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This interview has been edited and condensed.
Siegfried Farnon is a protective, grouchy, and hyper-responsible control freak, but none of that is static.
It was quite detailed it wasnt a Chekhov short story, but it wasnt far off.
Its very much like life, you know, its all middle!
What was the history with his late wife, Evelyn?
What was the history with their parents?
We sort of worked out a story where it exists almost exactly as I imagined it had.
He was 24 when he died.
So it doesnt feel like the past for me to be playing somebody born in 1890.
So when you dig a bit deeper, you find that hes not alone.
Its good thatAll Creaturescan treat it seriously, because war fucks you up.
Its a little time bomb with Maurice, and it just sets Siegfried off.
Siegfried is never short with animals, never holds them to his perfectionist standards for people.
Hes absolutely terrific and has specialist skills like bareback galloping.
Hes the one doing all the falls.
Even aside from the galloping and falling, those scenes are long and fairly intense.
Where did that start?
And at the end of it, he said, Youre going to do a lot of these.
Just trust me, you are.
And I did nine for him.
It taught me that I have quite a serious voice.
It just seems to sort of slightly suit the past.
But theSecond World War thing,specifically as an actor?
I get to say fuck, and that doesnt happen inAll Creatures.
Yeah, your performance as Peter Judd is deliciously nasty.
That may be the closest Ive seen you play something funny on purpose.Thank you.
Hes a delightful, delightful character and justnota nice man.
Im really not asked to do things that are supposed to get laughs very often.
So when I gotSlow Horses, I thought,Well, this is a nice progression.
The size of this parodic character!
It was just too close.
Things that were difficult to get become impossible, and things that were easy to get become difficult.
We give a shot to get the Yorkshire dialect in as well.
Its a fascinating relationship based on a very strict and well-established principle, which is that I employ her.
I call her Mrs. Hall and she calls me Mr. Farnon.
It would be extremely unusual for them to have a relationship, but nothing is impossible.
I am enormously grateful for her presence and, increasingly, for her wisdom, kindness, and attention.
And that is likely to become more important, not less.
And one of the wonderful things aboutAll Creatures Great and Smallis that things never happentooslowly.
More and more, weve rightly chosen to put off emotional payoffs.
So I would say to people holding a candle for Siegfried and Mrs. Hall, Never say never.
I love her portrayal of Mrs. Hall, and Siegfried does too.
Beyond that, who knows?
I would love to see it.Theyre sort of married already.
you’re free to tell alotof story just by holding hands.
All Creatures Great and Smallairs onMasterpieceon PBS, and is available to stream via PBS Passport and Amazon Prime.
