| DOUGLAS HENSHALL PLAYS DETECTIVE INSPECTOR
JOHN TOLIN
Douglas Henshall says he felt like he was on the set of a spaghetti western when traffic was brought to a halt on a major dual carriageway just outside London for a crucial scene in Collision. The filming took place early on a Sunday morning when the road was relatively quiet and shows Douglas and his co-star Kate Ashfield walking along the traffic-free carriageway to investigate the scene of the horrific collision in which three people were killed. “The velocity of the cars passing by as we waited to film our scenes on this busy dual carriageway was frightening,” says Douglas. “We were working very much in conjunction with the police who put in a rolling road block while we filmed the scene. We had to wait for the police to announce that the road was blocked before we could start our scene. “Suddenly all the traffic stopped in both directions and silence just descended on it. It was very eerie”. “Working on this drama did make me realise the extent to which an accident affects so many different lives – those are the things you don’t think about when you are driving. “When you go past a traffic accident, you do slow down and have a look and then move on. But you don’t think about the impact on the people involved, either the victims or their families and friends.” Douglas plays Detective Inspector John Tolin, who has just returned to his duties after the tragic death of his wife in a car crash, which left his daughter paralysed and in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. A major investigation into the circumstances of a multi vehicle pile-up is the first job he faces on his return to work. Desperate to put his own tragedy behind him, and despite advice from colleagues, Tolin volunteers to take the helm of the inquiry. “When the story starts it is Tolin’s first day back at work since his wife died and his daughter was crippled in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. “He finds out that there has been an accident on a major A road and he needs to get back to work, but also there is the idea that he might as well take the hardest job first.” “One of the things I liked about the character is that you end up having to embrace his flaws, and I like that idea of heroes being flawed because that’s what attracts me to people. I don’t like people for their virtues, I find that is much more interesting for drama especially, how people cope with their own flaws. “You have time to tell the story as it is being shown over 5 episodes ( please noteUK only). There are 72 characters in this and I liked the way it kind of knitted itself together, it is incredibly clever, grand, operatic and very visual.” The role in Collision, recorded from September to November 2008 is Douglas’s first television role since recording his final scenes in the summer of 2008 in the science fiction drama Primeval, in which he played Professor Nick Cutter. . |