August 30, 2024 — Interview with Colin Morgan who plays Michael in Dead and Buried

What is Dead And Buried about?

Dead And Buried is about trauma, about forgiveness, faith, happiness and unhappiness. Choice, healing, not knowing how to heal. Especially with Cathy and Michael. They’re both on a journey to heal from something, and they just don’t know that that’s what they’re doing and that each of them is could actually heal the other in a way that’s very unexpected.

Michael’s family life is under the spotlight – tell us about where he is when we meet him in the series?

He’s in a life that has been set up for him. He’s a man who at a very pivotal point in his life – that point, whenever he’s a teenager on the cusp of developing into a man – was actually in prison and is released into a world of a different kind of confinement. He met a pastor in prison who I think promised him a new life, a new beginning, which actually ended up being marriage to that pastor’s daughter, a house and a job that was provided for him.

And I think now that he’s reached this point in his mid-life that he realises nothing he has are things he’s chosen. And so when this woman comes along online and he chooses her and he chooses to step outside of the life, it feels good. He just doesn’t know that this is someone who actually has ulterior motives, because it’s about a person’s darkest places that their fears, their worst nightmares.

Dark humour runs throughout the series – how important is that to the character of Michael and the others in the series?

A very Northern Irish (and a very Colin Bateman) trait is the ability to “deal” with pain with humour, often on the darker side – the greater the pain the greater the need to off-set it in whatever way you can. It just so happens that Michael, and many of the characters in Dead And Buried, have dark-humour as a coping mechanism. I’m sure a psychologist could give the deep-dive on where it all stems from, all I know is that there’s a lot of it in Northern Ireland and there’s a lot of it in this show, which only adds to its twisted appeal as well as its authenticity.

The story is set on a border town – how was your experience filming in your own accent?

Continuing on the theme of authenticity, it’s what this business is all about, and an actor is always looking for keys into the soul of their character. I often find that a character’s soul is inhabiting me when their voice starts to come through and I find myself speaking in a certain way, which sometimes can be in a different accent. When an accent isn’t required there’s a definite shorthand with a new character, we speak a similar language already and so however I end up sounding in the end, we’ve got off to a good start.

What can audiences expect for Michael?

This show is entirely about the unexpected. The unpredictable. Michael has no idea what’s coming his way and will have no idea how to handle things when they do – audiences can expect to see a man trying to keep his head above water as it gets deeper and deeper – and deeper!

The new four-part psychological thriller Dead And Buried, written by Colin Bateman, starts on Monday 2 September on BBC One Northern Ireland at 10.40pm. The full series will be available on BBC iPlayer from 10pm that evening.

The series features Annabel Scholey (The Split, The Serial Killer’s Wife, The Salisbury Poisonings) and Colin Morgan (Humans, Belfast, Merlin), Kerri Quinn (Hope Street), Waj Ali (Carnival Row), Owen Roe (Vikings), Niamh Walsh (The Sandman), Micheal Hanna (He’ll Have to Go) and Joanne Crawford (Blue Lights).

When out shopping with her son, young mum Cathy McDaid (Annabel Scholey) bumps into Michael McAllister (Colin Morgan), the man responsible for killing her brother Terry 20 years ago. Unaware he had been released from prison and is living in the same town, Cathy pays her solicitor a visit and discovers the killer had been released years ago.

Taking to social media, Cathy uncovers the successful career and family life Michael has forged for himself since his early release from prison, while she grieved for her brother.

Unable to comprehend that he’s now a free man, teacher Cathy goes against the advice of her best friend Sally Bowman (Kerri Quinn) and creates an online alias in order to befriend Michael, instigating a clandestine relationship with the man she despises and embarking on a campaign of harassment and deceit.

As Cathy’s obsession grows, dark fantasies of revenge and reality blur as she sets out on a campaign of psychological warfare to destroy Michael’s life.

The series uncovers how far Cathy is prepared to go to seek revenge for her brother’s death and the catastrophic impact it has on all their lives.

Writer, Colin Bateman says: “Dead And Buried is going to be intriguing for the audience because the audience have to work out who to trust because there are so many red herrings. You’re not quite sure what Cathy’s up to or whether Michael is truly a reformed character, or if he still retains his capacity for violence.”

Laura Way, Director, says: “Dead And Buried entertains and compels but Colin’s script also explores bigger issues unique to past and present Northern Ireland and its border counties, which gives the show more depth and layers than your typical thriller, exploring themes of cyclical violence and forgiveness.”

Dead And Buried was commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and Virgin Media Television in association with All3Media International and produced by Three River Fiction and Vico Films.

The drama is written by Colin Bateman (Murphy’s Law, Doc Martin) and directed by Laura Way (Maxine, Blood, The Holiday). It was jointly commissioned by Eddie Doyle, Head of Commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland and Sinead Stimpfig, Head of Commissioning & Acquisitions for Virgin Media Television.

Set on the border, the series was filmed earlier this year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with support from Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Coimisiún na Meán.

The series will also begin on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland on the same evening.