Messiah V – The Rapture
Marc Warren plays DCI Walker
Messiah returns to Â鶹Éç One with a new team and a new face at the helm. Marc Warren makes his debut as DCI Joseph Walker in the two-part series, on the trail of a serial killer attempting to bring about the end of the world.
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For Marc Warren, taking over from the much-loved Ken Stott in the leading role was serendipitous.
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"It was quite strange because Ken Stott is a great mate of mine. He was a sort of mentor to me," says Marc.
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"I sent Ken a text actually, pretty early on. I said how easy he made it look, which he does. It is a responsibility but it's one I'm ready to take on."
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DCI Joseph Walker has to deal with a series of sadistic and elaborately staged murders during the fifth outing for Messiah. For Marc, the grittiness appealed to him after the flamboyance of his Hustle character.
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"I wanted to do something that was a bit real and a bit minimal. I wanted to see if I could still do that because doing nothing is quite tricky," observes Marc.
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Marc was able to hone and develop the subtlety of the role with help from director, Harry Bradbeer.
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"Harry is loose and fluid and perfect for this. We found the scene when we got to the set and that completely suits Harry's style – the way he directs and the way he shot it."
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Messiah begins with Joseph Walker in Israel, a contented man with a bright future, but with a certain inevitably events take a turn for the worse.
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"The opening image is quite happy-go-lucky but everything changes and this dark isolated character appears," says Marc.
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"Abandonment of faith is quite integral to the plot and that is all revealed in the final scenes."
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Joseph Walker is not alone in going on a journey during the course of Messiah. It has been a transitional experience for Marc Warren, taking a major leading role for the first time.
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"Messiah has been different in that I am now getting to that point where I'm taking on responsibilities, in that I'm heading up the cast.
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"Being on set is a place I feel very confident and very sure of myself but it's taken a little while to find that level of responsibility on this," says Warren.
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"When you are doing a job it just takes over everything."
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