44 GQ.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2017
G
&A
daddidn’tknow.Ihad
amoustacheandknew
howtogroomitandwasgoing
outwithgirlswhowere17.
My hustle was not getting one
overontheman,butmore,
‘You’ve got what you’ve got,
sogoforitanddon’tlet
anyonesayyoucan’thaveit.’
GQ: Again with the older
ladies, hey? You’ve never
seemed to struggle with
female attention?
IE:Cheeky bastard. Mate,
Iwasinamallyesterdayand
there was nothing. But once
peoplerealiseorlearnyou’re
an actor, well then, yeah, that’s
justpartandparcelofit.To
behonest,mycharactersget
theattention–thegirlslove
LutherandStringerBell.
GQ:Lutheralso embodies the
strongplaceTV’sinrightnow.
Is that because decent film
creatives have moved over?IE:It’sanaturalprogression
–peoplewhowereworkingin
film20yearsagoatthepinnacle
of great film have moved into
anarenawherethebudgetsare
smallerbuttheaccessibilityand
thestorytellingisjustasprolific
as any film back then. And there
aresomanymorewaystodigest
TV–alotmorewaystoget
stuffoutthereandaudiences
aremoresavvy.I’vebeenpart
oftwoTVshowsIfeelnot
only broke the mould, but
stepped it up.The Wirewas
slow-burn, novelistic television,
nostereotypesandifyougot
into it you got into it and if
youdidn’t,well,seeyoulater.
And then, at the other end
of the spectrum,Lutherwas
complete escapism. But look
howbigafuckin’episodethat
is?It’slikeafuckin’movieand
athriller.Forme,ifyou’regoing
to give me that then I wantitbigandIwantitrealand
Iwantgreatactorstogiveme
thatshit.Soeveryone’smaking
greatTVrightnow–it’sthe
besttime,butIdon’tthinkfilm
is suffering. I think it’s going
togetbetteraswell.
GQ:Sofilm’slookingback
at TV and realising it needs
to step up?
IE:Right–Imeanlookat
TheDarkTower–it’saTV
offshoot of a film. Actually,
you’rethefirstpersonI’ve
spoken to about this, but it’s
partofmydeal–there’safilm
component and then there’s
a TV component, and I’m
part of that. But what I mean
is the TV series can’t be any
worsethanthefilm–ithas
to be different and deeper
and layered to work.
GQ:Whichnowyoumention
it,ismuchlikeIdrisElba.
IE: Man, I’ll take that. Cheers.“AT 14 , I WA S
DRIVING
ABOUT AND
MY MUM
AND DAD
DIDN’T
KNOW.
IHADA
MOUSTACHE
ANDIWAS
GOING
OUT WITH
GIRLS WHO
WERE 17.” PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED BY SUPERDRY