‘STRIKE BACK: SHADOW WARFARE’ CAST Q&A HIGHLIGHTS
Strike Back: Shadow Warfare is returning to Sky1 this autumn - and if you're looking for an action-packed, adrenalin-fuelled thrill ride, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Philip Winchester and Sullivan Stapleton's high-octane drama series…
But, now in its fourth series, there's a few changes in store for Strike Back - not only is Robson Green joining the regular cast as SAS legend Philip Locke, but we're going to see a softer side to Scott and Stonebridge.
Here are some of the highlights from a Q&A session with cast members Robson Green, Sullivan Stapleton and Philip Winchester.
» Robson Green: “I’ve never stopped being in awe of this program. They’re movies for television. They’re just incredible.”
» Robson Green: “It’s the relationship that [Sullivan and Phillip] have, that lovely endearing relationship that is unspoken. It’s the love they have between each other and you really care about them. You want to follow them. I thought it was great”
» Philip Winchester: “It’s a mix of hard work and lots of fun to film. It’s bloody hard work but it’s also a ton of fun.”
» Philip Winchester: “Jo’burg is rough and ready. There were a few spots where we needed armed guards to go in. So we were completely tooled up with the grenades and stuff, and we’ve got guys following us in with real guns. So that was quite an experience.”
» Sullivan Stapleton: “Michael and I went for a walk and jumped in and floated down this river. We weren’t sure if we would be insured to do that! But I got one of the art department boys really pissed one night and he said ‘funnily enough we had to take down all the signs that said ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘No Swimming’.”
» Philip Winchester: “I think this series has really turned a corner. The first series was us just figuring out what this show was, and then last season we were into it full steam and things got quite dark with the script and characters; and this series, particularly with the addition of [director] Michael Bassett we’ve just turned a corner. He really cares about the show – he doesn’t care about us though!”
» Robson Green: “It’s trippy watching [Winchester and Stapleton] doing all their own stunts.”
» Philip Winchester: “Typically Michael Bassett – we ended up doing a lot of stunts we’ve never done before.”
» Robson Green: “My character has a corrosive past. Something dark happened in his past that he will have to confront as part of his story arc.”
» Philip Winchester: “Stonebridge is still dealing with loss and we want to explore the consequences of the choices these characters make and how they deal with that stuff. They’re not superheroes, they’re real men.”
» Sullivan Stapleton: “Anything I said would be kind of a spoiler. Both these guys have grown up now. There’s less gratuitous sex which I think the crew appreciated. Scott and Stonebridge’s relationship was nice to play also, they’ve become closer.”
» Philip Winchester: “We see these two guys actually questioning whether or not they still want to be soldiers any more.”
"You see more of a vulnerable side to Scott this series," Aussie star Stapleton confirms. "There's a definite change - it's almost like he's growing up…"
Both Stapleton - 'Sully' to his friends - and Winchester were keen that their characters be portrayed as "humans" and not "superheroes" in this latest run of Strike Back.
"They have to be vulnerable, they have to be broken, they have to have a whole slew of things that make them people," insists Winchester.
"You've got to care for these guys and there has to be a possibility that they're going to get killed or maimed. We don't want to be in a show that's just blunt force trauma - you've got to care about the people."
"We can all blow s**t up and kill people - that's the easy part," Stapleton adds in agreement. "But we're trying to add some realism and more human elements to these dudes - that's the struggle."
But while the sex scenes may have been "toned down" this series, the action certainly hasn't and there's still plenty here for Strike Back fans to enjoy - in fact, Shadow Warfare is the first series that's been devised with the show's growing fanbase specifically in mind…
"There's been a shift in wanting to make a show for the fans that we have now," Winchester explains. "Keeping it Strike Back, but making it interesting and not just the same, which can happen in a third or fourth season."
One big change this year is the aforementioned addition of Green, who stars as the new head of Section 20 - Stonebridge and Scott's boss - an apparently "upstanding" man with a "corrosive secret".
"Robson Green - various number one singles… does a show about fishing… we heard it all," grins Stapleton. "It was day one - ten seconds in. 'Have you heard my song? Google me'."
However, Green insists that he has contributed more to Strike Back than on-set singing sessions.
"I was hanging out of a helicopter firing an M-32 grenade launcher at a terrorist cell!" he recalls. "There is a bit of action for me… but running to me is defined as a stunt. Last time I did anything military, it was in Soldier Soldier!"
You've got to adapt to survive, Stapleton and Winchester both agree - and with Strike Back revamped and looking better than ever, the pair both say they see no reason why the series couldn't continue for many years to come.
"We're still having fun after three years," Stapleton says. "I've heard of those casts that don't get along - I'd be out. We're in every scene together - if we didn't get along, we'd be f**ked!"
If Strike Back does return for a fifth series, the pair promise that it'll keep on changing - and expanding...
"That's a huge challenge, 'cos we're three years in," acknowledges Winchester. "There's been a lot of crazy storylines and crazy stunts - and we've got to keep thinking outside the box."