Nicholas Pinnock

Fortitude had a very distinct atmosphere, doubling Iceland for Svalbard — what did that actually feel like to be part of on set?

We had such a great time filming Fortitude. Funnily enough, it wasn’t as cold as people think. Since records began, it was one of the warmest winters Iceland had experienced. We had to bring snow in from the UK. I believe we became the biggest importer of fake snow ever in a production.

“Funnily enough, it wasn’t as cold as people think.”

What was it like working within such a large and well-known ensemble cast?

It was a dream cast. We not only had great respect for each other on set, but we genuinely all got on off set too, which is rare for a cast that big. There were 26 speaking characters, so normally, with that many personalities to deal with, you’d think it’d be a handful, but not the case here.

Looking back at that period of work, how do you see it now in terms of your development as an actor?

Well, I was on stage at the Bush Theatre in a play called The Royale by Orange Is The New Black & Sons of Anarchy writer, Marco Ramirez. This was his first play, and its UK debut. I was loving every minute of it. I was also involved in A.D. (the follow-up to The Bible series) on NBC in America, in which I played Arik for two episodes, and Monsters: Dark Continent was released in cinemas. I don’t do excitement. I do angst and nerves. I was looking forward to having an audience enjoy them.

“I don’t do excitement. I do angst and nerves.”

Top Boy was a role many people connected with — how do you look back on that performance now?

I haven’t seen Top Boy, so I can’t comment on the final edit of my performance. And I don’t see it as one of my earlier performances either, as I’ve been acting for 30 years. I still see it as one of my recent performances. It felt good while filming, and I knew I’d touched on something that an audience hadn’t seen from me before on television, so I was very pleased to be able to share that with the public. I had a great time during filming. The cast and crew were great to be around, and I very much enjoyed working with Yan, our director. I’m very grateful for the role of Leon. It was a defining moment of my career.

“I knew I’d touched on something that an audience hadn’t seen from me before on television.”

Looking back, was acting always the path for you, or did it take time to find it?

I was an energetic youngster, very sporty, competitive and emotional. Probably quite difficult. Adolescence was tough and I was a very late developer in puberty. I’m the middle of 4 brothers, so I’m probably a typical middle child in many ways. Acting was what I was good at.

Nicholas Pinnock is an actor known for his roles in Top Boy, Fortitude and the US legal drama For Life, with a career spanning television, film and theatre.

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Interview by Carl Marsh