After signing Pierpoint & Co. focusing on his natural ability as well as his easy access to booze and drugs to schmooze clients, Robert Spearing seemed to be successful, but ultimately his hard-partying lifestyle changed his mind.
As the hit finance drama returns for season 2, a newly-sober Robert is attempting to re-establish himself in a changing world at Pierpoint, but now that he must rely entirely on his own abilities to succeed, he is being shaken by self-doubt.
- Meet the season 2 cast: who''''s who in the banking drama
This season, we talked with Harry to discover more about what''s ahead of Robert...
"I think we meet a different person than we expected at the start of season one. Back then, he had a kind of prodigy and charm, and all of that. In the second season, the show is post-pandemic and he has spent the last two years on his own, he hasn''t had all of that external validation that makes him feel good about who he is, and he has to look in the mirror a little bit more and be a little bit more introspective
"So I think the person who returns is a lot more comfortable in his own skin, but I''m not afraid to overcompensate as much. But the answer to this is, is that if all of these things are the reason you hired, and you strip them away, is he going to be capable of being the person he wants to be, and do the job he wants to do, even if that person is not the one he met? "It''s a very different Robert, but one
"The first season of season involves young people doing everything they can to get to first, and if you take that logic and move it into the second season, these people have found a little bit of success, and they''ve certainly learned a little bit more about who they are now they must work out if those things work together, if they''re compatible, or will they need to change? I think that''s what season two brings up for everybody.
"I think Robert and Gus had a really special relationship during the first season, because they were the only individuals that had any history, they were the only individuals seen to have a past that existed before Pierpoint, and a connection that we all knew was not built on any mutual gain or professional development, it was probably the most likely relationship in the series.
"Like every relationship, that was tested by the industry, and by their job, but it''s something that we really enjoyed playing, because it gave our characters the opportunity to laugh and smile and be seen and heard by someone who trusts them. "That''s something that, once again, I think, is still being tested in the second season, especially as they pull apart in different ways. But I''d like to see that there are still interesting examples of how they''ve got each other, and it''s something that they both
"Acting and banking are quite different, but they are very competitive, and many people want to do it, thus achieving a very high-risk, high-reward environment." I believe for us, one of the easiest access points is that all four of us who were kind of leading the show were completely off-screen, and had given the opportunity to get something wrong. So, we were kind of naive and slightly green, and we were somewhat confused, and so we could all trust each other in the same way we do
"It''s a huge pain to get involved in acting," says one actor, adding that while you''re learning about the trade, you''ll just get to know what it means, what the risks are, and how it impacts people. If you play something, you''ll find a way through it.
"Obviously the bank is such a huge component in our show, and it was something that we, as actors, knew very little about as you can imagine, but it''s not our world, but our society was very kind of supported in that because the actors of our show [Mickey Down and Konrad Kay] were extremely dedicated to authenticizing and realizing their experiences.
"But I think it''s a bank drama, and I believe it''s actually a picture of workplace culture and office culture, and the thing I''ve been most surprised at is that people from all over the country who have an office have responded to the program for that reason. "You ask them what they do, and it''s not banking, and "God, is that happening in that industry?" You have a little concern for them, and they must get out!
"That''s the key thing, rather than being too kind of bank-centric, whether it''s a toxic workplace culture, or whether it''s a power misuse, power is a major topic of the show, including power, the exchanges of power, and how power is used for gain, and unfortunately there were a few different sectors that could relate to these topics."
Season two of BBC1 in the United Kingdom begins on Tuesday, September 27, at 10.40pm, with the entire season on iPlayer.
The entire season two of HBO Max may be available for download in the United States.
