Captain Gaines is a brutal and unforgiving man, but his complex nature captured the attention of Damon Herriman, who couldn’t be more his character’s opposite.
“Captain Gains is really running the show. He’s very by the book, very hardline – there’s no carrot and stick, there’s only stick. He wants to make sure that the colony is abiding by the law and he will go to any lengths to make sure they are,” he tells TV WEEK of his character in Disney’s The Artful Dodger.
Damon Herriman returns to Australia to film the Disney+ series.
(Image: Disney)“He’s not a very nice guy.”
The Artful Dodger follows two of Charles Dickens’ most notorious characters, pickpocket Jack Dawkins (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and criminal mentor Fagin (David Thewlis). Set in Australia, Damon found it was a pleasure to return home for work.
“I love working overseas and have had some brilliant opportunities and but there’s just something really special about coming home, working with Australian crews and actors,” he said.
“There’s just an immediate feeling camaraderie.”
Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Maia Mitchell in The Artful Dodger.
(Image: Disney)Damon has travelled the globe working in an abundance of international successes including Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, The Nightingale, The Portable Door and Son of a Gun.
So, working alongside UK stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster and David Thewlis may seem like another bucket-list item ticked off, but it was one many of the “attractive” aspects of the Disney series.
“I’ve been a massive fan of David Thewlis for probably 30 years now.
Thomas, I’ve just been blown away. He is the perfect Dodger, he’s such a nice guy to start with but he just brings so much to this role, you want [Dodger] to succeed and you want to him to get away with it,” he said.
“And Maia Mitchell is just an absolute sweetheart and brilliant, brilliant actor.
“But ultimately it was the story and just such a great role. I love when I can read something and imagine how much fun it would be.”
Gven the impeccable storyline, fans naturally have begun to ponder if a second season could be on the cards for The Artful Dodger, despite it being a min-series. For Damon, he believes there is “definite potential.”
“I don’t know if that decision has been made yet. But I think when you watch the show you absolutely are dying to see what’s going to happen next,” he said.
“Fingers cross it’ll go again.”
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