10 April 2024 – Lee has been in Glasgow for six months. He’s recently started working in a coffee van called VAN AROUND THE CORNER. He’s got an awkward self-effacing charm, is open-minded and kindhearted. He’s comfortable chatting to strangers – this is part of what appealed to him about the coffee van. He’s the kind of person who people like having around.

In your own words, what is Dinosaur about?

From my perspective, it’s all about Lee, but that’s not what the show is about. It follows Nina as she kind of goes on a supposed journey of discovery, but its more just working out her place in it.

Tell us about your character, Lee?

Lee’s in a transitional phase of his life, quite a late transitional phase of his life where I imagine he’s in his late twenties, maybe early-thirties, and probably has been a certain kind of person for a long time and is a little bit fed up with being that person. Which is someone who sinks into the background or isn’t as big and as funny as he knows he can be. I think Nina brings that out of him or at least he’s trying that and Nina welcomes it, so it makes him meet her more.

What’s Lee’s relationship like with Nina?

I think they see each other in a way that other people don’t, and what starts off as just a little bit of fun banter that he works in the coffee truck outside her work. It’s just nice to see someone that gets you and finds you funny and you find them funny, a bit weird and kind of interesting. You don’t know what kind of relationship it’s going to be and slowly but surely, they see that it has potential to be something else.

I think it’s the kind of relationship that you don’t see often, certainly not in a stereotypical rom com where Lee and Nina become detective buddies. It’s not a relationship that always has to be about the fact that they want each other, its more about the fact that they just connect and on this particular thing, they connect in some unspoken way. They decide that they’re going to come at this as sidekicks. I think that they’re solving crimes after this. By the end of it, that’s very clear that is the direction they should be going in. Maybe dinosaur related crimes. I don’t know, but for me it’s a weird thing that has slowly become one of the main things about their relationship. I’m not even sure if it’s in the writing, but that’s just how I feel when we’re on screen together. There’s definitely a Sherlock-Watson thing going on there.

Tell us what it has been like working with Niamh?

I think she’s maybe the nicest person I’ve ever met which is not usually a trait that you get in a director. She’s just got no ego and every time you get on set and you have an idea, she wants to hear it. She wants to see if it can be incorporated. She wants to give it a go. You’re in a space where you can do something that might not work and I think in comedy especially, that’s really important. It’s really important to feel like you cannot be funny, but daring to see if it just might be. She makes that possible by the way that she runs the set. Top marks.

What has it been like working with Ashley?

What’s so good about Ashley is that she said from the start of this to me ‘Oh, I’m not an actor, I’m a comedian.’ And I’m like ‘Well… you are an actor because you’re acting and you’re doing it pretty well.’ What’s so great as well is at the end of the scene once she’s rocked it and she’s done such a good job, that comedian comes back in. So, she knows that she’s got all the lines and then she’ll improvise and I love that because it means that I can riff off that and a lot of the end of our scenes, whether they’ll keep them in or not, we usually keep the camera rolling for a good thirty seconds or minute whilst we just riff off each other and that’s something that I don’t think many actors will go to immediately.

Do you have a favourite moment or scene within the series?

One line that I really enjoyed performing is just before I bash the bathroom door down with my glasses on and feeling very heroic and going ‘Nina, step away from the door.’ It felt ludicrous very funny before then bashing in and falling onto the ground. I really liked that line.

Seeing the cast and seeing David, Greg, Sabrina and all the rest of them just smashing it and being so funny. Those were kind of my favourite days, not necessarily the actual filming process, but getting to spend time with them. It was the first-time meeting Greg who is just lovely and from when I was a young Scot, Still Game and Chewin’ the Fat had such a huge impression on me.

What do you hope viewers will take away from the series?

It’s just nice to watch something that’s funny and has nice people in it. I mean, I love Succession, what a show! But they’re all awful people, aren’t they? They’re just the worst. Whereas with this it’s nice to watch something where you’re having a laugh, but you can see a bit of hope in all of the characters even if they’re weird and make bad decisions.

Three words to sum up Dinosaur?

Weird is a good word. Hopeful and kind.

About Dinosaur

Dinosaur (6 x 30) is a Two Brothers Pictures (Fleabag, The Tourist) production for BBC Three, BBC iPlayer and BBC Scotland in partnership with All3Media International. Dinosaur was commissioned by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy and Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland. It is based on an original idea by Matilda Curtis. The Executive Producers are Sarah Hammond, Katie Churchill, Harry Williams, Jack Williams. Catriona Renton is Co-Executive Producer. The Director is Niamh McKeown and the Producer is Brian Coffey. The BBC Commissioning Editors are Emma Lawson and Gavin Smith.

Dinosaur will air on BBC Scotland from Sunday 14 April, BBC Three from Tuesday 16 April and BBC One from Friday 19 April.

All episodes will be available on iPlayer from Sunday 14 April. It is also available on Hulu in the US.