Stephen Graham's co-star in the hit Netflix drama Adolescence has revealed how the actor set the tone on set from the very beginning, keeping morale high and bringing the cast together.
Melissa Johns, who played school nurse Carla in the second episode, recalled how Stephen approached a rehearsal and the example he set for the rest of the cast.
Bringing the cast together
"He was always keeping morale high and wanted to make sure that everybody started their time together really well," Melissa, 36, told the Daily Express.
"On our very first day, he made sure he was there. We were at this huge read through at Netflix when we all got the part and even then, just the way that he celebrates the TV industry and celebrates everyone in the room by saying, 'We're about to come together and make something special. So, let's do it.'
"He makes sure that he brings everyone together. And on our very last take, he got everyone together and called everyone out by name. You get actors that set the tone and he did exactly that."
Filming in one continuous take
The four-part drama, which follows an ordinary family grappling with the arrest of their 13-year-old son Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) for stabbing a classmate to death, famously used a single continuous shot for each episode.
Melissa, who was filming Grantchester at the time, praised ITV bosses for allowing her time away from that series to star in Adolescence.
"The thing that excited me the most and excited every actor who said yes to that job was that none of us had ever, and may never film in that way again," Melissa confessed.
"None of us have ever filmed where they call action and you do not stop until they call cut at the end of the episode. As an actor, that is such an incredible way to film."
Three weeks of preparation
Melissa likened the filming process to a unique blend of theatre and television, thanks to the use of one continuous take. For episode two, the cast spent three weeks preparing, with the first week focused on rehearsing their movements and routes around the set.
The second week saw them rehearse on camera alongside around 300 supporting artists playing school pupils. During the final week, they filmed two full takes a day for five days, with Netflix and the production companies choosing which worked best as one seamless take.
"It was such a crazy experience," Melissa added, explaining that the filming process enabled the actors to have some freedom as there was no pressure to get every line word-for-word. If they forgot a line, they could simply improvise and say something else.
"You knew your character and you knew the world well enough to know that there wasn't this big pressure to get the line exactly right," the actress explained.
However, she said the biggest challenge was often the technical side of the production, from sound cutting out to other issues that could disrupt a take.
At the same time, Melissa believes this was part of what made Adolescence so exciting for audiences, because viewers who might not normally pay attention to camera work or the technical aspects of television became fascinated by how the episodes were filmed.
"The way that it was filmed will always be something really very magical," Melissa said.
Melissa Johns is one of the UK's leading disability advocates and is represented by Champions Speakers Agency for speaking engagements.
