhtar has revealed that filming the new series of Utopia was “a real challenge”.

Channel 4’s conspiracy thriller returns for a second series later this month.

> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

Akhtar, who plays Wilson Wilson, teased: “The things which you liked about it in the first series are all there again. All the themes it was exploring are back again. The characters are taken further along their overall arc. It’s really interesting to see where each of the characters goes in this series. It really is pretty unexpected. It stays a few steps ahead of the audience in that sense.”

Discussing his character, he commented: “I see [Wilson] as a person who is quite idealistic in how he perceives the world, and I think in pursuit of that idealism he ends up struggling a lot. He definitely takes the path that’s more difficult to go down, because of his idealism. It’s a massive struggle for him. He has a very strong moral direction, and because of that, he finds himself in situations he wouldn’t ordinarily end up in. But he can’t be any other way.”

The actor added: “It didn’t feel easy, because the journey that Wilson has to go on in the second series is a real challenge. There was a familiarity to it, but just because there’s a familiarity doesn’t make something easier. From an acting viewpoint, this series was a real challenge.”

Akhtar is currently filming Joe Wright’s new Peter Pan movie, playing Smee alongside Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard: “…that is so much fun. Every day going there is such a massive release. I can be a bit silly.”

Series 2 of Utopia opens with a flashback episode set in the 1970s, starring Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as a young version of Geraldine James’s character Milner, alongside Tom Burke (The Hour) as Philip Carvel – author of the Utopia manuscript.

Watch the Series 2 trailer…

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